MTG Salvation

Quote from JovianHomarid »

I would perhaps have thought that we'd get the "Announcing: Magic 2016" (Or Magic Origins or whatever the last core set is going to be called).

Magic 2015 was announced on Jan. 6th 2014, and M2014 and M2013 were also spoiled first week of January. So it is about time.

Perhaps we will get something at the Pro Tour?

We usually get some good announcements at PT's. I'm hopeful

Quote from Elder_MMHS »

No mentions of Jeskai Sage for post-FRF builds? When I saw this card spoiled, I immediately thought that this was the missing 2CMC draw spell U/x Control builds needed. That it comes in the form of the creature gives it extra value as a chump blocker at the cost of being a "Sorcery." It doesn't help the deck on the draw and limits the utility of Nullify and Raise the Alarm in the early turns but I think it's worth evaluating the trade-offs.

I'd also look hard at the Refocus/Pressure Point cantrip duo as well (likely Pressure Point in U/W Control since it taps down an attacker).

I can see the potential with Jeskai Sage. If we had really good ways of making it at least a 2/2 on turn 3 to trade (or threaten the trade) with Rabblemaster. Is it better than Omenspeaker? Possibly. Omenspeaker just clogs the ground and eats tokens, though the Scry 2 is meh. if we had a really good (or playable) 1/2 cost cantrip that would make Sage better.

I'm personally not a fan of the tap your guy spell. You're playing it to draw a card, i'd rather just play a real card in it's place. You're literally playing it to cycle, and MAYBE gain a little life.

Quote from Tradewind Rider BM »

Hey jball_2k,

First of all, and as i stated before, im also moving to black for the removal, its just awesome. I agree with you on Banishing Light, but for a straight UW its the best we have.
Looking at your list, my personal opinion is this:

1. Murderous Cut. I would cut (heh) the number to 1 max. the reason for this is that i think Dig is the best card in the deck and im never (like... ever) sad to draw it. 5 Delve cards is a bit, even with 7 fetches, but its worth a try.

2. Divination. I dislike the card, same way you dislike Banishing, but thats probably just me.

3. I think you have too many counters. 10 for me is the absolute max, worse since you run divination and most likely tapping out on turn 3 some games, at least if you use it to not miss lands drops, which i think its its main use and the only really advantage of the card IMO. Also, i think you are dispersing your counters a but too much. Im a strong support of Negate, love it and always will, and i cant think of a creature costing 4+ that you have to counter and cant just kill EoT (prob a Rhino or some other big creature with an immediate CiP effect).

4. Too many Tap lands. 11 Temples is... A LOT. I never played so many and dont get why so many ppl do so. You already have enough card draw, paired with a couple scry lands, and i think thats enough to draw what you want.

5. Playing Pearl Lake without fountains is not very good i think. I already dislike Pearl aside for control matchups (reason why i board it), and without the interaction it loses even more interest for me. Also, fountains are the only life gain you had, and you need it. I would consider a couple of Sorin at least if you take out the fountains.

Best of luck in the Pre-TQ

1. Surprisingly enough, I rarely have issues not having enough cards to delve. I can see cutting one, and then I would be able to reduce the scry lands (that have black) and add more basics.

2. You and I are the same page about Divination. It's a necessary evil, and we just don't have any other options... I'd kill for a Think Twice in this format

3. Yeah it is a LOT of counters. I like having the diversity. Jeskai Tokens and Abzan make up probably 75% of my meta. They never play around Negate game 1, and it hits a LOT. Having something that can counter a Abzan Charm/Read the Bones while I'm on the draw just feels really good. Obviously Tokens is very vulnerable to Negate. If I remove any counter, it would be Nullify. I feel it's a fine card, but it might be a little too specialized. The Dissipate is pretty much Dissolve #5. Everyone always has Dissolve on their radar, as they should. When they see 2-3 Dissolves in the GY, they are less likely to play around it. Dissipate just gets them. The Exile CAN have some affect with Whip being pretty prevalent.

4. I do not want to lose games by not being able to find my third color. Having 7 Fetches, 5 Islands, 2 Plains, and 1 Swamp is a lot of untapped sources. It's really rare I can't Nullify on turn 2. Like I mentioned with Cut in point 1, I could reduce the number of Black sources by a very small amount to add a couple more basics.

5. Pearl lake is just a card that wins. Every game I get it online, I win. I don't think the bouncing of life gain lands is that relevant for me. I've got more removal than a traditional UW deck to prevent me from getting too low. There are situations where it is beneficial though, with 3 colors I cannot run Fountain though.

I am also considering sleeving up Andrew Cuneo's top 32 list from GP Denver. I actually saw him playing a list VERY similar to mine, which is what I based mine around. At the GP though he played Jeskai Control. This is the list he did in a Daily a few days ago before the GP. I am pretty sure this is what he played at the GP, but there could be slight modifications. I'm a huge fan of Mr. Cuneo, and he's a GREAT Control player... though he does like to durdle a lot Jeskai Control

Thanks for the comments. I really do appreciate the feedback!

