We got different views Esper neeeds to land drop every turn till 6/7 turn.
EW is "online" on the 5th turn when either kessig/gavony are online too.
Ghost Quartering a land before the 4th turn means that you are loosing 1 mana and your opponent doesn't wich is usually more important to us than for a midrange/aggro player (Jund will be always mana ahead since farseeks/keyrunes/mana dorks) and (we are in the competitive section right? :tongue:) you are fetching the opponent's deck for a 1/40.
Not sure when I said I was playing the deck in a way that didn't involve hitting lands every turn, and if we are in the competitive section, which jund lists are you referring to? Keyrune, from what I've seen lately, has been a 1of if any at all are run. As for arbor elf, that's quite a rarity in itself for jund to use that. Some other things: why would you use GQ t4, aside from dispatching a cavern? Also, the important side effect of using either is the same. You're losing a land regardless; the question really is do you want to do something marginal in keeping them off a potential basic land, or have multiple plays the same turn while hitting a key land. Tapping a bunch of lands and refraining from playing spells just won't cut it a majority of the time, possibly why drown has seen a slight decline.
I see. While the emblem/riot control situation sounds narrow as usually tamiyo emblem is game with even just a single spell in hand, it sounds like maybe you have a fair amount of aggro in your meta if it is that effective, so if it works for you I can't argue with results. On another note, I was looking over your list again, and I'm wondering how important do you feel your 4th Azorius Charm is? Most lists I'm seeing now have cut down to 3, some even 2(which i feel 2 is too low) because of the rise of creatures like voice of resurgence and mainly just value creatures that you wouldn't even want to put on top of your opponent's library, such as thragtusk, resto angel, haste creatures, etc. I was running 4 charms for a long time, until eventually I was finding myself using them to cycle most of the time (which other cards can do better), so I've cut to 3 and I like what the extra spot has freed up for my deck, so maybe that's a possibility for you. I know you said you're pretty set on the main deck, but just a suggestion. It might make room for the extra spot removal i suggested.
Much like I was saying before I have it at 4 because its flexible, and is one of the few cards that's never really dead in any match up. That isn't to say cards that are better in certain situations can't be used, I would just rather have the consistency. For example, I remember when I used to run warped physique. Sometimes it was nuts, other times it made me lose (oddly enough az charm would have kept those games going). The biggest value cards in the deck will always be verdict (or w.e boardwipe) and sphinx. The way I play fits very well into these two cards. I've often used far t2 just to bounce a strangleroot geist just to force the opponent to over commit to the board to catch up, and by that point souls or walkers buying yet more time eventually leads to devastating wipes (like 5 for 1) and huge sphinxes (for 7-8). In the early stages my list either plays draw go, or tempos out my opponent the first few turns just to blow them out later. It plays both styles quite well, probably because of the 4 charms giving me more options. At worst against voice you blank some damage, they get a token, might take a few next turn and if they replay it its basically just favoring you at that point since you just want to build lands up. Granted I haven't gone against too many decks lately with voice (just bant hexproof, but thats an extremely favorable match up anyway) but even when I was running 4 charms then it still wasn't the worst thing. It also always hits tokens, mainly advent, and I can't even tell you how many times Ive charmed my opponents last threat 3 times in a row. If my meta stays the same then I think my last shall too, but if Voice gets popular again, perhaps I'll have to change it up.
The main thing I see is the 2 Riot Control. I think they should be replaced with perhaps additional spot removal, as your maindeck only looks to have 3 pieces of spot removal, 5 if you include the d-spheres. How effective have the Riot Controls really been for you? If not replaced with spot removal, maybe try feeling of dread instead.
