I'm hoping to start streaming to my YouTube channel or Twitch soon. Setting aside a budget for some drafts and a Modern deck.
Most of my collection is physical though, so I was wondering:
- What Modern deck is equal parts fun to watch, won't break the bank and competitive?
- Is Standard more popular than Modern for streaming, and if so, what deck is popular right now besides Mardu Vehicles? (lol)
It didn't ever clean house, but it was a consistent top finisher. I exaggerated before, but seriously... this deck is the nuts when it comes to fun and replayability.
If Goyf drops any lower, I think you'll see an increase in decks using him across the format. Anything above $50 has traditionally been a no-go for budget players. I know for me there was a time when buying a card that cost $20 seemed absolutely insane.
Here's the decklist I am trying out. Sygg and Spellskite are my secret sauce. While this deck doesn't NEED extra card draw it's always nice to have. Since Sygg's ability is a "may," you'll never have to worry about Ensnaring Bridge going offline. If you DO need more card draw to find Shrieking Affliction or the Rack, you can come in with Mutavault and he himself for 3 damage, provided you've cleared the way with Geth's Verdict or Dismember. Against burn, Sygg also blocks anything with 2 power, which is pretty awesome. He also blocks Snapcaster Mage. If he eats a bolt or burn spell, that's good, too.
Spellskite hoses the bad Infect match-up, and gives us more inevitability against combo decks like Splinter Twin. Also blocks against aggro.
I run 1 Blackmail over a fourth Inquisition because sometimes your opponent will hold three land and Blackmail+Raven's Crime puts a stop to that.
Cavern of Souls is there not because I believe it adds anything substantial to the deck, but because I have it and it doesn't take away.
The biggest question I have been asking myself is what kind of removal package I should be running. The three cards I continue rotating around my head are Grasp of Darkness, Dismember and Geth's Verdict. But what combination of them?
I have been looking over this list for a while now. I was thinking:
Vendilion Clique as a 1 or 2 of? It accomplishes the same thing as Thoughtseize and provides you with beats once you decide to Beast Within your bridge. That makes 6 damage a turn rather than 3 and forces them to find an answer - which they won't - that much faster.
Also, Akroan Horse. You could control them for 20 turns - or less, due to fetch and shock lands on their part - and then swing in with 20 soldiers. You wouldn't even have to destroy your Ensnaring bridge.
Edit - Maybe Arcbound Ravager as a one-off? Keep coming up with ideas. lol.
Last night I played in a free tournament at my LGS. This was the second Modern Constructed tournament that they have ever had. I went in with this deck because I am familiar with it and it's not extremely hard to play. This summary will be brief, but I hope it gives people insight and opens me up to suggestions:
Game 1 was a blowout. I countered everything heavily and landed a Wurmcoil Engine , which he was able to dispatch. However, an Academy Ruins /Mindslaver lock was waiting just around the corner for him.
Game 2 he sideboarded in discard spells, and hit me with a very unexpected rakdos returns. This took out my Mindslaver lock combo, and a Wurmcoil Engine with it. I rebounded with a top deck Karn Liberated and played the tempo game until he conceded.
Won 2-0
Match 2: Mono U Tron VS RWU Burn
Game 1 I landed a turn-three Tron, and though his Geist of Saint Traft was scary, I placed an Oblivion Stone onto the field the following turn. I activated it when he attacked, wiping his field. He left his mana open for my turn, for which I was expecting a counterspell of some sort, but it never came. I played a Wurmcoil Engine , and he drilled me with as many burn spells as he could, but it wasn't enough. Not even with an extra 4 damage coming in from his Celestial Colonnade .
Game 2 I didn't land Tron early enough, he was able to put Remand on an Isochron Scepter (even though I countered one Scepter already.) This caused HUGE problems for me, and though I ended up achieving Tron a few turns later, I thought I was dead. I pulled a Karn Liberated off the top, and due to having so much mana, was able to counter his Remand with Condescend and get him on the field. I exiled the Isochron Scepter with Karn's -3 and was finally able to throw my Mindslaver lock onto the field. He took me down to one health before I did it though.
Won 2-0
Match 3: Mono U Tron VS Mono U Tron
Game 1 my opponent kept a 1 land hand and drew into absolutely zero land for nearly four turns. He conceded.
Game 2 my opponent achieved Tron on turn three, whereas I did not achieve it at all. I was able to fend off his Steel Hellkite with Repeal and Remand for a while, but his own counters ended up being too much for me to handle. I conceded when I ran out of utility to defend myself with.
Game 3 the story was the same. I didn't get Tron and he got it on turn 3. Was just sheer luck. I fought tooth and nail to stay alive, though. I was able to get an Oblivion Stone on to the field turn three, and he thankfully ended up Repeal ing a Treasure Mage I put onto the field rather than the Stone. This ended up causing him to go to time with me, because he had no other options to rid the field of my Oblivion Stone .
Drew 1-1 and went to time on third game.
