Hey Ad Nauseam players, I'm in the process of building this deck at the moment and I'm almost to completion; in the games I've proxied and played, I really enjoy this deck. I'll be running through all the pages of this thread to see how lists have changed over time throughout the meta, but I have a few questions that I'd like to ask now:
1. What's our tech against Blood Moon? I'm seeing current lists forgo fetchlands (I can see why as not to run out of lands to pitch to Lightning Storm) and even basic lands, and I don't feel comfortable relying solely on Lotus Blooms and Pentad Prisms.
2. Can the deck win via Lightning Storm against a deck with significant lifegain? I have a friend that runs Soul Sisters and I feel like going the Lab Man route is the best way to take a game against him.
3. How's the Storm matchup? I've got a lot of Storm players in my local meta. I figure Angel's Grace just makes the Grapeshot null, though Empty the Warrens could be problematic.
4. The new Counters Company deck isn't much of a problem for this deck so long as there's Angel's Grace in hand for when they go infinite Rhonas/infinite bolster, right? And if they go with the infinite life route instead, there's still Lab Man to win with?
With ET, a lot of matchups can be approached in a few different ways. That's not to say that one way is necessarily worse than the other, it just pays to be consistent in the way you approach them.
For the CoCo decks, I cut at least 2 smashers because we turn into a control deck against them. We just want as many cards as possible that interact with their board, and smashers either get blocked by a finks and some other chump (and possibly the finks comes back as a 3/2 because of vizier) or they just ignore the smasher because they have a good amount of life and then just combo you off.
Gotcha—that's absolutely sound reasoning. Thanks for your insight, I'll be putting the Smashers to the side for that matchup and giving it a shot!
Thanks! I think your rationale regarding Reshapers is definitely correct in leaving them in; I forgot to take into consideration the chance of them potentially revealing hate cards or at least getting to one faster, so I'll play with that more. As for Chalice, I think you're right there too, and reason stands to agree with you especially considering the mana costs of most hate cards, though personal experience has led me to do the opposite and leave at least two in for the late game if/when CoCo and Chord become dead cards in hand and a Chalice on 2 just stops the opponent. I'll try all Chalices to the side next time I get a chance to play against the deck, though; it might prove to be a better experience, haha.
I'm curious about your rationale regarding Smashers, though; what makes them not great in the matchup?
What are the thoughts on Slip Through Space or Distortion Strike instead of Temur Battle Rage? I just really don't like TBR. It's 2 mana and may or may not win on the spot. Slip draws a card and Strike gets cast twice for free. All the times I have lost with lethal on board and a bunch of chump blockers, double strike was irrelevant (or mostly).
You shouldn't be getting chumped that hard when you're casting TBR. How are you casting TBR? If your TBR'd creature is getting chumped, then it sounds like you're casting it precombat main phase, which essentially begs for your opponent to throw their biggest defenders into your attacker. TBR sees the most value when you're attacking with multiple creatures and after your opponent has declared blockers. You want to cast it on the creature that has the least blockers on it, and you'll only want to use it if you absolutely know you have lethal on board. At best, you win the game a turn or two early thanks to smart combat tricks. At worst, you get chumped by a bunch of dudes, you wipe your opponent's board of blockers, and now you have the upper hand for the rest of the game. There are very few creatures in the current meta that can trade with a TBR'd Death's Shadow/Tasigur/Gurmag.
Slip Through Space and Distortion Strike may be a free hit, but that's all they are. Slip Through Space doesn't guarantee 8+ power in one combat. Distortion Strike gives your opponent a turn to deal with your board, and sometimes that's more than enough.
Any thoughts on how to deal with the new counter company decks?
My friend's been running this deck ever since Vizier got announced. We'ved played a ton of games so I've had a good chunk of experience against the deck.
On game 1, utilize spot removal and Ballista pings, and race to assemble Tron ASAP. When killing things with spot removal or TKSing away combo pieces, prioritize Devoted Druids. If you open with a Chalice, Chalice on 1 stops Birds, Hierarchs, Viscera Seers, and Path, so it's a good number to drop on. If you find another one, drop that on 2 to keep them from actually playing their combo pieces. They'll be just slightly irrelevant because of Collected Company, but it's good for when they haven't drawn into it. If your meta is heavy on Counters Company, run an Ulamog mainboard and one in the side. If they go with the infinite life route, Ulamog is your only out that isn't a Karn reset, and a Karn reset is begging to go to time and draw.