I used to run more removal, but switched backed to running some number of souls and relied more on my board wipes for a lot of value rather than 1 for 1ing with no real value. Much like souls, it can buy a crucial turn and usually buys two to find a wipe or whatever is needed. It also just snowballs with sphinx and when your opponent thought they had you that turn they now have to deal with however large the sphinx was plus the timewalk with riot control (usually gains some life as well, which is usually very relevant). It also counters a burn spell which again can be very relevant. I've also been in a few situations where I was holding riot control with a Tamiyo emblem and plenty of mana against aggro/midrange, basically making it impossible for your opponent to win. In all its just something to potentially do on turn 3, which Ive also done quite often to keep some pressure off. I tend to like as many options as possible, basically why I run more flex cards rather than dedicated, situational cards. Not having any dead cards mb (largely) is what I believe has made the difference. Of course, riot control is in the sb so certainly it is in no way "essential." But I like it and its been working for me, so I will likely continue to do so until something changes.
I prefer the draw/go version especially in an Aggro enviroment . By the way my only suggestion is Encroaching Wastes instead of the Ghost Quarter (or a 1/1 split).
I'm not too keen on have to leave 5 mana to kill a land. Sure they wont get a basic but it tends to be incredibly irrelevant when you kill muta, kessig, drown, gavony etc etc etc, for leaving simply one land up, giving far more options when it comes to mapping out lines of play turn by turn, something you sometimes cant have with wastes. I can see it replacing GQ post rotation, but for now as I emphasized with Denjiki the deck needs to be versatile. Tapping 5 lands to kill a vault versus GQ that land, flash sc to get charm/doomblade or w.e else answers 3 threats rather than 1, all for the same amount of mana. Of course that's just one example but you get the idea. For now, using an entire turn to kill a land just wont cut it.
Been awhile since I've posted anything but I wanted to share my list as I've been having a fair amount of success, 10-0 I believe this month in a few events against serious players:
I believe I placed second tonight with the same list a few pages back; if I have time I'll type a brief report. If I was to make any changes to my list it would probably be adding some more counters/duress somewhere in the 75.
If the board is empty, AoT is the greatest threat you can have as control at the moment. Control wins strictly through card advantage (which is the means of establishing control -- I recently refound the classic article on the topic here. If you've never read it, you should). Jace is recuring card draw. If he ultimates, it's probably game over for the other player.
Tamiyo is nice on an empty field, but when that happens, she isn't very relevant until she ultimates. Sorin is great because like jace, he's always relevant (the field's not empty when he's in town). I like Liliana, but I don't uptick her very much. If you miss your draw spells, she strips you of answers or land drops while most aggro players in topdeck mode don't keep too many cards in hand and start dropping them immediately if she's on the field.
I do hope they reprint Jace Beleren in M14 (they've already indicated they are printing one of the jaces) as he would be an instant 2-3 of in my deck.
I don't think I phrased this correctly, as what I was trying to get at is multiple walkers on your side can be pretty hard for an opponent to deal with and the gained advantage alone is often just too much to come back from. When I said alone I meant specifically the esper side of the board. If AoT is on board with a few opposing creatures, it may just buy you a turn if everything goes to him (not bad of course, but not the best situation to be in). Of course playing AoT to simply bait away some damage is never going to be the ideal use of the card. But unlike AoT, It is much more complicated to take out Sorin, Tamiyo and sometimes Lili simply because they can physically interact with the board, giving your opponent more narrow lines of play that require more commitment. With AoT, its usually going to be focused down instantly, or you're at a low enough life total to where he isn't even a threat if they can close the game out before multiple mini fact or fictions.
tl;dr: Since Jace AoT's interaction with the opponent is so small, all choices are still open. However with more interactive walkers, the opponent is restricted to making more dedicated lines of play, usually buying multiple turns rather than the usual one turn AoT does if the opposing side of the board is fairly threatening. Of course to offset this, AoT grants actual card advantage while the walkers typically do not.
I'm guessing that there's bigger rancor problems where you play.
