@Mike and Spike:
Fair enough.
Mike, I'd be glad to know where to find asian results, or at least where to seek. I'm unsure a website hosts regular reports like we see on a few american websites.
Please relax. It has been discussed before and the opinions were split. Not sure how long you have been active on this forum but read back and you will see there are many times where players have cut core cards like nettles, visionary, and even mana dorks.
Opinions were split here, results not as much. This is why I invited to check out factual performances. But it takes 5-10 minutes people don't have sometimes.
Opinions diverge because players search for new ideas when they see a card of the core sometimes feels underwhelming in their experience with the deck. That's it. Then they cut the card, play the deck more, and come back to it. When a player does top8 at a Daily on Mtgo without Visionary or Sentinel, it's gonna change the stats a bit, but that's not relevant in the long course. It doesn't mean the player didn't come back to Visionary or Sentinel either, btw.
Now, trimming 1-2 copy of some core cards to tune a list, yes ! But it's different to ask "is a core piece necessary to the deck ?". It's like ignoring 227 pages of discussion, and ~1 year of results. I won't blame a player for naively asking that kind of question though, so if I sounded as such, I apologize.
I've been active on several modern forums over the last few years, the Elf topic is no different than most. I would even say Elves is easier to talk about than Pod, which I've been on quite a lot in the past.
Now Nettle Sentinel x4 has been in every deck that performed in what they present as 2-3-BIG stars events on MTGtop8 in 2016, except 2 decks at 2-star events that still played 3 copies in very fringe builds (Wurmcoil Engine, Lightnng Greaves...). The extremely vast majority of 1-star events saw 4 copies, a minority saw 3, and the negligible rest that played less were experimental tunings / brews, what we'd call a significant stretch.
To me, when provided at a wide scale, tournament results are answers.
Nettle Sentinel is part of the core, said in other words, Elves is Tier 2 thanks to this card among others that make the core.
As a reminder, here's the core of Elves in 2016 (source MTGTop8, check it out by yourself):
Anything diverging from that core made up results in very small events (and change the stats a bit), but for the most part and for the big tourneys, this is the core.
I suggest not to talk about cutting core pieces unless it's about another very different Elf variant, or because you're convinced you next-leveled everybody with your insight, in which case everyone will be glad to read it.
Because I have been hesitant to slot white cards in the board, I've run Minister of Pain against Infect and Affinity which I think is a reasonable replacement for Kataki
Viscera Seer has been decent against Living End, but I really want to give Eidolon of Rhetoric a try because it over laps in the Ad Nauseam match up which has gotten me once or twice
Minister is a more expansive creature with a less effective effect than Kataki against Affinity. I found the card to be extremely disappointing in my experience. Doesn't hit non-creature artifacts, doesn't hit Ravager, Orni, Nexus, Overseer can resp, Champion, Master... Infect runs too many pumps.
The only competitive MUs where it could shine are Lord-less Faeries and Soul Sisters. Golgari Charm will almost always be better in a SB since it has more applications, costs less, and can easily resp to an opponent's move.
I don't understand the idea behind Viscera Seer since it responds to only one MU. Since Jeskai Nahiri is on the rise, why not play Tajuru Preserver, at least it responds to 2 MUs instead of 1 and is a 2-power elf... ? Eidolon of Rhetoric is a good SB card (well it was great in Pod at least), I suggest you lean towards that one. Great against Burn, Storm, Grixis, Delver, LE and Grishoalbrand, it pulls some weight !
Coco into Finks is 4 mana, Chord into Finks is 6 mana. Meh. However Finks is great when it's in our hand, 2 life for 3 mana is fine. That's the big point in its favor.
What I like with Tusk is Searing B's don't put you behind on board, it plays around Eidolon, and it gains enough life so 1 copy is enough (Leyline will give you nearly 5 life as well in the course of a Burn game). Same goes for Dwynen !
It's a little win more tho, because if I can cast it, I'm probably not doing too badly.
