Seal of Cleansing is not Modern-legal. Only a few of the seals were reprinted in Dissension. Mortify is also a terrible card for this meta. Affinity has 3 threats on the board by turn 2: do you think they care if you tap out to destroy one on turn 3?
Languish is a perfectly reasonable card to play, although sometimes it gets Spell Pierced on t4/t5 and you lose. It is better than Damnation versus the decks you describe because your fat-butted x/5s can live through it, while none of their critters can. It is worse than Damnation against decks with x/5s like Abzan, although we should be kind of favorable here already. Black Sun's Zenith is absolutely not the effect we want: why would we want to make our Eldrazi permanently smaller after they survive?
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Everyone hates Strangler, but when you get to trigger the ability, it is amazing, especially in our worst matchups. Reshaper doesn't always give you value, especially with so many decks playing Path to Exile nowadays. Also, the colorless <> mana is hard to get on curve unless you increase the number of <> sources, which can be tough. But I agree, Strangler is the worst card. I just don't know what to put in its place.
Wasteland Strangler is amazing in our worst matchups. It is the reason we stand a chance in the linear aggro metagame. People complain about burn and affinity and they want to cut Wasteland Strangler. Don't do this.
Ok I have 2 tournament results for yall and then I am going to go back and read this weekends comments to catch up on the ongoing discussions:
Friday FNM 69 People (yup that was a thing):
Round 1 Jeskai Control (2-1) [1-0]:
So ironically this was the EXACT same guy I faced and lost to in round 4 the previous night. The primary difference I made between Thursday Night and FNM was I used the winnings to repurchase a Cavern of Souls (I had to trade mine away to acquire all the new Eldrazi I needed) and I had taken All is Dust completely out of the 75 in favor of a Celestial Purge. Game 1 I won on the back of Cavern of Souls. Uncounterable TKS to strip a Path and then lethal him with it (and other things but that was the story of the game. Can't counter my Eldrazi? You are in for a very bad time). Game 2 I drew like crap but ground the game down extremely low (including forcing him to make a crazy 2 for 1 on Blight Herder: Helix, Keranos trigger killed the 4/5. Electrolyze and Keranos Trigger to kill the 3 tokens). Game 3 I assembled our "Nat Tron" for the first time ever and he just couldn't answer it. He tapped out to play a Keranos and it met Celestial Purge.
Round 2 RG Ton (0-2) [1-1]:
Turn 1 Game 1 I Thoughtseized him on the play. Nat Tron, 3 Karns and a Map. I take the map with a GQ in hand. I blow up one of the pieces T2 but he naturally drew a replacement.. GG. Game 2 I stuck a T2 TKS and saw that he had 1 tron piece, a Sylvan Scrying and nothing else. I still managed to lose this because he drew into the other 2 pieces of Tron and a Karn. Bad matchup and all but also terrible luck. He had to go (catch a ride or something) so he gave me the match win for prizes at the end but on my "official standings" I'm counting it as a loss.
Round 3 Junk (2-0) [2-1]:
Game 1 I just went larger and bigger like we do and crushed him pretty quickly on the back of Reality Smasher. Game 2 we almost went to time because we ended up in a topdeck war for like 8-12 turns. I hit 1 land he hit like 5. The main thing is I had a celestial purge for his Siege Rhino and then ripped a Path to Exile for his Resto Angel to restabilize the board. I then Timely Reinforcements (just for lifegain) while he bricked. Finally I topdecked Ulamog and it was gg. I had lethal onboard and he was out of outs.
Round 4 Jeskai Tempo (2-1) [3-1]:
Totally cool list. Curves out delver->stormchaser mage->Mantis Rider and between Bolt, Helix, Electrolyze, and other Tempo cards like Vapor Snag and Remand. Game 1 I managed to kill his things early and stuck a Sorin which gained me enough life to seal the game away. Game 2 he killed me by I think T3.. It was crazy fast and curved pretty well. Game 3 I managed to put to the Midgame and he miscounted my ability to tutor with eye so he used a spreading seas on my Shambling Vent. (he was worried about a crackback for lethal). I tutored a Reality Smasher and drew into a 2nd (was 1 mana short of playing it). He topdecked and seemed to have what he thought was an adequate answer to not be killed that turn so I dropped the 2nd reality smasher and he scooped.
So by prize structure (going 3-0-1 Thursday and 4-0 Friday) I got $120 in the last two big tournaments I have been to. I am still unsure about Warping Wail but I think it's earned it's spot enough. The main thing is it's versatility is proving good enough for me that I don't miss Go For the Throat or Doom Blade. There will be bad matchups for it but there are also good ones. Sorin continues to be a house in the deck and I love it in most matches I pull it. It's not always the best (example is on an empty board) but turning all our 1/1's into 2/1's has been pretty good.
On Sunday I showed up late (because apparently I can't read) to a small 20 man tournament. Taking the loss for being late. I then faced Ad Naueseum and completely punted game 3. I had TKS one Ad Nauseum and Oblivion Sower had hit another. I had disenchant which I could have left open for his Phyrexian Unlife and I could have held open mana for it but I played Lingering Souls instead. He ripped another Ad Nauseum off the top and won. Total punt on my part (first time playing against the deck). He was at 10 life and on a 2 turn clock with Oblivion Sower. I had Thoughtseized an Angel's Grace the turn before so I knew he'd have to draw into Ad Nauseum to win. Souls didn't increase the clock at all and it would have either meant he had to draw both Ad Nauseum and the Pact of Negation (he actually Sideboarded them out which I didn't realize) in order not to probably die to Ad Nauseum (because he was at 10.. this was probably boom or bust for him to try and find the win). I won't make that mistake again.
I then housed Burn in 2 games (admittedly the 2nd game was weird and awkward. He mulled to 5, I mulled to 5 . He plays Guide, I play Duress and see he had lands and an atarka command. My scry put a path on top. I take some bonus damage from my pain lands but I netted a land off guide on the swing and pathed it. He couldn't draw into enough gas to pose a serious threat though). Last round was Elves. He destroyed me game 1. Game 2 Warping Wail really showed it's power as I used a T1 Thoughtseize to rip his Coco (he had an Archdruid and an Ezuri in hand but no other gas... I had a path and warping Wail) and then I Warping Wailed his T1 mana dork. He had to waste T2 and I strangled his Ezuri Turn 4. The game wasn't close after that as I beat him into submission. Game 3 I slowly eeked out advantage when his hand barf added nothing major to the board and I cracked in with 4 Souls tokens and Reality Smasher until he was forced to chump block. In the end he just didn't have the answers. I am a bit angry I punted that Ad Nauseum match because I could have went 3-1 despite taking a 1st round loss for being late. Oh well.
Anyway, I'm going to get caught up on the other posts. Keep up the good fight gentlemen. Looked like the latest SCG Modern Classic didn't have an Eldrazi deck in it. I am sure we are gonna break through in paper one of these days though (hopefully next weekend when I am at Regionals on Saturday followed by a PPTQ on Sunday.