^ that alone is the reason I dont run too many walkers, they just die to fast to any one creature while the rest are aimed at my life. So if the first Sorin dies and I still took a notable amount of damage, I highly doubt a second Sorin is the go to play. I really wasn't to upset to only run 1 of each walker in my list either as they were never dead cards in hand, unlike multiples of the same walker in hand.
On the topic of Liliana I would prefer her over Jace, AoT as a singleton simply because AoT is in my experience the least threatening to have alone on board (comparing to Tamiyo, Sorin, Jace MA and ofc Liliana).
Here's a critique (take it as you will). I really like the connections idea, but you need lifegain. Consider playing 3 cryptic incursion instead of the cremates, they will hit more GY targets and more importantly, they will gain you enough life to continue using connections.
Blind obedience is a great card and it's extort works wonders, but unless you're going more aggressive or tempo, you lose half of it's effects (no blockers). More lingering souls would help here (so would a second sorin).
@sasky
o-ring can target o-rings and is easier on the manabase (though I don't think that's an issue). With d-sphere being fairly inexpensive, I doubt money was the issue. Having run 2 sorin and 2 architect, I can't say that I've had poor draws as a result. Tokens do make a great win condition (and much better stall/removal) as long as you get that first -2 on sorin.
As I mentioned the connection can easily be another sphinx, the question is really how long do I want to wait for Sphinx to drop in price.
Two problems with mb incursion: 3 cmc and creatures only. I can't begin to tell you how many rancors and undying creatures I dealt with for 1 single black, something incursion just can't do fast enough. I can see potentially one incursion being in the mb, however the deck needs to be more flexible now then ever because of how poorly positioned it is right now, and more often than not crypt is simply a stall tactic against everything but junk. In one of my earlier games yesterday on turn 6 I warped a double rancored smiter at his end step and cremated one rancor, flashed in sc and got rid of the other rancor, while sticking a creature to his empty board and on top of that drawing two cards. With incursion instead of the cremate I would gain 3 life...? I thought cremate was narrow when I tried it, but it was probably one of the better cards in the deck that day, while incursions in that slot would have been miserable. If I was to try and make a similar play as I outlined I would need an additional 4 mana; just not good at all.
As for blind I will likely continue to run it to help ensure my walkers dont die to haste creatures the following turn I cast them. Its also quite nice with tamiyo, but because its effectiveness is so narrow, 1 is all I would ever run until I feel one or both of the prior benefits are no longer applicable.
Ive never had a problem with needing more souls, and it was more than enough to make two 1/1s on 4 separate occasions in the games I saw them. Adding more would just feel far too clunky, and souls can be incredibly hit or miss. I would say the same of the walkers; if Sorin bites it the turn after hes played, I really doubt I would want to follow that up with another Sorin.
tl;dr: I thank you for your thoughts on the list, although as far as what I wanted to accomplish with my particular list the suggested changes (while they may seem minor) would alter that entirely. I built the deck to be flexible, and it accomplished just that. Though I wouldn't be to heartbroken taking out Blind and Connection for more optimal spells (those are likely the weakest of the 75).
A few things may look questionable, but cremate instead of think twice worked better than I ever thought it would. The Connections can easily be another sphinx (when I get around to it I suppose), and Blind could likely be something else but one hasn't hindered me. Of all the games I only won once with Drownyard, glad I only used two, and never needed to bring in Ætherling. Anyways like I said before I'm pretty happy with the list as I can't complain with the results I got.
I'll add on to this later as its quite late but I was quite successful at my stores Invitational Qualifier for Scg today and managed to make to the final and split the top prize (Wasn't too interested in the invitation, as I can rarely make those anyway). If I have time I may do a brief report but being my first cash prize tournament I was quite pleased.
Well after growing tired of drownyard I decided to throw a list together of just UW. Just goldfishing I like the deck much more already but this is very much a work in progress.