Well It's not always true. Eidolon of the great Revel is their MVP. We can be stuck with uncastable cards in hand in order to save our life total. Tusk can be cast and allow a few more elves to be cast afterwards, or gets back the life we lost that turn we took 6 by casting 3 dudes. Tusk alone can race Burn.
The Burn MU plays out quite weirdly in my experience : I very often see a board state where my elves can block his guys, but 2 more burn spell topdecks kill me. Since we don't have any interaction with his creatures whatsoever, Eidolon is a pain and we have to keep some guys on the back foot to block attackers.
Tusk, Dwynen, Coco, Chord, these are the cards I aim at. Any 1-3 drop is rather bad at this stage of the game, unless it wins on the spot. Even then, it's a risk that your opponent finishes you because the play put you down to 3.
I think the idea behind Pulse of Murasa is to generate a big swing of life because cards like Finks are a bit underwhelming sometimes. Disciple of Nylea is another card that's been discussed and ignored for the most part. Primal Command is versatile. I go with Dwynen + Tusk after I went for Leylines, can't say I regret the latter.
Well, Leyline is not a card I'd recommand because of Wraths nowadays, but not because it's dead when topdecked. Elves is one of the few decks that can hardcast a Leyline anytime in a game. However, it's a poor play once our hand has been emptied out, that's for sure.
Finks is a card, but against Burn, most of the time it's just 2 life gained (the opponent will play around and avoid getting it killed). And like Leyline, it's often a 2-3 slots call.
I personally have a Thragtusk in my board because it ignores Anger of the Gods and Path to Exile, as simple as that. It's also more life than Finks will ever gain you. The card has been proven efficient in Elves, give it a shot.
My personal reasoning is in general :
1- I side out Chord in the slow / fair MUs, because these MUs are favourable for the most part and I don't have creature silverbullets (mostly enchantments). Those decks bring in cards like Cage or Dispel or Aven Mindcensor to improve the MU, and I cut Chord to minimize that improvement.
2- If a Cage is played T1, 2 or 3, you can't do anything but topdecking your Rec Sage naturally anyway.
3- If a combo deck plays Cage, 2 cases :
a) something like Infect or Suicide Zoo, you'd Chord for sthg else in response anyway.
b) something like Storm / Ascendancy, you're screwed, so be it, and get a silverbullet, a lord or a Visionary according to what you brought in.
The cases where a Qasali Pridemage effect would be better are very uncommon, so I don't think it's worth considering any further.
I did play her before but the reason I stopped was largely the same reason I stopped using Sylvan Messenger: 4 cmc. Seriously, not being able to "curve" into her off of a Heritage trio is icky.
I feel you, and I believe Dwynen is in the category of silverbullets that need a context to be worth it, yet not an obligation.
So far, I play her and see her as a MD 5th Coco, a Chameleon or Thrun, i.e. a card that you'll draw naturally and play when the mana is available, and that you miss with Coco (Coco bottoms other copies of itself, but we're like blindfolded when it happens sometimes). No big deal.
There's a consensus that implies any 4-drop is bad because the new norm is to play 4 Cocos. Well, some lists play 16 lords and perform, and some play Intruder Alarm, or Beck // Call and perform... By that I mean there's some flexibility available to us, even in the Coco lists, and we shouldn't stick to netdecking or close the door to the less obvious cards.
Now, I had 3 matches against Infect with the same player yesterday, and we analyzed the games together. I saw her in 3 games, Dwynen won me 1 game only, stopping a Nexus.
Most games though, I faced a Glistener or a Blighted, so she would just be an overcosted lord in those games (I drew her once in those games, I believe). I wish I drew her these other games where I faced Nexuses, but oh well...
I won 1 game with Magus of the Moon though (Cavern on Human, feigning Melira). It's close to Melira in this MU, it's one more big play in sum.