Game 2, side in:
Grafdigger's Cage. Shuts down Collected Company.
Pithing Needle. Multitool, name whatever is relevant at the moment (Druid, Viscera Seer, even Pridemage if you have to).
All your spot removal, whether it's Spatial Contortion or Dismember.
If you have an Ulamog in the side, side it in. All is Dust helps, too.
Surgical Extractions are pretty good for when you kill a Druid or other essential combo piece.
Side out:
One Chalice if you run a playset. Again, the card is only slightly irrelevant because of CoCo so you don't need the card as much, but drawing one is still beneficial in the early and late game, since it keeps them from playing whatever combo pieces or enablers they have.
All Matter Reshapers. Reshapers are slow and do not help at all against a deck with a turn 3 play. Side them out to increase your chances of drawing into hate.
Whatever choice of top end flex spot that you have that isn't beneficial to the mid-to-late plan of wrecking face with Eldrazi. If you run Batterskull, Hangarback Walker, Wurmcoil Engine, or other flex spots, those are good cuts. If you run two Karns, consider siding one out; I haven't found success in the two-of with this deck in particular.
If you run Ugin, it's your call. But this is from my regular practice buddy that plays the deck:
I'd never side out Ugin against any Abzan chord deck. That's the card we fear the most. It's an 8 mana gg. Ahh man, Ugin is a beast.
It's tough because the three turn infinite is actually really consistent, it's scary. Good luck!
Congrats on the top 4 rogelio! Great writeup and very good insights, very informative. The list looks sweet too.
Thanks so much, guys! I'm not as active in here as I'd like to be, but I lurk all the time, so all the discussion that's been happening here has been so helpful to me. And WarMachinePrime, definitely gotta give you props for bringing Buried Ruin to my attention weeks ago. That land has been a beast that's easily been a late game fifth Ballista/Chalice, and it's served me well.
New to the Forums, also pilot Eldrazi Tron currently. Sweet deck. Lots of variants.
I've noticed lately the one off of Hangarback Walker in some lists, what do people think of this? I might try it out but wondering what could be the thought process behind it.
Welcome!
Hangarback's awesome as a card. I haven't tested it yet, but I might give it a go myself to see how it plays.
As far as I can see, Hangarback is pretty decent at any point in the game. Early game, you have at best a 1/1 that's going to be huge and replace itself with a ton of flyers and at worst a lightning rod for your opponent's Path to Exile. Late game, with Tron online you have a beater with at least 3 power that'll just get bigger every turn if you need it to and will turn into at least three flyers if dealt with by anything other than exile.
I think it's worth testing. It's also fairly meta and matchup dependent: just looking at the card, it looks like it can really shine late game in decks that don't run Path or flyers, but it looks like a lightning rod for your opponent's Path in decks that do. I'm always one for testing, so I'd encourage you to play around with it and see if it's any useful to you after a few rounds of using it.
Hey guys, I'm coming in with a tournament report from last night's GPT. At my last GPT in April, I didn't win a single match. Now, I can hold my head a bit higher with a top 4 placement at a 40-man GPT.
Round 1: Infect (2-1)
I was not expecting to see Infect at all today, especially not in the current meta. After the games, my opponent said he brought it because he knew that no one would expect it. Fair enough.
Game 1: I cast a Chalice for 1, keeping his board relatively clean until he cast a Viridian Corrupter to pop the Chalice. I overextended by attacking with my TKS instead of leaving it up for blocks; next turn, I took 7 lethal infect damage from his Glistener Elf thanks to Become Immense.
Game 2: Chalice on 1 slowed the game down enough for me to set up my board state, and this time my opponent couldn't find his Corrupter. I cast a Ballista for 1 early on, ended up putting two counters on it. My opponent misplayed, which caused him to scoop: before combat on his turn, he activated Pendelhaven to boost his Elf. In response, I pinged the Elf with Ballista. In response to that, he cast Become Immense to give it +6/+6, only to respond to it again with my last Ballista counter.
SB: -1 Trinisphere, +1 Basilisk Collar
Game 3: Early Chalice for 1 and spot removal kept his board as clean as possible as I assembled Tron. I land flooded for about 4 turns before I cast another Chalice for 2, locking him out of most of his deck and eventually grabbing the win with Eldrazi beats.
Round 2: U/W Control (2-0)
This was actually one of my regular play buddies. We've met in bracket a lot, and it's always one of those moments where it's like "We already play a lot at home, do we really need to play in tourney now", haha.