I do have a sb but I'd rather concentrate on the mb first. And currently the reasoning for Precinct Captain is because of how much my meta has become undying, haste, rancor aggro... but with the inclusion of captain in places where spot removal might be, that problem should be taken care of. The only other thing that likely stands out are the artifacts. Essentially I've replaced Think Twice with Prism so that I can have a very small splash with turn // burn (or possibly something else). Trading post is very much a test card, which will likely get better in the coming months. And finally Staff of Nin is just another test card im trying, could probably be another Sphinx though.
All that said, I would appreciate any and all thoughts on other cards that could be splashed as well as any advice. Keep in mind again this list is for a primarily aggro heavy meta, and if I were to go to a larger tournament Captain and a few other cards would not likely be in the list. Thanks.
I didn't say it was a bad play, I just said it seemed less ideal. With that line of play your also only swinging with one creature on turn 3, which also seems less ideal. I don't want to get ahead of myself though and act as though I'm an expert on the deck or even the format, and rather I'm trying to get a basic understanding of how this deck sits currently.
Aquitect's Will
Pros:
1. Not a permanent that can be destroyed
2. Permanently gives islandwalk
3. Can be used with Merrow Reejery to tap/untap a permanent for free.
Cons:
1. Doesn't change the land type
1a. Doesn't slow down or affect opponent's play
Spreading Seas
Pros:
1. Disrupts opponents manabase
2. Can seriously harm Tron/Scapeshift with a timely enchantment.
Cons:
1. Can be destroyed
Overall, the way I look at it is this: I personally play Spreading Seas and this is because of the momentum against many decks that it gives you and takes from the opponent. Merfolk is a Midrange deck, it craves turn 4-6 and Spreading Seas slows down the opponent giving you an opportunity to race a little bit better. I think there are situations where you're going to wish that you had Aquitect's Will in your hand, but I've found that on a more constant basis I'm preferring that I had the opportunity to disrupt my opponent. The disruption power makes it worth the cons in my opinion since that weighs so heavily on my playstyle.
Edit: To answer your concern about tapping out to play it T2 when there are better plays, your dream play would probably play out with T1 vial into t2 curcatcher that can't attack that turn anyways and will also delay potential spells another turn so the momentum that you gain is truly high. Obviously not all plays are perfect like this and that's why people run both and there's discussion on it. If you find that one is superior over the other for your playstyle and meta, then go with what you have found to be stronger. I don't see a reason to run both.
The difference in mana cost was really what made me even look back at the card, however I suppose that's mitigated by requiring a merfolk to be on board to get the full effect. If I had everything ready to go and put together I would certainly run one or the other, depending on the meta in my area. But if I were to run tec edge, which I probably will want to, sea would certainly be the way to go.
I've been struggling a lot with consistency. I'm considering River Guide, but he just really doesn't seem very good. Harm's Way is new and I love it, but maybe not worth 4-of. I'm also trying to refine the counter magic. Merfolk, to me, has always been about tempo. Remand seems the best tempo counter out there. But, I'm getting more and more frustrated with the simple delaying of threats. Maybe I need to just go back to the old Mana Leak.
Spell snare might be worth a try depending on your meta.
It isn't used because it is "in addition to its other types" whereas Spreading Seas just makes the land an Island. Outside of Islandwalk, Aquitects can only ever help a player. Spreading Seas on the other hand can mess up decks with color intensive manabases or Tron
I guess I wasn't focusing on the pseudo land destruction and more just getting an island on the other side, which I guess is why I even thought about Aquitect. Granted I have yet to even gold fish with the deck or playtest on whats left of cockatrice but t2 spreading seas just doesn't seem like a strong play since everything else you could play t2 is just that much better. But given the numbers in the deck that shouldn't be the only option most of the time anyway. I am surprised though to see more than a few lists with no tec edges. These would surely be better answers to tron, man lands and nonbasics in general would they not? Personally I'd still run both a card like sea, if not sea itself, and tec edge.