I have a couple of questions for people using various cards if that's ok?
For the people testing Sorin, would you see him as a one of or a two of in the deck? I have a couple so I'm wondering if he's worth trying out. What match ups in particular is he good for?
The other card I want to question is Ratchet Bomb. With my testing of it I've always found ratchet bomb too slow, what match ups are people using if for and how are you playing it (in case there's something I'm missing here)
Any feed back at all on these two would be helpful, thanks you
The Sorin is definitely a 1x of and for me it's in place of All is Dust. It helps in the same matchups (plus the bonus couple of increasing your clock against Tron and giving you a bit of gas against affinity). He is very good in any match that is trying to push your life total and relies on creatures to win. Against Zoo for example, it lets your Soul/Scions's negate most of their aggression (through lifelink and trading with x/2's) and can put your life total out of reach. If they let it get to Ult, their likelihood of winning is slim to none.
Ratchet Bomb is a little bit slower than Engineered Explosives but it makes up for it with versatility. It's great against Delver decks (remember that a flipped delver's cmc is 0. I haven't had too many issues ratcheting it up to the right level that I need. The primary things you can hit that you can't do with explosives are 3 drops. Ensnaring Bridges and Liliana as 2 example of things you want removed. Against Lantern Control you can ratchet up the bomb and sit on it until they try and get rid of it or you have lethal damage on the swing. It's really a preference call. I have liked it though. (it's also completely colorless instead of Requiring both BW in order to come down).
I use a ratchet bomb as a catch all, but also use 2 disenchants as well. I imagine chalice would be a huge pain.
I will say that reality smasher is the real deal. I ran 2 in place of a herder and a sower. I wanna put another one in there. I may drop it down to one ulamog and go up to 3 smashers. With b/w being more grindy, Ulamog as a 2 of seems iffy.
My biggest issues is the lack of marshes, I have all the current fetches, but still have trouble from time to time with mana. I also only have 3 shrines but will grab the last on friday before SCG Regionals in Seattle.
I've been on the fence with MD surgical extraction as its been a decent play, but it really is hit and miss. Not sure if I want scarbbling claws, more dismember, or doom blade in it's place. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
I find it odd that you are having mana problems as I run into almost no mana issues and I run 0 fetches. Side note.. I will also be at the SCG Regional in Seattle So I will see you there. I do like the Reality Smasher as well. He is extremely good and I'd love to find space for 1 more.
If you don't play maps you need 3 eyes to hit them with consistency. I hate putting maps in my main deck, but they make bad hands much better.
This is why I prefer to play Map. It allows me to play only 2 Eye of Ugin and 2 Urborg (letting me play an extra utility land) and then it also lets me fix bad hands. It also makes opponents GQ's worse because you can sit on it until they blow up one of your lands. If it's something you have multiples of (like Eye or Temple), you can fetch another one. It also lets you round out things for your particular matchups. Need lifegain against Burn? You can get your vents or Vault. Need that extra temple or eye to make your hand run smoothly? You can get that. Don't have a relic but are staring at a hand full of Blight Herders? Go get Bojuka Bog. Missing a color? Go get the one you need. Playing against Control and want to get around counters? Go get Cavern of Souls. It's too versatile for me to want to play without it again. Even if I draw one late game.. there is always a land I need/want to grab since it gets us to Newlamog and usually a win.
One last edit with food for thought: Anybody think of running some numbers of Bitterblossom? It's another awkward to answer threat that can be used for a supply of chump blockers against aggressive decks and continues to pour out dudes if left unchecked. With Vault and Sorin now being run in lists.. the life loss can be minor impact. Just a thought.
Eldrazi Displacer has a 3 butt--allowing to to chump bears and trade with, say, Nacatl--and a powerful and versatile ability that synergizes with both Strangler and TKS. Just saying. It's a lot worse vs. Bolt, though.
I'm not excited by the opportunity to trade Displacer with Nacatl (which Strangler also does, by the way), but it seems like it's a nice Spellskite-like effect that can attack. I can see one in the maindeck. Have you liked it?
Displacer is fun, but I am afraid it's too slow/ mana intensive..
IMHO the point is to gain time for the major threats our build offers to arrive or to try to dig towards them... strangler on the paper would be perfect, it's a removal and a chump blocker/beater, in reality it's just a chump/blocker beater most of the time.
What about trading stranglers slots with other removal or utility spells? would it be that bad?
Displacer is sometimes very bad and sometimes amazing, depending on the board state. It is very uneven and in this shell I can't see running more than one. I have flickered Strangler against Elves with a Relic and Claws on the battle field and it meant I was able to remove two of his guys every turn for zero cards. That was fun. But sometimes it is pretty much just a 3/3 for 3 which does not feel good with this deck.
I am at 13 creatures, which is the absolute bare minimum I would ever consider running. (In fact it is probably too few.) I like Strangler as at least a 2-of for added removal, and I get him to hit more often than not nowadays, due to careful play. But with no exilers in hand or on the board it is very bad, and that does happen in a not-insignificant number of games.
Everyone hates Strangler, but when you get to trigger the ability, it is amazing, especially in our worst matchups. Reshaper doesn't always give you value, especially with so many decks playing Path to Exile nowadays. Also, the colorless <> mana is hard to get on curve unless you increase the number of <> sources, which can be tough. But I agree, Strangler is the worst card. I just don't know what to put in its place.
Wasteland Strangler is amazing in our worst matchups. It is the reason we stand a chance in the linear aggro metagame. People complain about burn and affinity and they want to cut Wasteland Strangler. Don't do this.
This is true IF we can get the Process mechanic going, but this is not always easy against decks like say Elves, Fish, or Affinity. I agree that it is good enough to keep, but I would say that it will only work out if you are committed to the exile and Process game plan.
I have 4 Relics, 2 Claws, 4 Path, 1 Surgical Extraction, and 1 Oblivion Ring main and I STILL can't get it to hit every time, because sometimes I don't draw into sufficient exile effects, and other times I can't get any cards into their yard to get started.
Eldrazi Displacer has a 3 butt--allowing to to chump bears and trade with, say, Nacatl--and a powerful and versatile ability that synergizes with both Strangler and TKS. Just saying. It's a lot worse vs. Bolt, though.
I'm not excited by the opportunity to trade Displacer with Nacatl (which Strangler also does, by the way), but it seems like it's a nice Spellskite-like effect that can attack. I can see one in the maindeck. Have you liked it?
Displacer is fun, but I am afraid it's too slow/ mana intensive..
IMHO the point is to gain time for the major threats our build offers to arrive or to try to dig towards them... strangler on the paper would be perfect, it's a removal and a chump blocker/beater, in reality it's just a chump/blocker beater most of the time.
What about trading stranglers slots with other removal or utility spells? would it be that bad?
Displacer is sometimes very bad and sometimes amazing, depending on the board state. It is very uneven and in this shell I can't see running more than one. I have flickered Strangler against Elves with a Relic and Claws on the battle field and it meant I was able to remove two of his guys every turn for zero cards. That was fun. But sometimes it is pretty much just a 3/3 for 3 which does not feel good with this deck.