Game 1: Gideon of the Trials stalled me out for a significant number of turns, letting my opponent amass a hand of answers. He stabilized really well: bouncing my Chalice with Cryptic Command, casting Detention Sphere to clear my board of Matter Reshapers, Pathing my bigger creatures when my Chalice wouldn't come down again, and generally having good control of the board. He eventually had a second Gideon of the Trials with the emblem, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, and a bunch of tokens out on his board with me possibly dead on board next turn. I topdecked Ugin, to which he had no response, and I used his minus ability for 6 to wipe his entire board, getting back my Matter Reshapers that got exiled by D-Sphere to take the game.
Game 2: Tested the Trinisphere in the board, and I think I like it in this matchup; if you can't get Chalice off, watching an opponent cast a Serum Visions or Path to Exile for 3 is hilarious. On top of that, it keeps them off Cryptic mana in the early and mid game. With the Trinisphere in play, I kept my opponent off Cryptic mana and won with eventually big Ballistas.
Round 3: U/W Control (2-1)
So apparently there were seven U/W Control decks in the venue today. I don't mind the matchup.
Game 1: I kept a hand of Eldrazi Temple, Cavern of Souls, one Tron land, two Reshapers, and two Chalices; I drew into a third Reshaper, and I had all three on board by turn 5. On his turn 5, my opponent cast Supreme Verdict. Off the Reshaper triggers alone, I built Tron, and my opponent scooped to prepare for game two.
Game 2: Cryptic Command kept bouncing my Chalice, which let him Serum and Path more freely. He put out Cliques and Snapcasters to put me on a clock. On my last turn, I cast Ulamog, and my opponent cast Disallow targeting Ulamog's cast trigger, keeping his Clique alive and letting him swing for lethal.
Game 3: Same as last game, he had answers for most things on my board. Towards the end, however, I baited a counter with a Surgical Extraction naming Cryptic Command and casted Ugin after. On his final turn, he cast Disallow to keep Ugin from bolting him at lethal, but I still had my Walking Ballista to cast on 2 to take the round.
Round 4: Dredge (2-0)
Game 1: Opponent mulligan'd down to 5 and didn't get a land for two turns. As this happened, I cast Chalice for 2, and my Eldrazi took the game.
SB: -2 Chalice of the Void, -1 Dismember, -1 Endbringer, +2 Relic of Progenitus, +2 Surgical Extraction
Game 2: Opponent mulled to 4 but got on board relatively quickly thanks to Life from the Loam. A Basilisk Collar on my Smasher let me stabilize in the midst of Prized Amalgam and Bloodghast. I cast Ulamog, and the next turn I milled his whole deck away at exactly 20.
Rounds 5 and 6: Tie (0-0-2)
Both my opponent and I were guaranteed for top 8, so we decided to take the next two hours off and rest up for the ensuing matches.
Top 8
Round 1: Eldrazi & Taxes (2-0)
Game 1: Two Ghost Quarters from my opponent with Leonin Arbiter out set me back, but it set him back enough for me to stabilize and topdeck an Eldrazi Temple, allowing me to TKS the Eldrazi Displacer in his hand, locking him out of a 3cmc drop with his Aether Vial. He topdecked his own Eldrazi Temple to cast his own TKS, and we stared each other down for a bit until I drew into more Eldrazi where he couldn't.
SB: -1 All is Dust, -1 Chalice, -1 Ugin, +1 Ratchet Bomb, +2 Spatial Contortion
Game 2: Opponent dropped Aether Vial turn 1, I dropped Basilisk Collar. Turn 2 he Vialed in Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and cast Leonin Arbiter for the classic hatebear field. Next turn he Vialed in Flickerwisp, attempting to exile away my Ballista, where I just pinged Thalia in response and cast Spatial Contortion on the Flickerwisp the following turn. I cast a Chalice for 2, keeping him off a few hatebears for a while, and I eventually took the game with big beats from Reality Smasher.
Round 2: Abzan (0-2)
- Game 1: The game started off slow with my opponent at two lands, a Noble Hierarch, and two 1/2 Goyfs. A turn 4 Collective Brutality, dumping his hand to escalate, immediately made those 1/2 Goyfs into 5/6 Goyfs, and I couldn't draw into any of my answers for them.
- SB: -1 Karn, -1 Ulamog, -1 Dismember, -1 Matter Reshaper, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Ratchet Bomb, +2 Relic of Progenitus
- Game 2: I opened with a Relic of Progenitus, which immediately got shut down by a Stony Silence in my opponent's opening hand as well. I had no answers to his Goyf and Scavenging Ooze, so I took the handshake and walked away with a Top 4 placing.