Hello all, I may invest in this deck in the coming month as it will allow to use my vaults and was just wondering if anyone had tried Aquitect's Will in place of Sea. Forgive me if its just a bad card, as I generally am unsure what excels in the deck and can't be replaced and what is just unnecessary. It doesn't seem terrible on paper, essentially why I am asking, but thoughts?
Not sure when I said I was playing the deck in a way that didn't involve hitting lands every turn, and if we are in the competitive section, which jund lists are you referring to? Keyrune, from what I've seen lately, has been a 1of if any at all are run. As for arbor elf, that's quite a rarity in itself for jund to use that. Some other things: why would you use GQ t4, aside from dispatching a cavern? Also, the important side effect of using either is the same. You're losing a land regardless; the question really is do you want to do something marginal in keeping them off a potential basic land, or have multiple plays the same turn while hitting a key land. Tapping a bunch of lands and refraining from playing spells just won't cut it a majority of the time, possibly why drown has seen a slight decline.
Much like I was saying before I have it at 4 because its flexible, and is one of the few cards that's never really dead in any match up. That isn't to say cards that are better in certain situations can't be used, I would just rather have the consistency. For example, I remember when I used to run warped physique. Sometimes it was nuts, other times it made me lose (oddly enough az charm would have kept those games going). The biggest value cards in the deck will always be verdict (or w.e boardwipe) and sphinx. The way I play fits very well into these two cards. I've often used far t2 just to bounce a strangleroot geist just to force the opponent to over commit to the board to catch up, and by that point souls or walkers buying yet more time eventually leads to devastating wipes (like 5 for 1) and huge sphinxes (for 7-8). In the early stages my list either plays draw go, or tempos out my opponent the first few turns just to blow them out later. It plays both styles quite well, probably because of the 4 charms giving me more options. At worst against voice you blank some damage, they get a token, might take a few next turn and if they replay it its basically just favoring you at that point since you just want to build lands up. Granted I haven't gone against too many decks lately with voice (just bant hexproof, but thats an extremely favorable match up anyway) but even when I was running 4 charms then it still wasn't the worst thing. It also always hits tokens, mainly advent, and I can't even tell you how many times Ive charmed my opponents last threat 3 times in a row. If my meta stays the same then I think my last shall too, but if Voice gets popular again, perhaps I'll have to change it up.
I used to run more removal, but switched backed to running some number of souls and relied more on my board wipes for a lot of value rather than 1 for 1ing with no real value. Much like souls, it can buy a crucial turn and usually buys two to find a wipe or whatever is needed. It also just snowballs with sphinx and when your opponent thought they had you that turn they now have to deal with however large the sphinx was plus the timewalk with riot control (usually gains some life as well, which is usually very relevant). It also counters a burn spell which again can be very relevant. I've also been in a few situations where I was holding riot control with a Tamiyo emblem and plenty of mana against aggro/midrange, basically making it impossible for your opponent to win. In all its just something to potentially do on turn 3, which Ive also done quite often to keep some pressure off. I tend to like as many options as possible, basically why I run more flex cards rather than dedicated, situational cards. Not having any dead cards mb (largely) is what I believe has made the difference. Of course, riot control is in the sb so certainly it is in no way "essential." But I like it and its been working for me, so I will likely continue to do so until something changes.
I'm not too keen on have to leave 5 mana to kill a land. Sure they wont get a basic but it tends to be incredibly irrelevant when you kill muta, kessig, drown, gavony etc etc etc, for leaving simply one land up, giving far more options when it comes to mapping out lines of play turn by turn, something you sometimes cant have with wastes. I can see it replacing GQ post rotation, but for now as I emphasized with Denjiki the deck needs to be versatile. Tapping 5 lands to kill a vault versus GQ that land, flash sc to get charm/doomblade or w.e else answers 3 threats rather than 1, all for the same amount of mana. Of course that's just one example but you get the idea. For now, using an entire turn to kill a land just wont cut it.