I am at 13 creatures, which is the absolute bare minimum I would ever consider running. I like Strangler as at least a 2-of for added removal, and I get him to hit more often than not nowadays, due to careful play. But with no exilers in hand or on the board it is very bad, and that does happen in a not-insignificant number of games.
Honestly I think 3x Strangler has been the right number for me. I get to kill things quite often and rarely is he totally dead. Against decks where his -3/-3 isn't great.. he becomes a beater. To the shock of my opponents in the mirror match, I use him in this capacity for the most part. Most are sideboarding him out because he can't kill anything but then they lose because I dropped a T2 3/2 beat stick that starts them on a clock. With 4x Path, 2x Warping Wail, 4x Relic and 1x Bojuka Bog (with 2x Map)... I almost always can set up the -3/-3 and lead to the blowout. He is also my primary way of trading with Search for Tomorrow, Lotus Bloom and Rift Bolt. Even if he has to kill himself, he essentially counters the spell. I think I will cut down to 1 Oblivion sower, 1 Urborg and go to 3x Reality Smasher. I am starting to think we don't really need Oblivion Sower at all as long as you run Cavern of Souls and maps (like I do). Counters suck but if you get him through those.. Smasher has felt much better.
Strangler cast during the second main phase also kills creatures who have taken a hit from a token, like say Restoration Angel
Yeah he has been fantastic. Certainly don't want a 4x anymore but the 3x I have seems to come up when I need them enough but allows me to hit better things as well (being able to kill utility creatures like Bob cannot also go understated).
Strangler has been nothing short of an all star for me, but I also run 2 Surgical Extraction main to up the chances of having him active T2. Between path, relic, and surgical extraction I find that I've been able to reliably turn processing on.
Strangler has been nothing short of an all star for me, but I also run 2 Surgical Extraction main to up the chances of having him active T2. Between path, relic, and surgical extraction I find that I've been able to reliably turn processing on.
It's funny but I very Rarely need to use him Turn 2. Typically T1 is discard/relic/map. If they play a dude turn 2, I will usually path it. If they drop another dude T3, it eats a strangler. If they didn't put anything relevant, you can cast souls, TKS or do other things depending on the opponent. Typically in decks that you want to strangle something turn 2, they have cracked a fetch to the yard so you can still have the option to play it T2. I also make it a point (especially game 1) to not keep hands without early interaction. Since I am running 4 path and 2 Warping Wails, chances are those get used first.
It's funny but I very Rarely need to use him Turn 2. Typically T1 is discard/relic/map. If they play a dude turn 2, I will usually path it. If they drop another dude T3, it eats a strangler. If they didn't put anything relevant, you can cast souls, TKS or do other things depending on the opponent. Typically in decks that you want to strangle something turn 2, they have cracked a fetch to the yard so you can still have the option to play it T2. I also make it a point (especially game 1) to not keep hands without early interaction. Since I am running 4 path and 2 Warping Wails, chances are those get used first.
For sure..and many times situations will play out exactly as you describe. One thing I will say though is that having it online T2 as removal has made it easier for me to use my paths more proactively to ramp into a bigger play in case the need arises. There have been a few situations where I would rather not provide the fixing my opponent needs in earlier turns, or I am in need of one more mana to turn the corner.
It's funny but I very Rarely need to use him Turn 2. Typically T1 is discard/relic/map. If they play a dude turn 2, I will usually path it. If they drop another dude T3, it eats a strangler. If they didn't put anything relevant, you can cast souls, TKS or do other things depending on the opponent. Typically in decks that you want to strangle something turn 2, they have cracked a fetch to the yard so you can still have the option to play it T2. I also make it a point (especially game 1) to not keep hands without early interaction. Since I am running 4 path and 2 Warping Wails, chances are those get used first.
For sure..and many times situations will play out exactly as you describe. One thing I will say though is that having it online T2 as removal has made it easier for me to use my paths more proactively to ramp into a bigger play in case the need arises. There have been a few situations where I would rather not provide the fixing my opponent needs in earlier turns, or I am in need of one more mana to turn the corner.
This is where I've liked Warping Wail. It's a little more awkward to cast sometimes and situational (since the creature needs to be P or T 1 or less) but it does provide that 1 extra mana if you need it without costing you a creature in return. (Also being able to pull of Warping Wail for token, block the attacker and activate Vault of the Archangel has been sweet tech that people were not expecting.))
Side note for everyone: Something has really started to aggravate me as I try to have conversations about this deck around the internet (usually with people who don't really know the deck). I really hope folks help nip this nonsense in the but. In every conversation we get roped into the same style of deck as Tron. We are a Large Midrange deck with Complimentary Ramp. They also claim that we are a linear deck like tron. We are most certainly an interactive deck (this variant anyway). Please correct folks when you see it because all the fear mongering will do is perpetuate the stereotype that Eye of Ugin is "too good" for Modern. It really has gotten on my nerves lately because people don't think rationally about it at all. The worst offenders are usually Jund players who don't understand why their $2300 dollar deck is losing to a pile of "random standard cards". There is a serious misunderstanding around the internet about what this deck is and how it operates. IRL I haven't had too many issues. Folks who express some of the arguments, I play a few rounds with them and they see that it is just a midrange deck that operates slightly larger for increased value.
Wasteland Strangler is amazing in our worst matchups. It is the reason we stand a chance in the linear aggro metagame. People complain about burn and affinity and they want to cut Wasteland Strangler. Don't do this.
This is true IF we can get the Process mechanic going, but this is not always easy against decks like say Elves, Fish, or Affinity. I agree that it is good enough to keep, but I would say that it will only work out if you are committed to the exile and Process game plan.
I have 4 Relics, 2 Claws, 4 Path, 1 Surgical Extraction, and 1 Oblivion Ring main and I STILL can't get it to hit every time, because sometimes I don't draw into sufficient exile effects, and other times I can't get any cards into their yard to get started.
There are also TKS, Sower and Bojuka Bog you can play.
One last edit with food for thought: Anybody think of running some numbers of Bitterblossom? It's another awkward to answer threat that can be used for a supply of chump blockers against aggressive decks and continues to pour out dudes if left unchecked. With Vault and Sorin now being run in lists.. the life loss can be minor impact. Just a thought.
This is where I've liked Warping Wail. It's a little more awkward to cast sometimes and situational (since the creature needs to be P or T 1 or less) but it does provide that 1 extra mana if you need it without costing you a creature in return. (Also being able to pull of Warping Wail for token, block the attacker and activate Vault of the Archangel has been sweet tech that people were not expecting.))