Post Game Reflections
I think that I'm on the cusp of the higher echelon of play. I'm playing smarter, I'm more aware of the options that I have on hand and on the board, and I'm starting to recognize which risks to take, and I really do think it's showing in my play. Now it's a matter of really looking at all the nuances on the board and having superior deck knowledge. For example, in my final match of the day, my opponent was stuck on two lands: a Blooming Marsh and a Razorverge Thicket. One of the spectators watching our match told me afterwards that with the Ghost Quarter I had on the field and the one I had in hand, I could have set him back by a huge deal by destroying one of his lands, forcing him to search for his Forest so he can have green, and then destroying his Forest so he wouldn't have any green available, to which my opponent also agreed saying he only ran one Forest. I didn't even take the number of Forests he was running into consideration. It's those little things that can really cost an important game, so now I'm focusing on the finer details.
Also, I'm starting to become aware of how I play as a Magic player *outside* of the game. In rounds 1-4, I was on top of my game. It was game after game, I stayed engaged, I was hydrated and in a very mild state of hunger which personally helps me focus. When my opponent and I decided to tie rounds 5 and 6 so we could just play in Top 8, I took a nap, and I think that nap actually hindered my play by a noticeable amount. Come Top 8, I was missing Chalice triggers and misplaying, like casting an Expedition Map when I had Chalice on 1 out. I'm learning that I'm a momentum-based player, and I need to be firing on all cylinders or else I get lethargic and I can't play at my best.
Overall, I'm feeling pretty happy with a top 4 placement in a 40-man GPT. My winnings are going towards my GP Vegas ticket, so I'm looking forward to getting more practice, breaking into that next level of play, and hopefully doing well for myself at Vegas in a month.
If you have any advice to give, comments, critiques, etc., please don't hesitate to do so, I'd love to hear whatever you have. Thank you!
I reeaally like Ugin. I've been playing around with a 1 Karn/1 Ugin split as opposed to my normal 2 Karns. Ugin can shut down a board so hard with his minus, and he has presence and pressure the second he hits the board. 8 mana is a big deal, though; it's one thing not being able to cast it off nat Tron, but it's much harder if you don't have Tron out and you're playing (relatively) fair. He's matchup dependent for sure, but I like him in my mainboard alongside Karn.
Yeah, his high price and not getting the Eldrazi Temple bonus is definitely a detriment, but what you get for 8 is so worth it. The first time on Saturday, I was able to land him pretty early off Tron + 1 and that was demoralizing to my opponent. The second time was a late game finisher. I was building up a nice board of lands and smaller Eldrazi, but didn't have enough for Ugin. Getting that last piece I needed, dropping him, and just seeing my opponent get that "well, that's all for me" expression when he had no way to counter was a nice finish to a long night of games. I only have 1 in my deck, and don't think I'd ever go with more than 2. But so far I haven't been disappointed to see him. It just becomes a game of lasting long enough to have 8 mana available.
Just FYI, I don't have Karn, so I'm running a 1 Ugin / 1 Ulamog split and definitely digging it.
For sure, Karns are super pricey right now, so it's totally understandable haha. Ulamog and Ugin do good work though, and I'm glad Ugin's putting in work for you!
I just wanted to drop in here and give a quick shout-out to Ugin, the Spirit Dragon! I played some casual / competitive Modern at my local shop on Saturday...not an official tournament or anything. I just picked up my copy of Ugin a couple of weeks ago and this was my first chance to include him in my deck. His -X flat out won me 2 games. Dropping him, wiping my opponent's entire board with the -X, attacking with a swarm of Eldrazi, and threatening to do the same on my next turn caused 2 near immediate concessions. I knew he would be powerful, but it was just surprising how much of a momentum shift there is when he resolves. So, thanks Ugin!
I reeaally like Ugin. I've been playing around with a 1 Karn/1 Ugin split as opposed to my normal 2 Karns. Ugin can shut down a board so hard with his minus, and he has presence and pressure the second he hits the board. 8 mana is a big deal, though; it's one thing not being able to cast it off nat Tron, but it's much harder if you don't have Tron out and you're playing (relatively) fair. He's matchup dependent for sure, but I like him in my mainboard alongside Karn.