Match 4: Mono U Tron VS GWB Junk
Game 1 I achieved Tron on turn three thanks to Expedition Map . Had a nut draw against junk specifically, with two Oblivion Stone s in my opening hand. I was able to wipe the field twice while countering nasty spells, and eventually prompted a concession to Wurmcoil Engine 's summoning.
Game 2 he Abrupt Decay ed my Expedition Map on turn two. This absolutely destroyed my play for the rest of the game, and he was able to stay one step ahead of me. Was not able to achieve Tron, either. Eventually got knocked out by waves of small attacks.
Game 3 I was able to achieve Tron fairly early on, though he made it hard for me. I had an Oblivion Stone to wipe his field once, and a Karn Liberated to follow up. I just rode Karn to victory and prompted a concession after I began gobbling up his lands.
Won 2-1
Since the tournament was free, only three packs were given out: 2 to the overall winner and 1 randomly. Since my mirror match went to time, the winner was determined by tiebreakers. I ended up placing second, much to my dismay. I am still happy with my performance, and am happy to have represented Mono U Tron well. Overcoming a Burn deck competitively made me very happy, and I will look forward to playing next week.
Hey guys, my LGS is having its second Modern tournament tonight. I wasn't able to get there last week because I was on vacation, but I was wondering what deck you guys thought I should use.
Here is what I've got:
Mono U Tron - Slow, but almost impossible to beat in the mid-game and disrupts really well from turn two onward.
Generic Living End - Another slow one, but consistent on turn three against anything creature-based. Falls flat against anything Blue.
RUG Pump Infect - Fairly resilient Infect deck, extremely fast. Capable of turn two wins, though consistently kills on turn three.
U/R Affinity - Fast, creature-based and gets the job done. I am still new to playing this deck and find myself killing on turn 4-5 most of the time.
The decks linked are roughly the same decks. I have made my own, smaller modifications to the decks though.
I feel like Karn is an absolute gem in this deck. He gets me out of so many situations that a Wurmcoil Engine can't. Often, good aggro decks will have you down to low life totals by turn 3 or 4, and if they've placed their hopes and dreams on a big flyer, you can just exile it. Not to mention you force them to choose between hitting Karn or you, and letting Karn +4 even once off of 3 or 6 loyalty can often make him too hard to race.
I win the game with Mindslaver/Academy Ruins 75% of the time, but this usually only happens after I have locked the board down with Karn. He is the best stabilizer out there, IMO. His ult is just a cute little thing you can do if the game runs long and you swallow up lands, but his + abilities are absolutely devastating against both combo and creature-based decks.
I think Temporal Mastery is too cute. Excluding the wincons, I like to play only cards that can be effective without having Tron assembled.
One more Repeal is good if you expect a lot of aggro. Given you're not playing Platinum Angel nor the second Mindslaver, there's no reason to play 4 Treasure Mage, as it can't fetch Karn, which you seem to like in this deck. So I would drop one Mage before one Condescend.
Alright. Any other tips, generally speaking? I think you are right. I hadn't even thought about it, but sometimes my hand floods with Treasure Mages.
If you take a peek at my profile (not on MTGS, use link), you'll see a Blue Urzatron deck. I am thinking about taking out one Talisman of Dominance for one Temporal Mastery . Also, thinking about taking out one Condescend for one Repeal .
I'm hoping to start streaming to my YouTube channel or Twitch soon. Setting aside a budget for some drafts and a Modern deck.
Most of my collection is physical though, so I was wondering:
- What Modern deck is equal parts fun to watch, won't break the bank and competitive?
- Is Standard more popular than Modern for streaming, and if so, what deck is popular right now besides Mardu Vehicles? (lol)
Thanks!
I just think the mechanic's unfair and Wizards printing Become Immense doesn't give me much hope.
Apologies if this post isn't in the right place.
Thank you!
Spellskite hoses the bad Infect match-up, and gives us more inevitability against combo decks like Splinter Twin. Also blocks against aggro.
I run 1 Blackmail over a fourth Inquisition because sometimes your opponent will hold three land and Blackmail+Raven's Crime puts a stop to that.
Cavern of Souls is there not because I believe it adds anything substantial to the deck, but because I have it and it doesn't take away.
The biggest question I have been asking myself is what kind of removal package I should be running. The three cards I continue rotating around my head are Grasp of Darkness, Dismember and Geth's Verdict. But what combination of them?
1 Dakmor Salvage
1 Ghost Quarter
3 Mutavault
12 Swamp
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Blackmail
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Raven's Crime
4 Thoughtseize
4 Wrench Mind
4 Shrieking Affliction
1 Dismember
2 Geth's Verdict
3 Ensnaring Bridge
4 The Rack
2 Spellskite
2 Sygg, River Cutthroat
I have been looking over this list for a while now. I was thinking:
Vendilion Clique as a 1 or 2 of? It accomplishes the same thing as Thoughtseize and provides you with beats once you decide to Beast Within your bridge. That makes 6 damage a turn rather than 3 and forces them to find an answer - which they won't - that much faster.