Side note for everyone: Something has really started to aggravate me as I try to have conversations about this deck around the internet (usually with people who don't really know the deck). I really hope folks help nip this nonsense in the but. In every conversation we get roped into the same style of deck as Tron. We are a Large Midrange deck with Complimentary Ramp. They also claim that we are a linear deck like tron. We are most certainly an interactive deck (this variant anyway). Please correct folks when you see it because all the fear mongering will do is perpetuate the stereotype that Eye of Ugin is "too good" for Modern. It really has gotten on my nerves lately because people don't think rationally about it at all. The worst offenders are usually Jund players who don't understand why their $2300 dollar deck is losing to a pile of "random standard cards". There is a serious misunderstanding around the internet about what this deck is and how it operates. IRL I haven't had too many issues. Folks who express some of the arguments, I play a few rounds with them and they see that it is just a midrange deck that operates slightly larger for increased value.
Do you mind posting your updated decklist? I think I'm looking to build a deck similar to yours but with a couple changes. Thanks
So my modern deck got banned(bloom player) as i knew it was coming for a long time I was looking for a new deck and stumbled upon this forum built it up right after I saw it on camera early this year. Finally got the deck finished last saturday, tried goldfishing it and figured out pretty quickly it was pointless cause my hands looked like a BGX decks and so I decided to take it out for a spin.
So I played in a 96 man modern tourney last sunday finished 4-2-1 (24th last round was an ID we played it out I won) with it, not bad for absolutely 0 play testing. Can't remember much about how the games played out but I'll put what I can remember
Round 1 Abzan Won (2-0)
This deck was just straight up abzan(rhinos, mind censor, finks, discard manlands) I basically just went over the top with him on both games.
Sided out my warping wails and 1 strangler for flaying tendrils and kozilek, the great distortion. don't know if that was the right call never drew him.
Round 2 Ad naus (0-2)
game 1 -I discard him early removing his phyrexian unlife. I have him down to two and he goes of on turn 5 with an angels grace( had 1 discard spell the whole game)
game 2 - SB in stony's disenchants and surgicals side out paths and a 2 relics. i Mull to 6 he mulls to 5. I warping wail his first draw spell. I basically just never see a 3rd land so I lose to his combo
record 1-1
Round 3 Naya Burn Win(2-0)
Game 1 - I stabilize at 2 and topdeck a vault with blight herder in play and some lingering souls tokens and just swing in.
Game 2- SB out 2 sowers, ulamog, thoughtsieze 2 I forgot and Side in 3 weary, 1 timely and celestial purge. This game ends with him having 2 grim lavamancers in play with me at 5 life and he never manages to ping me coz of my active relic. MVP here were lingering tokens and wasteland strangler.
2-1
Round 4 Jeskai Geist Win (2-0)
Game 1 and Game 2 play out much the same he can't keep up with my sowers and lingering souls tokens just stall him long enough till i get to sowers. Game 1 was all about me pathing his angel tokens twice. MVP here were lingering souls blight herder and sowers.
SB was out 2 warping wail ulamog and 1 I forget. In 2 tendrils, kozilek and timely
3-1
Round 5 Infect lose (0-2)
Game 1 TUrn 1 I cast inqui he show inkmoth, lands, heirarch and ground swell. I take heirarch his turn top decks glistener elf(I path it) couple of turns later he manages to hit me to 5 infect with ground swell and inkmoth attack. turn was i TKS him he shows a blank hand. I pass he top decks ground swell I die
Game 2 I SB out 2 expedition maps and 2 sowers for 2 tendrils and Surgicals(this shouldve been stonies or disenchants) he basically plays skite I try to path it he apostle blessings it and I 2 GQ his 2 inkmoths. My strangler gets stuck in my hand and he manages to kill me with the blue infect creature coz I cant kill it with skite in play
3-2 (out of top 8)
Round 6 UW hate bears (2-1)
this was a weird deck with kytheon, flicker wisps, blade spilcers, geists, resto angels, thalia, mind censor, arbiters, vials, dryad militant
Game 1 I lose coz i did the combat math wrong with me at 10 and him having blinked his splicer over and over again. I attacked with 1 lingering soul token when i should have just stayed back.(rusty from my bloom titan days)
Game 2 SB in 2 stonies 2 disenchants 2 tendrils SB out 4 relics and 2 exped maps. This game was so much comedy during the course of the game I had trouble with exiling his stuff but I hold the board with lingering souls tokens, I managed to cast 3 herders this game 1st with process 2nd without 3rd with. The only way I even had ways to exile his stuff was coz he played a turn 1 militant that I never killed during the game coz his paths kept exiling themselves when he cast them. WE basically come into a board stall and top deck wars with me basically casting 3 lingering souls with flash blacks and him blinking his splicers over and over again eventually I win with an alpha strike when i topdecked vault.
Game 3 was basically him casting a turn 1 kytheon turn 2 thalia and turn 3 geist with me pathing his thali on turn 2 and flaying on turn 3 and i Just stomp all over him with lnggering souls tokens
4-2
ROund 7 Jeskai Geist (ID)
we played it out basically stomped the **** out of him same as what I did before lost 1 game in the 5 we played.
4-2-1
Notes
- Warping wails were mediocre. never really happy to have them and found myself SBING them out most of the games planning to change this to maybe surgicals MD(never drew surgicals so couldnt see how well it plays but I played against my friend's tron and HE STOMPED THE **** OUT OF ME I never felt like I could with that matchup any tips on tron?)
- Kozilek is gonna be cut for a Sorin solemn visitor. anytime I put him in it was more of me saying why not?
- I wanna make room for a 4th basic(probably a waste) but I am having a tough time cutting anything maybe a fetch?
- If I could make room for another vault of the arch angel I would
- MVP of this deck is lingering souls No ifs or buts it stalls everything out till I go over the top.
- I might cut celestial purge out for more game against tron and combo(memoricide and/or surgicals and crucibles)
Overall I am pretty happy with the deck. my 2 loses were badluck and bad play on my part probably wouldnt have lost to infect if I took out the swell over the heirarch game 1 and game 2 was SB-ing issue.
I appreciate any and all feedback this is my first post ever. sorry if I lack tags.
Here is a play report from MNM (Monday Night Magic) in a field of 42. This is my first-ever 4-0 in almost exactly one year of playing competitive Modern. (Feels pretty damn good, I have to admit.) I left before the last players finished their match, but ended up in either first or second place.
My deck as played tonight at the event (this is slightly different than my recent online testing build):
Round 1 vs. Budget Burn (2-1): He stalled at one land only in G1, and Blight Herder took the game. I was lucky here. in G2 I processed a Rift Bolt to kill a Vexing Devil with Strangler, but he won on his burn to the face. In G3 I finally saw a Rest, which put me at high enough life for my Spirit tokens (got 2.5 Lingering Souls in play this game) to swing in for the win before he could finish me off. Overall, I won this match due to good play but also a healthy dose of luck. The Burn match is one of our worst.