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Glacial Fortress
3x Godless Shrine
4x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
2x Ghost Quarter
3x Isolated Chapel
2x Nephalia Drownyard
3x Watery Grave
Spells (23)
4x Azorius Charm
3x Dissipate
2x Far // Away
3x Sphinx's Revelation
2x Lingering Souls
1x Doom Blade
2x Terminus
3x Supreme Verdict
3x Think Twice
2x Detention Sphere
Planeswalkers (5)
2x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Creatures (4)
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Obzedat, Ghost Council
2x Riot Control
1x Dispel
2x Negate
1x Ætherling
3x Appetite for Brains
2x Crypt Incursion
2x Evil Twin
2x Ratchet Bomb
While I believe the sb can always be changed, I'm pretty set with the main 60 until rotation. Aside from that, let me know what you all think.
I don't think I phrased this correctly, as what I was trying to get at is multiple walkers on your side can be pretty hard for an opponent to deal with and the gained advantage alone is often just too much to come back from. When I said alone I meant specifically the esper side of the board. If AoT is on board with a few opposing creatures, it may just buy you a turn if everything goes to him (not bad of course, but not the best situation to be in). Of course playing AoT to simply bait away some damage is never going to be the ideal use of the card. But unlike AoT, It is much more complicated to take out Sorin, Tamiyo and sometimes Lili simply because they can physically interact with the board, giving your opponent more narrow lines of play that require more commitment. With AoT, its usually going to be focused down instantly, or you're at a low enough life total to where he isn't even a threat if they can close the game out before multiple mini fact or fictions.
tl;dr: Since Jace AoT's interaction with the opponent is so small, all choices are still open. However with more interactive walkers, the opponent is restricted to making more dedicated lines of play, usually buying multiple turns rather than the usual one turn AoT does if the opposing side of the board is fairly threatening. Of course to offset this, AoT grants actual card advantage while the walkers typically do not.
^ that alone is the reason I dont run too many walkers, they just die to fast to any one creature while the rest are aimed at my life. So if the first Sorin dies and I still took a notable amount of damage, I highly doubt a second Sorin is the go to play. I really wasn't to upset to only run 1 of each walker in my list either as they were never dead cards in hand, unlike multiples of the same walker in hand.
On the topic of Liliana I would prefer her over Jace, AoT as a singleton simply because AoT is in my experience the least threatening to have alone on board (comparing to Tamiyo, Sorin, Jace MA and ofc Liliana).
As I mentioned the connection can easily be another sphinx, the question is really how long do I want to wait for Sphinx to drop in price.
Two problems with mb incursion: 3 cmc and creatures only. I can't begin to tell you how many rancors and undying creatures I dealt with for 1 single black, something incursion just can't do fast enough. I can see potentially one incursion being in the mb, however the deck needs to be more flexible now then ever because of how poorly positioned it is right now, and more often than not crypt is simply a stall tactic against everything but junk. In one of my earlier games yesterday on turn 6 I warped a double rancored smiter at his end step and cremated one rancor, flashed in sc and got rid of the other rancor, while sticking a creature to his empty board and on top of that drawing two cards. With incursion instead of the cremate I would gain 3 life...? I thought cremate was narrow when I tried it, but it was probably one of the better cards in the deck that day, while incursions in that slot would have been miserable. If I was to try and make a similar play as I outlined I would need an additional 4 mana; just not good at all.
As for blind I will likely continue to run it to help ensure my walkers dont die to haste creatures the following turn I cast them. Its also quite nice with tamiyo, but because its effectiveness is so narrow, 1 is all I would ever run until I feel one or both of the prior benefits are no longer applicable.
Ive never had a problem with needing more souls, and it was more than enough to make two 1/1s on 4 separate occasions in the games I saw them. Adding more would just feel far too clunky, and souls can be incredibly hit or miss. I would say the same of the walkers; if Sorin bites it the turn after hes played, I really doubt I would want to follow that up with another Sorin.
tl;dr: I thank you for your thoughts on the list, although as far as what I wanted to accomplish with my particular list the suggested changes (while they may seem minor) would alter that entirely. I built the deck to be flexible, and it accomplished just that. Though I wouldn't be to heartbroken taking out Blind and Connection for more optimal spells (those are likely the weakest of the 75).