Hi Affinity players, I recently built Affinity for myself and this deck is nuts. Watching it happen in front of you is one thing, but piloting the deck is a whole other beast. I'm finding so many different lines of play that I could go with, and finding the most optimal plays is so reliant on being aware of the moment and boardstate at all times, more so than any other deck I've played with.
I'm almost done with the deck (lacking on one Arcbound Ravager), but I took the deck for a few test runs at my LGS's Modern event between rounds playing Eldrazi Tron, and my Affinity deck probably took more wins in post-game matches than my Tron deck got during the official matches. My notable wins today were 2-0 vs. DSJ, Abzan, and Sun & Moon, as well as a 2-1 in a set against BW Tokens.
All that being said, is there any advice that you'd be able to offer to a new Affinity player? My piloting experience in Modern prior has been Naya Zoo, Bant Eldrazi, Soul Sisters, and Eldrazi Tron. Is there anything regarding Affinity's playstyle that I need to put emphasis on when playing it compared to any of the decks listed above? Also, how's the Storm matchup? One of the top players at my LGS runs Storm, and I wasn't sure how well Affinity fares against it.
Reporting in with a 2-2 from tonight's FNM. I hit up a venue I haven't been to, so I against some matchups I was not prepared for, neither mentally nor in my sideboard. Overall, I played well up until my last match, but it's all a learning experience.
Round 1: Pack Rat - 1-2
Didn't expect to play against BR Pack Rat tonight. I dealt with the Rats no problem with a well timed All is Dust and Smasher swings, but the game 2 & 3 Fulminator Mage that kept coming back with Liliana, the Last Hope's minus ability is absolutely brutal.
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Grixis Death's Shadow 2-0
Game 1, turn 2 Chalice into turn 3 TKS into turn 4 second TKS led him to scoop. Game 2 was even dumber—I was on the play and dropped Gemstone Caverns at the top of the game, dropped Chalice turn 1 and TKS turn 2. Scooped again when I dropped the Smasher turn 3. We finished in eight minutes and I don't think I'm ever going to see a sequence as nuts as that one ever again.
Round 4: UW Control 1-2
I'm not at all experienced in this particular matchup—I did not at all expect to deal with Spreading Seas and Crucible of Worlds in the same deck. I beat him game 1, but I could not for the life of me deal with a Torrential Gearhulk. I played pretty sloppy this game too, as I missed some pretty crucial Chalice triggers.
All in all, with the exception of the last game, I'm pretty satisfied with my play. I ended with a top 8 finish, and I think I can make top 4 next tournament now that I have a feel of the meta and what to expect.
I had a chance to play against one of my most competitive Magic playing friends; he lives two hours away, so I don't get a chance to play against him all too often, but he ran me through his gauntlet of high tier decks last night. I played five different decks tonight (Abzan Coco, non-Coco Abzan, Burn, U/W Control, U/B Faeries), doing more than well against all of them (with the exception of mulling to 5 against U/B Faeries and not drawing lands for 6 turns, then having my opponent pop a Rain of Tears on my only two lands) except for Abzan Coco, which I want to call to attention now.
He proxied in Vizier of Remedies as an alternate Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, and having that in the deck only made it consistent in going infinite turn 3 or 4; all his games looked like turn 1 Bird/Hierarch, turn 2 Anafenza/Vizier and Viscera Seer, turn 3 Kitchen Finks and sacrificing for infinite life while stacking his deck via infinite scry or Devoted Druid, turn 4 oops. I couldn't find an answer for the deck, but when my other friend piloted my deck to try and beat it, he managed to scrape out a W despite infinite life with three Endbringers pinging literally everything that touches the battlefield, and with a turn 12 Newlamog that eventually milled him to death.
I know that the deck is getting popular and is seeing a lot of brewing due to the new Vizier, but if it ends up building traction to the point that a consistent, established decklist is put together and it starts to make strides at locals and MTGO comp leagues, I might run two Ulamogs as an alternate win con to counter infinite life, or I might play a whole other deck altogether that can outrace a turn 3-4 infinite.
Shell of the Abzan Coco deck, as far as I saw from my friend:
A lot of this might already be common knowledge/common sense, but in case anyone's interested, I'm working on a "Chalice Chart". Typically the go-to answer for what number to drop Chalice of the Void on is 1 since it shuts down a lot of cards in Modern, but I figured I'd break it up via match up so you know what exactly you're shutting down when you drop that Chalice for XX and what to do after game 1. It's still in construction as I'm taking it step by step and still feeling out the formatting/criteria, but if you'd like to add or change anything, please don't hesitate to let me know!