Round 2 vs. Jeskai Geist (2-1): He took G1 with counter spells and Bolt with me seeing zero exile effects. in G2 I sided in my Extractions and exiled all kinds of stuff. He saw Ulamog in my hand late game, and started to play around it after I landed a Blight Herder plus Scions; he even Lightning Helixed a Scion to keep me off Ulamog, IF I was able to draw a land on my next turn as he feared. Scions and Spirit swarms killed him off. In G3 I once again won riding Herder as he failed to draw enough relevant answers. This guy is an excellent player and beating him felt like an accomplishment.
Round 3 vs. a UBRG Prowess/Ferocious build (2-0): Don't know what this guy was trying to do, or how he got this far, but in game 1 on on the play, he used his first turn to fetch-->shock-->Thoughtseize, and then on T2 he went Gitaxian Probe + Thoughtseize again (!?), bringing himself down to 11 life before I could even play a spell. My hand full of Lingering Souls and targeted removal was too much for him to beat. In G2 I went T1 Inquisition, T2 Thoughtseize, T3 Thought-Knot Seer, and T4 another TKS. Not too many decks could deal with that, and he folded quickly. I was also able to use a Relic keep his Hooting Mandrills out of Delve range, though I ended the game with 2 PtE in hand anyway.
Round 4 vs. Jund (2-1): In G1 I was able to control his hand with disruption and TKS, as in the previous match, and he never got off the ground. G2 his deck did its thing perfectly while I flooded. In G3 I was able to ride a TKS and also a Smasher to victory; they provide a very fast clock on a T3/T4 sequence.
The All-Stars tonight: Lingering Souls, IoK/Thoughtseize, TKS, and Smasher. Smasher was a very serious threat, and helps to control hands with the discard-to-remove clause. TKS is an absolute BEAST in the early-to-mid game, though the draw-on-leaving clause weakens him greatly when top-decking. Strangler also did some good work. I sided out Ulamog and Sower in just about every match, and I am seriously questioning their utility, now that we have this very strong mid-game plan built around TKS, Herder, and Smasher. Sower just feels dead to me, to be honest. Ulamog is starting to feel like a sideboard option, because he sees so little play, and gets sided out in almost every match except the grindy control matchups. I had Uli in my opener a TON tonight and it sucked every single time except in the one game vs. Jeskai.
With the 2/2 Urborg/Eye split I am liking the 1-off Expedition Map and will keep it. It gets me all kinds of utility, and it (with its mate in the board) is a key part of my Tron plan, though I have not been able to test against that deck more than once or twice. Surgical Extraction feels really good in this Processor build, and I am definitely liking it as at least a 3-of in the 75.
Hardest matchups in my experience: Burn, fast mono-color aggro, Tron, combo. I have devoted my sideboard to coping with these decks, featuring lifegain, sweepers, and extraction effects. (I have also learned to hold removal against the Kiki/Resto builds, because they are the new Twin.) Most other matchups feel very winnable, many even feeling like I don't necessarily need to board.
Plans going forward: Sower is coming out altogether, even though sometimes he can be my only exiler to turn on my Herders. I'm ready to let go of Eldrazi Displacer, too. One of these guys is probably going to become a Sorin, Solemn Visitor, and the other, another TKS, Herder, or Smasher. Ulamog might be on his way to the side or even--dare I say it--out of the build altogether, though I am not so sure I am ready for that yet. The Fetid Heath is going to turn into a Wastes. I may mess around with an Oblivion Ring in place of one of the Dismembers, and I got a playset of Warping Wails to try in those slots as well. I will not be running Cavern of Souls--though I own a singleton--unless I start to encounter a lot more counterspells than I have been seeing. I am looking to fit two Timely Reinforcements into the side, in the place of one Rest for the Weary plus one of something else, for added Burn and aggro hate.
All props to the forum and the excellent advice and reporting here. Many thanks, gentlemen (and ladies).
I drop Sower and Map completely. 6 hand disruption and 6 removal spells mainboard. Oblivion Ring is a catch all answer for pesky Enchantments and Artifacts pre-board. The deck plays similar to Abzan where we try to disrupt early game and grind it out with better topend. I find BW favorable in the mirror vs BG/BR. Burn is one of the hardest match ups which I expect a lot in my meta so my SB is packed with Rest and Timely. Would it be too ambitious for us to run Kitchen Finks? Definitely a meta call, but the game 1 against aggro decks would be huge if we can MB a 2 of and play it with consistency.
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Languish is a perfectly reasonable card to play, although sometimes it gets Spell Pierced on t4/t5 and you lose. It is better than Damnation versus the decks you describe because your fat-butted x/5s can live through it, while none of their critters can. It is worse than Damnation against decks with x/5s like Abzan, although we should be kind of favorable here already. Black Sun's Zenith is absolutely not the effect we want: why would we want to make our Eldrazi permanently smaller after they survive?
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Wasteland Strangler is amazing in our worst matchups. It is the reason we stand a chance in the linear aggro metagame. People complain about burn and affinity and they want to cut Wasteland Strangler. Don't do this.
Friday FNM 69 People (yup that was a thing):
Round 1 Jeskai Control (2-1) [1-0]:
So ironically this was the EXACT same guy I faced and lost to in round 4 the previous night. The primary difference I made between Thursday Night and FNM was I used the winnings to repurchase a Cavern of Souls (I had to trade mine away to acquire all the new Eldrazi I needed) and I had taken All is Dust completely out of the 75 in favor of a Celestial Purge. Game 1 I won on the back of Cavern of Souls. Uncounterable TKS to strip a Path and then lethal him with it (and other things but that was the story of the game. Can't counter my Eldrazi? You are in for a very bad time). Game 2 I drew like crap but ground the game down extremely low (including forcing him to make a crazy 2 for 1 on Blight Herder: Helix, Keranos trigger killed the 4/5. Electrolyze and Keranos Trigger to kill the 3 tokens). Game 3 I assembled our "Nat Tron" for the first time ever and he just couldn't answer it. He tapped out to play a Keranos and it met Celestial Purge.
Round 2 RG Ton (0-2) [1-1]:
Turn 1 Game 1 I Thoughtseized him on the play. Nat Tron, 3 Karns and a Map. I take the map with a GQ in hand. I blow up one of the pieces T2 but he naturally drew a replacement.. GG. Game 2 I stuck a T2 TKS and saw that he had 1 tron piece, a Sylvan Scrying and nothing else. I still managed to lose this because he drew into the other 2 pieces of Tron and a Karn. Bad matchup and all but also terrible luck. He had to go (catch a ride or something) so he gave me the match win for prizes at the end but on my "official standings" I'm counting it as a loss.
Round 3 Junk (2-0) [2-1]:
Game 1 I just went larger and bigger like we do and crushed him pretty quickly on the back of Reality Smasher. Game 2 we almost went to time because we ended up in a topdeck war for like 8-12 turns. I hit 1 land he hit like 5. The main thing is I had a celestial purge for his Siege Rhino and then ripped a Path to Exile for his Resto Angel to restabilize the board. I then Timely Reinforcements (just for lifegain) while he bricked. Finally I topdecked Ulamog and it was gg. I had lethal onboard and he was out of outs.