I ended up winning 2 matches out of 3, however in the first match no pet card of mine played a huge role iirc.
I'll come back after a wider sample of matches to discuss Magus and Dwynen again. Maybe in a week or 2.
Fecundity shouldn't be given up on, yet. Anger and Kalitas are things, yes, and yet they are again not the majority- Wrath, Supreme Verdict, Pyro, Return of Koz, Damnation happen often enough and even appear in mainboards.
This is a fair point. You may also point out Fecundity works when then opponent plays a non-path spot removal spell.
That's why I put the card in the "possibly not good enough". It's important to manage to next-level the field we expect anyway. Card is good and your plan looks solid.
I am increasingly feeling Spellskite to be unused; without Twin to steal enchantments from, Bogles largely absent, and Melira being the Chord of choice for Infect, I find its usually just taking up a slot now. Any thoughts on whether this slot should be freed for another card thats more relevant currently?
One may argue the same about Reclamation Sage and Scavenging Ooze. They're the 3 common silver bullets we see in the main. Spellskite has the advantage of giving you game 1 VS Infect, Valakut decks, and may help VS Affi. I feel it's worth a slot more than the 2 other ones, which are way more situational and underwhelming.
I'm way more embarassed by my Rec Sage in the MUs its ability is straight dead.
Your thought emphasizes the fact silver bullets are not very well-positionned right now in the main, because the field is too wide.
I've been eyeing Rhys the Exiled as an alternative. Would like to hear thoughts on this comparison.
Rhys dies to red removal and is a response to a very few MUs, these are the big downsides. It will die against Burn Searing Blood/Searing Blaze, and will ping you VS Eidolon of the Great Revel.
The whole advantage with Dwynen is she's a toolbox by herself. It comes with a price. In the mainboard, think of her as the 4th Chord or the 1-of Lead slot. Or think of her as a Silver bullet you doubt keeping in the main. What does she do that is better than those spells ?
1- Well she blocks Affi-Infect, and nothing else helps as much in the main but racing;
2- She naturally dodges red wraths from tough MUs Valakut decks and Tron, and saves our x/2s from dying then, and nothing else does that in the main but a 2-3 lords combination (which is worth a great Collected Company hit, without the luck factor);
3- She has natural lifegain VS Valakut, Burn, Zoo and Affinity, and nothing does that in the main but a super-expensive Westvale Abbey activation. For those who play the land, they know it wins games, and that they won't cut it anytime soon. Dwynen is less swingy but also requires way less ressources.
Regarding those tough MUs where she shines, it looks super appealing to me !
Magus of the Moon doesn't shut down Tron, it merely slows them down a few turns. Gaddock Teeg, as much as it does turn down some of Tron powerhouses, it turns down both Chord and CoCo as well. I'm not sure if it's worth the tradeoff. But it can be tested I guess.
It slows them down, and does it for sure (hopefull for 2+ turns). This is where my comparison with Revoker tends to go. Revoker has the same downside as Thoughtseize against Tron and Infect : sometimes the opponent has a strong hand and our spell will stop one card but not the other, making the play underwhelming.
Magus and Gaddock stop more cards in average, and stop an opposing hand with various answers. Btw Magus is very decent VS Infect.
The card has already been tested (along with Blood Moon), and it worked. Moon is randomly played in Affinity as well, that's to say how much the card is worth in certain fields. I think the 13 year-old kid who made to the finals at the last GP had one in his main.
About Gaddock, it will shut down your Coco-Chords until they kill it. The goal is to gain enough turns to kill them with the already established board. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't solve the MU, and nothing does actually, so I understand everyone feels different about certain cards.
For those splashing white Mark of Asylum is a great SB card against damage based removal decks. Shuts down Bolts, AotG, Lightning Helix, Pyroclasm, Electrolyze, Kolaghan's Command etc.