Getting back your Ballistas, Chalices, Maps, etc. in an Artifact hate heavy meta sounds decent. Anyone run it?
Sounds like a fifth Ballista to me, which is pretty good. I'm gonna give it a try at a local tomorrow and see if it's worth a land slot. I'll have it fill in my Gemstone Caverns slot and see how it runs, artifact recursion seems pretty relevant when you consider the artifacts we run.
1. What's our tech against Blood Moon? I'm seeing current lists forgo fetchlands (I can see why as not to run out of lands to pitch to Lightning Storm) and even basic lands, and I don't feel comfortable relying solely on Lotus Blooms and Pentad Prisms.
2. Can the deck win via Lightning Storm against a deck with significant lifegain? I have a friend that runs Soul Sisters and I feel like going the Lab Man route is the best way to take a game against him.
3. How's the Storm matchup? I've got a lot of Storm players in my local meta. I figure Angel's Grace just makes the Grapeshot null, though Empty the Warrens could be problematic.
4. The new Counters Company deck isn't much of a problem for this deck so long as there's Angel's Grace in hand for when they go infinite Rhonas/infinite bolster, right? And if they go with the infinite life route instead, there's still Lab Man to win with?
Thanks!
I'm curious about your rationale regarding Smashers, though; what makes them not great in the matchup?
My pleasure! We've all still got a lot to learn in this crazy meta, so no worries. Stop by with questions anytime!
Slip Through Space and Distortion Strike may be a free hit, but that's all they are. Slip Through Space doesn't guarantee 8+ power in one combat. Distortion Strike gives your opponent a turn to deal with your board, and sometimes that's more than enough.
On game 1, utilize spot removal and Ballista pings, and race to assemble Tron ASAP. When killing things with spot removal or TKSing away combo pieces, prioritize Devoted Druids. If you open with a Chalice, Chalice on 1 stops Birds, Hierarchs, Viscera Seers, and Path, so it's a good number to drop on. If you find another one, drop that on 2 to keep them from actually playing their combo pieces. They'll be just slightly irrelevant because of Collected Company, but it's good for when they haven't drawn into it. If your meta is heavy on Counters Company, run an Ulamog mainboard and one in the side. If they go with the infinite life route, Ulamog is your only out that isn't a Karn reset, and a Karn reset is begging to go to time and draw.
Game 2, side in:
- Grafdigger's Cage. Shuts down Collected Company.
- Pithing Needle. Multitool, name whatever is relevant at the moment (Druid, Viscera Seer, even Pridemage if you have to).
- All your spot removal, whether it's Spatial Contortion or Dismember.
- If you have an Ulamog in the side, side it in. All is Dust helps, too.
- Surgical Extractions are pretty good for when you kill a Druid or other essential combo piece.
Side out:- One Chalice if you run a playset. Again, the card is only slightly irrelevant because of CoCo so you don't need the card as much, but drawing one is still beneficial in the early and late game, since it keeps them from playing whatever combo pieces or enablers they have.
- All Matter Reshapers. Reshapers are slow and do not help at all against a deck with a turn 3 play. Side them out to increase your chances of drawing into hate.
- Whatever choice of top end flex spot that you have that isn't beneficial to the mid-to-late plan of wrecking face with Eldrazi. If you run Batterskull, Hangarback Walker, Wurmcoil Engine, or other flex spots, those are good cuts. If you run two Karns, consider siding one out; I haven't found success in the two-of with this deck in particular.
- If you run Ugin, it's your call. But this is from my regular practice buddy that plays the deck:
It's tough because the three turn infinite is actually really consistent, it's scary. Good luck!Welcome!
Hangarback's awesome as a card. I haven't tested it yet, but I might give it a go myself to see how it plays.
As far as I can see, Hangarback is pretty decent at any point in the game. Early game, you have at best a 1/1 that's going to be huge and replace itself with a ton of flyers and at worst a lightning rod for your opponent's Path to Exile. Late game, with Tron online you have a beater with at least 3 power that'll just get bigger every turn if you need it to and will turn into at least three flyers if dealt with by anything other than exile.
I think it's worth testing. It's also fairly meta and matchup dependent: just looking at the card, it looks like it can really shine late game in decks that don't run Path or flyers, but it looks like a lightning rod for your opponent's Path in decks that do. I'm always one for testing, so I'd encourage you to play around with it and see if it's any useful to you after a few rounds of using it.