Also, Akroan Horse. You could control them for 20 turns - or less, due to fetch and shock lands on their part - and then swing in with 20 soldiers. You wouldn't even have to destroy your Ensnaring bridge.
Edit - Maybe Arcbound Ravager as a one-off? Keep coming up with ideas. lol.
Just some thoughts.
Deck list can be found here: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-u-urzatron-2/
Match 1: Mono U Tron VS Jund
Game 1 was a blowout. I countered everything heavily and landed a Wurmcoil Engine , which he was able to dispatch. However, an Academy Ruins /Mindslaver lock was waiting just around the corner for him.
Game 2 he sideboarded in discard spells, and hit me with a very unexpected rakdos returns. This took out my Mindslaver lock combo, and a Wurmcoil Engine with it. I rebounded with a top deck Karn Liberated and played the tempo game until he conceded.
Won 2-0
Match 2: Mono U Tron VS RWU Burn
Game 1 I landed a turn-three Tron, and though his Geist of Saint Traft was scary, I placed an Oblivion Stone onto the field the following turn. I activated it when he attacked, wiping his field. He left his mana open for my turn, for which I was expecting a counterspell of some sort, but it never came. I played a Wurmcoil Engine , and he drilled me with as many burn spells as he could, but it wasn't enough. Not even with an extra 4 damage coming in from his Celestial Colonnade .
Game 2 I didn't land Tron early enough, he was able to put Remand on an Isochron Scepter (even though I countered one Scepter already.) This caused HUGE problems for me, and though I ended up achieving Tron a few turns later, I thought I was dead. I pulled a Karn Liberated off the top, and due to having so much mana, was able to counter his Remand with Condescend and get him on the field. I exiled the Isochron Scepter with Karn's -3 and was finally able to throw my Mindslaver lock onto the field. He took me down to one health before I did it though.
Won 2-0
Match 3: Mono U Tron VS Mono U Tron
Game 1 my opponent kept a 1 land hand and drew into absolutely zero land for nearly four turns. He conceded.
Game 2 my opponent achieved Tron on turn three, whereas I did not achieve it at all. I was able to fend off his Steel Hellkite with Repeal and Remand for a while, but his own counters ended up being too much for me to handle. I conceded when I ran out of utility to defend myself with.
Game 3 the story was the same. I didn't get Tron and he got it on turn 3. Was just sheer luck. I fought tooth and nail to stay alive, though. I was able to get an Oblivion Stone on to the field turn three, and he thankfully ended up Repeal ing a Treasure Mage I put onto the field rather than the Stone. This ended up causing him to go to time with me, because he had no other options to rid the field of my Oblivion Stone .
Drew 1-1 and went to time on third game.
Match 4: Mono U Tron VS GWB Junk
Game 1 I achieved Tron on turn three thanks to Expedition Map . Had a nut draw against junk specifically, with two Oblivion Stone s in my opening hand. I was able to wipe the field twice while countering nasty spells, and eventually prompted a concession to Wurmcoil Engine 's summoning.
Game 2 he Abrupt Decay ed my Expedition Map on turn two. This absolutely destroyed my play for the rest of the game, and he was able to stay one step ahead of me. Was not able to achieve Tron, either. Eventually got knocked out by waves of small attacks.
Game 3 I was able to achieve Tron fairly early on, though he made it hard for me. I had an Oblivion Stone to wipe his field once, and a Karn Liberated to follow up. I just rode Karn to victory and prompted a concession after I began gobbling up his lands.
Won 2-1
Since the tournament was free, only three packs were given out: 2 to the overall winner and 1 randomly. Since my mirror match went to time, the winner was determined by tiebreakers. I ended up placing second, much to my dismay. I am still happy with my performance, and am happy to have represented Mono U Tron well. Overcoming a Burn deck competitively made me very happy, and I will look forward to playing next week.
Here is what I've got:
Mono U Tron - Slow, but almost impossible to beat in the mid-game and disrupts really well from turn two onward.
Generic Living End - Another slow one, but consistent on turn three against anything creature-based. Falls flat against anything Blue.
RUG Pump Infect - Fairly resilient Infect deck, extremely fast. Capable of turn two wins, though consistently kills on turn three.
U/R Affinity - Fast, creature-based and gets the job done. I am still new to playing this deck and find myself killing on turn 4-5 most of the time.
The decks linked are roughly the same decks. I have made my own, smaller modifications to the decks though.
I win the game with Mindslaver/Academy Ruins 75% of the time, but this usually only happens after I have locked the board down with Karn. He is the best stabilizer out there, IMO. His ult is just a cute little thing you can do if the game runs long and you swallow up lands, but his + abilities are absolutely devastating against both combo and creature-based decks.
Alright. Any other tips, generally speaking? I think you are right. I hadn't even thought about it, but sometimes my hand floods with Treasure Mages.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
Merged with Mono U Tron. t_c