Round 4 Jeskai Tempo (2-1) [3-1]:
Totally cool list. Curves out delver->stormchaser mage->Mantis Rider and between Bolt, Helix, Electrolyze, and other Tempo cards like Vapor Snag and Remand. Game 1 I managed to kill his things early and stuck a Sorin which gained me enough life to seal the game away. Game 2 he killed me by I think T3.. It was crazy fast and curved pretty well. Game 3 I managed to put to the Midgame and he miscounted my ability to tutor with eye so he used a spreading seas on my Shambling Vent. (he was worried about a crackback for lethal). I tutored a Reality Smasher and drew into a 2nd (was 1 mana short of playing it). He topdecked and seemed to have what he thought was an adequate answer to not be killed that turn so I dropped the 2nd reality smasher and he scooped.
So by prize structure (going 3-0-1 Thursday and 4-0 Friday) I got $120 in the last two big tournaments I have been to. I am still unsure about Warping Wail but I think it's earned it's spot enough. The main thing is it's versatility is proving good enough for me that I don't miss Go For the Throat or Doom Blade. There will be bad matchups for it but there are also good ones. Sorin continues to be a house in the deck and I love it in most matches I pull it. It's not always the best (example is on an empty board) but turning all our 1/1's into 2/1's has been pretty good.
On Sunday I showed up late (because apparently I can't read) to a small 20 man tournament. Taking the loss for being late. I then faced Ad Naueseum and completely punted game 3. I had TKS one Ad Nauseum and Oblivion Sower had hit another. I had disenchant which I could have left open for his Phyrexian Unlife and I could have held open mana for it but I played Lingering Souls instead. He ripped another Ad Nauseum off the top and won. Total punt on my part (first time playing against the deck). He was at 10 life and on a 2 turn clock with Oblivion Sower. I had Thoughtseized an Angel's Grace the turn before so I knew he'd have to draw into Ad Nauseum to win. Souls didn't increase the clock at all and it would have either meant he had to draw both Ad Nauseum and the Pact of Negation (he actually Sideboarded them out which I didn't realize) in order not to probably die to Ad Nauseum (because he was at 10.. this was probably boom or bust for him to try and find the win). I won't make that mistake again.
I then housed Burn in 2 games (admittedly the 2nd game was weird and awkward. He mulled to 5, I mulled to 5 . He plays Guide, I play Duress and see he had lands and an atarka command. My scry put a path on top. I take some bonus damage from my pain lands but I netted a land off guide on the swing and pathed it. He couldn't draw into enough gas to pose a serious threat though). Last round was Elves. He destroyed me game 1. Game 2 Warping Wail really showed it's power as I used a T1 Thoughtseize to rip his Coco (he had an Archdruid and an Ezuri in hand but no other gas... I had a path and warping Wail) and then I Warping Wailed his T1 mana dork. He had to waste T2 and I strangled his Ezuri Turn 4. The game wasn't close after that as I beat him into submission. Game 3 I slowly eeked out advantage when his hand barf added nothing major to the board and I cracked in with 4 Souls tokens and Reality Smasher until he was forced to chump block. In the end he just didn't have the answers. I am a bit angry I punted that Ad Nauseum match because I could have went 3-1 despite taking a 1st round loss for being late. Oh well.
Anyway, I'm going to get caught up on the other posts. Keep up the good fight gentlemen. Looked like the latest SCG Modern Classic didn't have an Eldrazi deck in it. I am sure we are gonna break through in paper one of these days though (hopefully next weekend when I am at Regionals on Saturday followed by a PPTQ on Sunday.
The Sorin is definitely a 1x of and for me it's in place of All is Dust. It helps in the same matchups (plus the bonus couple of increasing your clock against Tron and giving you a bit of gas against affinity). He is very good in any match that is trying to push your life total and relies on creatures to win. Against Zoo for example, it lets your Soul/Scions's negate most of their aggression (through lifelink and trading with x/2's) and can put your life total out of reach. If they let it get to Ult, their likelihood of winning is slim to none.
Ratchet Bomb is a little bit slower than Engineered Explosives but it makes up for it with versatility. It's great against Delver decks (remember that a flipped delver's cmc is 0. I haven't had too many issues ratcheting it up to the right level that I need. The primary things you can hit that you can't do with explosives are 3 drops. Ensnaring Bridges and Liliana as 2 example of things you want removed. Against Lantern Control you can ratchet up the bomb and sit on it until they try and get rid of it or you have lethal damage on the swing. It's really a preference call. I have liked it though. (it's also completely colorless instead of Requiring both BW in order to come down).
I find it odd that you are having mana problems as I run into almost no mana issues and I run 0 fetches. Side note.. I will also be at the SCG Regional in Seattle So I will see you there. I do like the Reality Smasher as well. He is extremely good and I'd love to find space for 1 more.
This is why I prefer to play Map. It allows me to play only 2 Eye of Ugin and 2 Urborg (letting me play an extra utility land) and then it also lets me fix bad hands. It also makes opponents GQ's worse because you can sit on it until they blow up one of your lands. If it's something you have multiples of (like Eye or Temple), you can fetch another one. It also lets you round out things for your particular matchups. Need lifegain against Burn? You can get your vents or Vault. Need that extra temple or eye to make your hand run smoothly? You can get that. Don't have a relic but are staring at a hand full of Blight Herders? Go get Bojuka Bog. Missing a color? Go get the one you need. Playing against Control and want to get around counters? Go get Cavern of Souls. It's too versatile for me to want to play without it again. Even if I draw one late game.. there is always a land I need/want to grab since it gets us to Newlamog and usually a win.
One last edit with food for thought: Anybody think of running some numbers of Bitterblossom? It's another awkward to answer threat that can be used for a supply of chump blockers against aggressive decks and continues to pour out dudes if left unchecked. With Vault and Sorin now being run in lists.. the life loss can be minor impact. Just a thought.
I am at 13 creatures, which is the absolute bare minimum I would ever consider running. (In fact it is probably too few.) I like Strangler as at least a 2-of for added removal, and I get him to hit more often than not nowadays, due to careful play. But with no exilers in hand or on the board it is very bad, and that does happen in a not-insignificant number of games.
I have 4 Relics, 2 Claws, 4 Path, 1 Surgical Extraction, and 1 Oblivion Ring main and I STILL can't get it to hit every time, because sometimes I don't draw into sufficient exile effects, and other times I can't get any cards into their yard to get started.
Honestly I think 3x Strangler has been the right number for me. I get to kill things quite often and rarely is he totally dead. Against decks where his -3/-3 isn't great.. he becomes a beater. To the shock of my opponents in the mirror match, I use him in this capacity for the most part. Most are sideboarding him out because he can't kill anything but then they lose because I dropped a T2 3/2 beat stick that starts them on a clock. With 4x Path, 2x Warping Wail, 4x Relic and 1x Bojuka Bog (with 2x Map)... I almost always can set up the -3/-3 and lead to the blowout. He is also my primary way of trading with Search for Tomorrow, Lotus Bloom and Rift Bolt. Even if he has to kill himself, he essentially counters the spell. I think I will cut down to 1 Oblivion sower, 1 Urborg and go to 3x Reality Smasher. I am starting to think we don't really need Oblivion Sower at all as long as you run Cavern of Souls and maps (like I do). Counters suck but if you get him through those.. Smasher has felt much better.