Decklist:
1 Buried Ruin
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
2 Wastes
Planeswalker (2)
1 Karn Liberated
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Sorcery (1)
1 All Is Dust
3 Endbringer
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
4 Walking Ballista
Artifact (12)
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Batterskull
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Expedition Map
2 Mind Stone
Instant (1)
1 Dismember
1 All Is Dust
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Dismember
1 Pithing Needle
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spatial Contortion
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Trinisphere
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Swiss
Round 1: Infect (2-1)
I was not expecting to see Infect at all today, especially not in the current meta. After the games, my opponent said he brought it because he knew that no one would expect it. Fair enough.
Round 2: U/W Control (2-0)
This was actually one of my regular play buddies. We've met in bracket a lot, and it's always one of those moments where it's like "We already play a lot at home, do we really need to play in tourney now", haha.
Round 3: U/W Control (2-1)
So apparently there were seven U/W Control decks in the venue today. I don't mind the matchup.
Round 4: Dredge (2-0)
Rounds 5 and 6: Tie (0-0-2)
Both my opponent and I were guaranteed for top 8, so we decided to take the next two hours off and rest up for the ensuing matches.
Top 8
Round 1: Eldrazi & Taxes (2-0)
Round 2: Abzan (0-2)
- Game 1: The game started off slow with my opponent at two lands, a Noble Hierarch, and two 1/2 Goyfs. A turn 4 Collective Brutality, dumping his hand to escalate, immediately made those 1/2 Goyfs into 5/6 Goyfs, and I couldn't draw into any of my answers for them.
- SB: -1 Karn, -1 Ulamog, -1 Dismember, -1 Matter Reshaper, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Ratchet Bomb, +2 Relic of Progenitus
- Game 2: I opened with a Relic of Progenitus, which immediately got shut down by a Stony Silence in my opponent's opening hand as well. I had no answers to his Goyf and Scavenging Ooze, so I took the handshake and walked away with a Top 4 placing.
Post Game Reflections
I think that I'm on the cusp of the higher echelon of play. I'm playing smarter, I'm more aware of the options that I have on hand and on the board, and I'm starting to recognize which risks to take, and I really do think it's showing in my play. Now it's a matter of really looking at all the nuances on the board and having superior deck knowledge. For example, in my final match of the day, my opponent was stuck on two lands: a Blooming Marsh and a Razorverge Thicket. One of the spectators watching our match told me afterwards that with the Ghost Quarter I had on the field and the one I had in hand, I could have set him back by a huge deal by destroying one of his lands, forcing him to search for his Forest so he can have green, and then destroying his Forest so he wouldn't have any green available, to which my opponent also agreed saying he only ran one Forest. I didn't even take the number of Forests he was running into consideration. It's those little things that can really cost an important game, so now I'm focusing on the finer details.
Also, I'm starting to become aware of how I play as a Magic player *outside* of the game. In rounds 1-4, I was on top of my game. It was game after game, I stayed engaged, I was hydrated and in a very mild state of hunger which personally helps me focus. When my opponent and I decided to tie rounds 5 and 6 so we could just play in Top 8, I took a nap, and I think that nap actually hindered my play by a noticeable amount. Come Top 8, I was missing Chalice triggers and misplaying, like casting an Expedition Map when I had Chalice on 1 out. I'm learning that I'm a momentum-based player, and I need to be firing on all cylinders or else I get lethargic and I can't play at my best.
Overall, I'm feeling pretty happy with a top 4 placement in a 40-man GPT. My winnings are going towards my GP Vegas ticket, so I'm looking forward to getting more practice, breaking into that next level of play, and hopefully doing well for myself at Vegas in a month.
If you have any advice to give, comments, critiques, etc., please don't hesitate to do so, I'd love to hear whatever you have. Thank you!
For sure, Karns are super pricey right now, so it's totally understandable haha. Ulamog and Ugin do good work though, and I'm glad Ugin's putting in work for you!
I reeaally like Ugin. I've been playing around with a 1 Karn/1 Ugin split as opposed to my normal 2 Karns. Ugin can shut down a board so hard with his minus, and he has presence and pressure the second he hits the board. 8 mana is a big deal, though; it's one thing not being able to cast it off nat Tron, but it's much harder if you don't have Tron out and you're playing (relatively) fair. He's matchup dependent for sure, but I like him in my mainboard alongside Karn.