I've been on UW Control for a few weeks, and I really do like Jim Davis' list. Obviously he's an above average player, but his deck is really good.

After playing his list a bit, I REALLY dislike Banishing Light. As in, I hate it... and I just don't want it in my deck. The card is strong, but it gets hit by every other decks Enchantment hate. I know it would not be considered UW, but I've splashed Black for a change.

Now I don't really consider this Esper, as Esper lists are pretty heavy into Black and much less so on White. I'm splashing Black for Utter End, and Murderous Cut. Utter End x3 has been great for me, it does cost one more but it is an instant. Murderous Cut x2 has been fine, I love having a cheap way to interact with Stormbreath Dragon. You don't always need to delve this to the max. Casting it for 3 is really reasonable, as you're still running DTT.

Now this does mess with the mana base. No more Radiant Fountains, but you gain access to more Fetches and Scry Lands.

This is what I've been playing:



I have a Pre-TQ coming up, and I think this is what I'm going to go with. I'm looking for some feedback from other control players

Thanks!

Quote from Throst54 »

Quote from iostream »

Has anyone tried Tombstalker in these flex creature slots? Seems like it would be good now that we don't run Bob.

I havent yet, but with how popular delver is I'd really hate to walk into remand or vapor snag with it. Those two cards are already really good against us, probably dont want to make them better.
If anything, its probably better to just play sigarda, as we dont fill up our yard fast enough to warrant casting him till turn 4-5 anyways

Quote from Throst54 »

I played against UR delver today in two rounds with a pretty default list. The only main things of note were 2 Bob, 2 Courser, and 2 Rhino.

Courser was amazing against swiftspear. Liliana did a ridiculous amount of work wherever she came down.
IMO Finks is better against burn for immediate lifegain, courser is better against delver where they arent quite as explosive and you can gain card some incremental card advantage. Moreover, with courser you generally take less damage with bob out because of being able to play with fetch lands.

I want anafenza to be good, but I hate the interaction with scooze and the lack of card advantage. Atleast finks needs 2 removal spells and courser filters. Especially for the decks not running bob, anything that can create two for ones is really important.


One of the delver players cruised 3 times in one game, and with courser+lily i was able to keep up just fine. Them playing only 1-2 snaps is actually a huge boon for us

I love Sigarda. She is just so hard to deal with, and can end the game very quickly. Thrun is another great creature I've considered.

Anafenza is a really great magic card, but I think I would run Finks or even Smiter over it. Smiter would be better in the mirror (Liliana) and just cannot be countered. I just could not get behind Courser in Jund, and it was better in Jund since we had main deck Anger of the Gods. It's just so slow, and sometimes the advantage it creates is too little or too slow. In a grinder match up, it gets better though.

In Edel's deck tech he did mention replacing Fulminator in the main with Courser or Finks. Personally I wasn't impressed by Courser in Jund at all, and I am going to try Finks in his list instead. It would be better in a field of UR decks.

Quote from Adun_Oakenshield »

Quote from jball_2k »

I'm surprised you're playing 4x Path to Exile. It's obviously a great removal spell as we all know, but it seems kind of counter intuitive to what we're trying to do with Tectonic Edge and Fulminator. Sometimes being able to cut a player off a specific color of mana can be crippling. Ramping them with Path just doesn't seem great, but I am inexperienced with this deck as of now.

I do like Drown in Sorrow. Normally playing Red I have access to Ancient Grudge, Radkos Charm or even Shatterstorm. Does Drown perform well in the Affinity match, or do you just rely on Lingering Souls to slow them down?

I know it seems counter intuitive, but in the practice it is not (at least for me). Now decks don't carry 4 Tectonic Edge anymore. With only 1/2 in the deck, it is quite difficult to play a mana denial strategy systematically. Ocasionally, you'll be able to take coloued mana to clog the opponent, but not normally (as you don't carry 4 tectonic edge anymore, only 1/2). Plus, the top tier decks right now are inmune to that mana denial strategy (say Delver, Burn, Affinity). The main reason why I'm carrying the tectonics right now is not for taking coloured mana (although sometimes can be), but for taking things such as Manlands (Mirror and Affinity), Gavony Township (which wins you on its own), Tron lands, utility lands (like Desolate Lighthouse), etc. PtE is the best removal available in modern IMO. It can't be played on turns 1/2 (unless huge necessity, like against a Dark Confidant or Young Pyromancer T2), but from turn 3 to the end of the game, it is the best removal you can have or draw.