3x Drowned Catacomb
4x Glacial Fortress
3x Godless Shrine
4x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Vault of the Archangel
4x Isolated Chapel
2x Nephalia Drownyard
3x Watery Grave
Spells (23)
4x Azorius Charm
2x Dissipate
2x Far // Away
2x Sphinx's Revelation
2x Lingering Souls
2x Warped Physique
3x Terminus
3x Supreme Verdict
3x Cremate
2x Detention Sphere
1x Blind Obedience
1x Underworld Connections
Planeswalkers (3)
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Creatures (4)
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Obzedat, Ghost Council
1x Renounce the Guilds
2x Riot Control
2x Dispel
2x Negate
1x Ætherling
2x Appetite for Brains
1x Crypt Incursion
2x Evil Twin
1x Notion Thief
1x Elixir of Immortality
A few things may look questionable, but cremate instead of think twice worked better than I ever thought it would. The Connections can easily be another sphinx (when I get around to it I suppose), and Blind could likely be something else but one hasn't hindered me. Of all the games I only won once with Drownyard, glad I only used two, and never needed to bring in Ætherling. Anyways like I said before I'm pretty happy with the list as I can't complain with the results I got.
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Azorius Guildgate
3x Ghost Quarter
1x Moorland Haunt
5x Plains
4x Island
4x Thought Scour
4x Azorius Charm
2x Turn // Burn
1x Renounce the Guilds
2x Render Silent
2x Sphinx's Revelation
4x Terminus
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Trading Post
3x Prophetic Prism
1x Staff of Nin
Planeswalker:
1x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Creatures:
1x Aetherling
3x Snapcaster Mage
4x Precinct Captain
I do have a sb but I'd rather concentrate on the mb first. And currently the reasoning for Precinct Captain is because of how much my meta has become undying, haste, rancor aggro... but with the inclusion of captain in places where spot removal might be, that problem should be taken care of. The only other thing that likely stands out are the artifacts. Essentially I've replaced Think Twice with Prism so that I can have a very small splash with turn // burn (or possibly something else). Trading post is very much a test card, which will likely get better in the coming months. And finally Staff of Nin is just another test card im trying, could probably be another Sphinx though.
All that said, I would appreciate any and all thoughts on other cards that could be splashed as well as any advice. Keep in mind again this list is for a primarily aggro heavy meta, and if I were to go to a larger tournament Captain and a few other cards would not likely be in the list. Thanks.
I didn't say it was a bad play, I just said it seemed less ideal. With that line of play your also only swinging with one creature on turn 3, which also seems less ideal. I don't want to get ahead of myself though and act as though I'm an expert on the deck or even the format, and rather I'm trying to get a basic understanding of how this deck sits currently.
The difference in mana cost was really what made me even look back at the card, however I suppose that's mitigated by requiring a merfolk to be on board to get the full effect. If I had everything ready to go and put together I would certainly run one or the other, depending on the meta in my area. But if I were to run tec edge, which I probably will want to, sea would certainly be the way to go.
Spell snare might be worth a try depending on your meta.
I guess I wasn't focusing on the pseudo land destruction and more just getting an island on the other side, which I guess is why I even thought about Aquitect. Granted I have yet to even gold fish with the deck or playtest on whats left of cockatrice but t2 spreading seas just doesn't seem like a strong play since everything else you could play t2 is just that much better. But given the numbers in the deck that shouldn't be the only option most of the time anyway. I am surprised though to see more than a few lists with no tec edges. These would surely be better answers to tron, man lands and nonbasics in general would they not? Personally I'd still run both a card like sea, if not sea itself, and tec edge.