Yeah he has been fantastic. Certainly don't want a 4x anymore but the 3x I have seems to come up when I need them enough but allows me to hit better things as well (being able to kill utility creatures like Bob cannot also go understated).
It's funny but I very Rarely need to use him Turn 2. Typically T1 is discard/relic/map. If they play a dude turn 2, I will usually path it. If they drop another dude T3, it eats a strangler. If they didn't put anything relevant, you can cast souls, TKS or do other things depending on the opponent. Typically in decks that you want to strangle something turn 2, they have cracked a fetch to the yard so you can still have the option to play it T2. I also make it a point (especially game 1) to not keep hands without early interaction. Since I am running 4 path and 2 Warping Wails, chances are those get used first.
For sure..and many times situations will play out exactly as you describe. One thing I will say though is that having it online T2 as removal has made it easier for me to use my paths more proactively to ramp into a bigger play in case the need arises. There have been a few situations where I would rather not provide the fixing my opponent needs in earlier turns, or I am in need of one more mana to turn the corner.
This is where I've liked Warping Wail. It's a little more awkward to cast sometimes and situational (since the creature needs to be P or T 1 or less) but it does provide that 1 extra mana if you need it without costing you a creature in return. (Also being able to pull of Warping Wail for token, block the attacker and activate Vault of the Archangel has been sweet tech that people were not expecting.))
Side note for everyone: Something has really started to aggravate me as I try to have conversations about this deck around the internet (usually with people who don't really know the deck). I really hope folks help nip this nonsense in the but. In every conversation we get roped into the same style of deck as Tron. We are a Large Midrange deck with Complimentary Ramp. They also claim that we are a linear deck like tron. We are most certainly an interactive deck (this variant anyway). Please correct folks when you see it because all the fear mongering will do is perpetuate the stereotype that Eye of Ugin is "too good" for Modern. It really has gotten on my nerves lately because people don't think rationally about it at all. The worst offenders are usually Jund players who don't understand why their $2300 dollar deck is losing to a pile of "random standard cards". There is a serious misunderstanding around the internet about what this deck is and how it operates. IRL I haven't had too many issues. Folks who express some of the arguments, I play a few rounds with them and they see that it is just a midrange deck that operates slightly larger for increased value.
Also I am thinking about 1 map and 3 eye. I like the utility of the map, but losing the extra removal spell worries me.
There are also TKS, Sower and Bojuka Bog you can play.
Lingering Souls should be enough and faster.
Do you mind posting your updated decklist? I think I'm looking to build a deck similar to yours but with a couple changes. Thanks
3x Wasteland Strangler
3x Thought-Knot Seer
4x Blight Herder
2x Reality Smasher
2x Oblivion Sower
1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Instants (6):
4x Path to Exile
2x Warping Wail
Sorceries (8):
4x Lingering Souls
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Thoughtseize
Artifacts (6):
4x Relic of Progenitus
2x Expedition Map
Lands (25):
4x Eldrazi Temple
2x Godless Shrine
3x Cave of Koilos
2x Eye of Ugin
2x Urborg, Tomb of the Yawgmoth
3x Ghost Quarter
2x Swamp
1x Plains
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Shambling Vent
4x Marsh Flats
2x Disenchant
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Stony Silence
1x Timely Reinforcements
3x Rest For the Weary
1x Kozilek, the Great Distortion
So my modern deck got banned(bloom player) as i knew it was coming for a long time I was looking for a new deck and stumbled upon this forum built it up right after I saw it on camera early this year. Finally got the deck finished last saturday, tried goldfishing it and figured out pretty quickly it was pointless cause my hands looked like a BGX decks and so I decided to take it out for a spin.
So I played in a 96 man modern tourney last sunday finished 4-2-1 (24th last round was an ID we played it out I won) with it, not bad for absolutely 0 play testing. Can't remember much about how the games played out but I'll put what I can remember
Round 1 Abzan Won (2-0)
This deck was just straight up abzan(rhinos, mind censor, finks, discard manlands) I basically just went over the top with him on both games.
Sided out my warping wails and 1 strangler for flaying tendrils and kozilek, the great distortion. don't know if that was the right call never drew him.
Round 2 Ad naus (0-2)
game 1 -I discard him early removing his phyrexian unlife. I have him down to two and he goes of on turn 5 with an angels grace( had 1 discard spell the whole game)
game 2 - SB in stony's disenchants and surgicals side out paths and a 2 relics. i Mull to 6 he mulls to 5. I warping wail his first draw spell. I basically just never see a 3rd land so I lose to his combo
record 1-1
Round 3 Naya Burn Win(2-0)
Game 1 - I stabilize at 2 and topdeck a vault with blight herder in play and some lingering souls tokens and just swing in.
Game 2- SB out 2 sowers, ulamog, thoughtsieze 2 I forgot and Side in 3 weary, 1 timely and celestial purge. This game ends with him having 2 grim lavamancers in play with me at 5 life and he never manages to ping me coz of my active relic. MVP here were lingering tokens and wasteland strangler.
2-1
Round 4 Jeskai Geist Win (2-0)
Game 1 and Game 2 play out much the same he can't keep up with my sowers and lingering souls tokens just stall him long enough till i get to sowers. Game 1 was all about me pathing his angel tokens twice. MVP here were lingering souls blight herder and sowers.
SB was out 2 warping wail ulamog and 1 I forget. In 2 tendrils, kozilek and timely
3-1
Round 5 Infect lose (0-2)
Game 1 TUrn 1 I cast inqui he show inkmoth, lands, heirarch and ground swell. I take heirarch his turn top decks glistener elf(I path it) couple of turns later he manages to hit me to 5 infect with ground swell and inkmoth attack. turn was i TKS him he shows a blank hand. I pass he top decks ground swell I die
Game 2 I SB out 2 expedition maps and 2 sowers for 2 tendrils and Surgicals(this shouldve been stonies or disenchants) he basically plays skite I try to path it he apostle blessings it and I 2 GQ his 2 inkmoths. My strangler gets stuck in my hand and he manages to kill me with the blue infect creature coz I cant kill it with skite in play
3-2 (out of top 8)
Round 6 UW hate bears (2-1)
this was a weird deck with kytheon, flicker wisps, blade spilcers, geists, resto angels, thalia, mind censor, arbiters, vials, dryad militant
Game 1 I lose coz i did the combat math wrong with me at 10 and him having blinked his splicer over and over again. I attacked with 1 lingering soul token when i should have just stayed back.(rusty from my bloom titan days)
Game 2 SB in 2 stonies 2 disenchants 2 tendrils SB out 4 relics and 2 exped maps. This game was so much comedy during the course of the game I had trouble with exiling his stuff but I hold the board with lingering souls tokens, I managed to cast 3 herders this game 1st with process 2nd without 3rd with. The only way I even had ways to exile his stuff was coz he played a turn 1 militant that I never killed during the game coz his paths kept exiling themselves when he cast them. WE basically come into a board stall and top deck wars with me basically casting 3 lingering souls with flash blacks and him blinking his splicers over and over again eventually I win with an alpha strike when i topdecked vault.