Drown in Sorrow is awesome. I started playing 2, then went to 3, now I'm using the full playset. It's the best way to win Delver and Affinity matchups. It's also very good against Pod, Hatebears, Merfolk, Burn, Faeries, Tokens, etc. Against Aff it's awesome, as it is one of the few cards that can kill their biggest threat to us: Etched Champion. Drown in sorrow to clean the table, then Path/Fulminate his lands and done. Golgari charm is nuts against aff too.

Thanks for your insight. I do agree that Path to Exile is insane, just wasn't sure if that's what we needed to be doing. I can't discount it without trying it, which I am going to need to do for myself. Glad it's working for you though.

I'm surprised you're playing 4x Path to Exile. It's obviously a great removal spell as we all know, but it seems kind of counter intuitive to what we're trying to do with Tectonic Edge and Fulminator. Sometimes being able to cut a player off a specific color of mana can be crippling. Ramping them with Path just doesn't seem great, but I am inexperienced with this deck as of now.

I do like Drown in Sorrow. Normally playing Red I have access to Ancient Grudge, Radkos Charm or even Shatterstorm. Does Drown perform well in the Affinity match, or do you just rely on Lingering Souls to slow them down?

Former Jund player making the change to Abzan. I'm shocked to still BGx players are still running Dark Confidant. It just seems so bad right now in a meta full of U/R Delver. Obviously Dark Confidant is a very powerful card, but you're just giving them a great target for their burn spells.

I really liked Willy Edel's list aside from the 4x Liliana of the Veil main. I'm thinking 3x is the sweet spot with the fourth in the board. I remember seeing a game he played on camera with 3x Liliana in his hand at once... ouch. Siege Rhino just seems like a house though.

Quote from selith69 »

Watch our deck PLAY!

http://www.starcitygames.com/article/29412_BBD-VS-CVM-Sultai-Control-VS-Mardu-Planeswalkers.html

This is pretty close to what I've been running, I've not seen this video... but I love BUG Walkers. I run 1x Jace now though, and I've been impressed. He filters the draws, and feeds Delve VERY well. I've gotten him to Ultimate quite often as well. Being able to bounce something is relevant too.

Quote from Tapped Out »

I would like to submit the following two cards for discussion:

As for Clever Impersonator...hmm. It's a card that's hard to assess in a blind meta. The card could be very powerful or it could be very bad. It would be really nice to clone the big wincons that we will undoubtedly soon have to face. Cloning PW's might also be pretty cool. I feel like this card is being somewhat overlooked and I'd love to hear other folks' evaluation of it.

I think it belongs in the SB for sure. I've tested it in the main as a one of, and it's been mediocre. Sometimes I would rather use my mana in other ways, and it rots in my hand for several turns. I think the card is powerful, but I'm not sure if we want it in the main deck.

Quote from dogtown01 »

Creatures (11)
3 Prognostic Sphinx
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix

Planeswalkers (9)
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
3 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2 Nissa, WorldWaker

Spells (16)
4 Bile Blight
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Sultai Charm
4 Thoughtseize
1 Murderous Cut

Lands (24)
5 Forest
1 Island
4 Swamp
1 Opulent Palace
4 Polluted Delta
4 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Mystery
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard
4 Despise
2 Ulcerate
3 Drown in Sorrow
4 Pharika's Cure
2 Clever Impersonator

This is something I'm kind of leaning towards. I saw Shaheen Soorani's article about Sultai the other day, and it looks like a great starting point. I was a huge fan of his Esper Walkers deck from Innistrad/RtR Standard, and had a lot of success with it. This list looks quite close to his, though I'm not sure how refined his list is.


Edit: Here's the article. http://www.starcitygames.com/article/29339_Sultai-Is-The-New-Esper.html

Quote from Brentane »

Do we really need Gaea's Cradle? Every time I've played the deck, I can't find a situation where I require it. I'd prefer to stay away from the Cradle as it is too expensive for what it actually is.

I've been playing Elves for a little while now, and I'll never run less than 4. It's a very expensive card because it's broken.

I get so excited when i can tap Cradle for 4-5, play another one and do it again.

Quote from Darth Squirtle »

Quick Question.

I'm missing 3 NO before being able to play elves but was just wondering why chord of Calling isn't used?

We're already tapping our creatures for Heritage Druid, using DRS, Llanowar Elf (1 of) for mana. GSZ is just better, and can be used on T1 to get a Dryad Arbor.

We really can't make any cuts for Chord.

Quote from EdgeOfUniverse »

Hi guys, I have been piloting Jund for about 3 months now, and I would say the results are quite good, but not too fantastic.

with reference to the KTK spoilers, do you think that Sarkhan would be a one off in the deck?

Looking to have constructive feedback on this one. Aside to this, lots of testing needs to be done first.

Sarkhan is a sweet card, no doubt very powerful. I can't see him being played in Modern Jund though. He's a little expensive, and I'd rather play Thrun over him. He will have a home in Standard, but I don't think so in Modern. Imagine flipping him off a Bob... ouch. At least with Batterskull you can regain that life.