I'm almost done with the deck (lacking on one Arcbound Ravager), but I took the deck for a few test runs at my LGS's Modern event between rounds playing Eldrazi Tron, and my Affinity deck probably took more wins in post-game matches than my Tron deck got during the official matches. My notable wins today were 2-0 vs. DSJ, Abzan, and Sun & Moon, as well as a 2-1 in a set against BW Tokens.
All that being said, is there any advice that you'd be able to offer to a new Affinity player? My piloting experience in Modern prior has been Naya Zoo, Bant Eldrazi, Soul Sisters, and Eldrazi Tron. Is there anything regarding Affinity's playstyle that I need to put emphasis on when playing it compared to any of the decks listed above? Also, how's the Storm matchup? One of the top players at my LGS runs Storm, and I wasn't sure how well Affinity fares against it.
Also, my decklist as of now:
3 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
3 Arcbound Ravager
4 Steel Overseer
1 Master of Etherium
2 Etched Champion
Noncreatures
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Mox Opal
4 Galvanic Blast
2 Thoughtcast
1 Mountain
2 Glimmervoid
2 Spire of Industry
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Darksteel Citadel
1 Spellskite
2 Thoughtseize
2 Dispatch
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Spell Pierce
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
1 Etched Champion
1 Master of Etherium
1 Whipflare
Thank you!
Round 1: Pack Rat - 1-2
Didn't expect to play against BR Pack Rat tonight. I dealt with the Rats no problem with a well timed All is Dust and Smasher swings, but the game 2 & 3 Fulminator Mage that kept coming back with Liliana, the Last Hope's minus ability is absolutely brutal.
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Grixis Death's Shadow 2-0
Game 1, turn 2 Chalice into turn 3 TKS into turn 4 second TKS led him to scoop. Game 2 was even dumber—I was on the play and dropped Gemstone Caverns at the top of the game, dropped Chalice turn 1 and TKS turn 2. Scooped again when I dropped the Smasher turn 3. We finished in eight minutes and I don't think I'm ever going to see a sequence as nuts as that one ever again.
Round 4: UW Control 1-2
I'm not at all experienced in this particular matchup—I did not at all expect to deal with Spreading Seas and Crucible of Worlds in the same deck. I beat him game 1, but I could not for the life of me deal with a Torrential Gearhulk. I played pretty sloppy this game too, as I missed some pretty crucial Chalice triggers.
All in all, with the exception of the last game, I'm pretty satisfied with my play. I ended with a top 8 finish, and I think I can make top 4 next tournament now that I have a feel of the meta and what to expect.
edit: fixed tags
He proxied in Vizier of Remedies as an alternate Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, and having that in the deck only made it consistent in going infinite turn 3 or 4; all his games looked like turn 1 Bird/Hierarch, turn 2 Anafenza/Vizier and Viscera Seer, turn 3 Kitchen Finks and sacrificing for infinite life while stacking his deck via infinite scry or Devoted Druid, turn 4 oops. I couldn't find an answer for the deck, but when my other friend piloted my deck to try and beat it, he managed to scrape out a W despite infinite life with three Endbringers pinging literally everything that touches the battlefield, and with a turn 12 Newlamog that eventually milled him to death.
I know that the deck is getting popular and is seeing a lot of brewing due to the new Vizier, but if it ends up building traction to the point that a consistent, established decklist is put together and it starts to make strides at locals and MTGO comp leagues, I might run two Ulamogs as an alternate win con to counter infinite life, or I might play a whole other deck altogether that can outrace a turn 3-4 infinite.
Shell of the Abzan Coco deck, as far as I saw from my friend:
So let me know what you think of this match up: our game 1 options, our sideboard options, and how we fare as a whole. Thanks!
Good catch, thank you!
A lot of this might already be common knowledge/common sense, but in case anyone's interested, I'm working on a "Chalice Chart". Typically the go-to answer for what number to drop Chalice of the Void on is 1 since it shuts down a lot of cards in Modern, but I figured I'd break it up via match up so you know what exactly you're shutting down when you drop that Chalice for XX and what to do after game 1. It's still in construction as I'm taking it step by step and still feeling out the formatting/criteria, but if you'd like to add or change anything, please don't hesitate to let me know!
Eldrazi Tron Chalice Chart
Thanks, and I hope it's of use to you!
Sounds like a fifth Ballista to me, which is pretty good. I'm gonna give it a try at a local tomorrow and see if it's worth a land slot. I'll have it fill in my Gemstone Caverns slot and see how it runs, artifact recursion seems pretty relevant when you consider the artifacts we run.