Game 3 was basically him casting a turn 1 kytheon turn 2 thalia and turn 3 geist with me pathing his thali on turn 2 and flaying on turn 3 and i Just stomp all over him with lnggering souls tokens
4-2
ROund 7 Jeskai Geist (ID)
we played it out basically stomped the **** out of him same as what I did before lost 1 game in the 5 we played.
4-2-1
Notes
- Warping wails were mediocre. never really happy to have them and found myself SBING them out most of the games planning to change this to maybe surgicals MD(never drew surgicals so couldnt see how well it plays but I played against my friend's tron and HE STOMPED THE **** OUT OF ME I never felt like I could with that matchup any tips on tron?)
- Kozilek is gonna be cut for a Sorin solemn visitor. anytime I put him in it was more of me saying why not?
- I wanna make room for a 4th basic(probably a waste) but I am having a tough time cutting anything maybe a fetch?
- If I could make room for another vault of the arch angel I would
- MVP of this deck is lingering souls No ifs or buts it stalls everything out till I go over the top.
- I might cut celestial purge out for more game against tron and combo(memoricide and/or surgicals and crucibles)
Overall I am pretty happy with the deck. my 2 loses were badluck and bad play on my part probably wouldnt have lost to infect if I took out the swell over the heirarch game 1 and game 2 was SB-ing issue.
I appreciate any and all feedback this is my first post ever. sorry if I lack tags.
My deck as played tonight at the event (this is slightly different than my recent online testing build):
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Caves of Koilos
3 Marsh Flats
2 Godless Shrine
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Eye of Ugin
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Fetid Heath
1 Vault of the Archangel
CREATURE (13):
3 Blight Herder
3 Wasteland Strangler
2 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Reality Smasher
1 Eldrazi Displacer
1 Oblivion Sower
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
4 Lingering Souls
3 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
INSTANT (7):
4 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
1 Surgical Extraction
ARTIFACT (7):
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Scrabbling Claws
1 Expedition Map
3 Rest for the Weary
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Stony Silence
2 Damnation
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Disenchant
1 Expedition Map
Round 2 vs. Jeskai Geist (2-1): He took G1 with counter spells and Bolt with me seeing zero exile effects. in G2 I sided in my Extractions and exiled all kinds of stuff. He saw Ulamog in my hand late game, and started to play around it after I landed a Blight Herder plus Scions; he even Lightning Helixed a Scion to keep me off Ulamog, IF I was able to draw a land on my next turn as he feared. Scions and Spirit swarms killed him off. In G3 I once again won riding Herder as he failed to draw enough relevant answers. This guy is an excellent player and beating him felt like an accomplishment.
Round 3 vs. a UBRG Prowess/Ferocious build (2-0): Don't know what this guy was trying to do, or how he got this far, but in game 1 on on the play, he used his first turn to fetch-->shock-->Thoughtseize, and then on T2 he went Gitaxian Probe + Thoughtseize again (!?), bringing himself down to 11 life before I could even play a spell. My hand full of Lingering Souls and targeted removal was too much for him to beat. In G2 I went T1 Inquisition, T2 Thoughtseize, T3 Thought-Knot Seer, and T4 another TKS. Not too many decks could deal with that, and he folded quickly. I was also able to use a Relic keep his Hooting Mandrills out of Delve range, though I ended the game with 2 PtE in hand anyway.
Round 4 vs. Jund (2-1): In G1 I was able to control his hand with disruption and TKS, as in the previous match, and he never got off the ground. G2 his deck did its thing perfectly while I flooded. In G3 I was able to ride a TKS and also a Smasher to victory; they provide a very fast clock on a T3/T4 sequence.
The All-Stars tonight: Lingering Souls, IoK/Thoughtseize, TKS, and Smasher. Smasher was a very serious threat, and helps to control hands with the discard-to-remove clause. TKS is an absolute BEAST in the early-to-mid game, though the draw-on-leaving clause weakens him greatly when top-decking. Strangler also did some good work. I sided out Ulamog and Sower in just about every match, and I am seriously questioning their utility, now that we have this very strong mid-game plan built around TKS, Herder, and Smasher. Sower just feels dead to me, to be honest. Ulamog is starting to feel like a sideboard option, because he sees so little play, and gets sided out in almost every match except the grindy control matchups. I had Uli in my opener a TON tonight and it sucked every single time except in the one game vs. Jeskai.
With the 2/2 Urborg/Eye split I am liking the 1-off Expedition Map and will keep it. It gets me all kinds of utility, and it (with its mate in the board) is a key part of my Tron plan, though I have not been able to test against that deck more than once or twice. Surgical Extraction feels really good in this Processor build, and I am definitely liking it as at least a 3-of in the 75.
Hardest matchups in my experience: Burn, fast mono-color aggro, Tron, combo. I have devoted my sideboard to coping with these decks, featuring lifegain, sweepers, and extraction effects. (I have also learned to hold removal against the Kiki/Resto builds, because they are the new Twin.) Most other matchups feel very winnable, many even feeling like I don't necessarily need to board.
Plans going forward: Sower is coming out altogether, even though sometimes he can be my only exiler to turn on my Herders. I'm ready to let go of Eldrazi Displacer, too. One of these guys is probably going to become a Sorin, Solemn Visitor, and the other, another TKS, Herder, or Smasher. Ulamog might be on his way to the side or even--dare I say it--out of the build altogether, though I am not so sure I am ready for that yet. The Fetid Heath is going to turn into a Wastes. I may mess around with an Oblivion Ring in place of one of the Dismembers, and I got a playset of Warping Wails to try in those slots as well. I will not be running Cavern of Souls--though I own a singleton--unless I start to encounter a lot more counterspells than I have been seeing. I am looking to fit two Timely Reinforcements into the side, in the place of one Rest for the Weary plus one of something else, for added Burn and aggro hate.
All props to the forum and the excellent advice and reporting here. Many thanks, gentlemen (and ladies).
Congrats on the excellent finish and thanks for sharing detailed reports!
I am going on a small tournament next weekend with this deck. Here is my list:
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Marsh Flats
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Eye of Ugin
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Godles Shrine
2 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Shambling Vent
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Thougt-Knot Seer
3 Blight Herder
3 Reality Smasher
3 Wasteland Strangler
1 Ulamog, The Ceaseless Hunger
21 Spells
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughseize
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Dismember
1 Oblivion Ring
3 Rest for the Weary
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Stony Silence
2 Disenchant
2 Celestial Purge
2 Surgical Extraction
1 All is Dust
1 Spellskite