So, I'd like to share my feedback according to the metagame we're facing overall online and in large fields. Some stuff is written as factual, but it's all coming from my experience and the time I spent reading back pages 75-150 (July 2015 until Eldrazi winter), and comparing other players feedback and experience. Some conclusions are obvious and similar to what have been said for years, fortunately.
1- Tier 1 is GR Tron (30/70), Infect (40/60), Jund (50/50), Burn (50/50), Affinity (50/50) and Melira (60/40).
One may argue about the ratio I put in parenthesis, but overall, we struggle really hard against Tron and Infect, this is fact.
Even though Burn and Affinity may feel slightly favorable when we know the MU well, we still lose to races post-sideboard, variance included, so I'll stay humble about those MUs.
Finally, Melira I never lost to unless they had very lucky draws (got beaten on the thread twice in ~10 matches).
Conclusion : we NEED a strong sideboard plan for at least Infect and Tron. Ignoring these MUs = wrong deckbuilding. It also means dedicating more slots, and more powerful silver bullets. Magus of the Moon and Gaddock Teeg shut down Tron in a huge manner. Phyrexian Revoker, way too narrow (since we don't see the opponent's hand, it's all guessing). Removal for Infect like Dromoka's Command, Golgari Charm, Beast Within, Dismember, yes. Melira is a must (not obvious when you start playing the deck). Thoughtseize is a good card for black, but the manabase and the build needs to focus on hitting black consistently. Stony Silence is better than Fracturing Gust in the white variant because it also hits Tron badly.
2- Tier 2-3 offers tricky MUs where Anger of the Gods and various Supreme Verdict effects are played mainboard : GR Valakut, Scapeshift, Jeskai (Kiki or Nahiri or others), Blue Moon, Grixis, Mardu, Boros Prison.
Control MUs remain favourable but we have to slow roll and play grindy. I almost never lost to control in 20+ matches. On the other hand Valakut decks are ramping fast and they are unfavourable MUs.
3- The manabase : I read some confident players say they've had no issue with their splash and only 8 colored sources. This is not true. With 8 sources, you lose games because you don't have your colour on time. You mulligan hard because you don't have your colour. It will happen with 10 sources as well, but I recommand pushing in that direction anyway (9 is a good start for a fairly heavy splash in the SB). Many players seem to play it super-greedy and I believe this is one reason why Elves is slightly inconsistent and doesn't perform that much.
Another reason is players drop Elvish Visionary. Believe me, I've done it for a while, and I eventually come back to 4 copies. Cavern of Souls is overrated right now. There's not that many counterspell decks, and those ones are not our worst MUs, most of them are actually slightly favourable.
Conclusion : Consistency is one pillar of good deckbuilding. If you cut Visionaries, then you don't play off-colour non-creature cards. Concessions must be done. Infect plays 15 blue sources. Affinity plays 12 rainbow sources. They're super-short on mana yet super-consistent.
Side note, Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen is an appealing card since it blocks flyers from Affi and Infect, survives Anger of the Gods and gains life against Burn. She may be a good meta call. I'll try it since there's always a few flex spots in my list.
Ayiluss's affirmation is everything but factual. Counterspell is not too good for Modern. It would be a nice upgrade, without breaking blue decks. It's only - as you stated - probably too good for a standard environment though.
We can expect from Wizards new conditional counterspells like Silumgar's Scorn in the future, and maybe one will be pushed enough to see Modern play along/over the ones that are currently played.
About Misdirection, before talking about Delver, one may guess that card would raise Infect higher than it already is.
Free spells are pretty uncommon in Modern, we have the Shoals cycle which sees almost no play (Nourishing in Grishoalbrand, Disrupting somewhere in rogue Delver lists), and their power level is pretty low.
Then the Pacts cycle, but they require an awkward mana investment (that's why it's mainly played in decks that generate a lot of mana like Amulet Titan or that kill before the next upkeep like Ad Nauseam).
Plus that kind of card mechanic (free spells with game-winning effects) will never be reprinted in a standard environment again.
It doesn't hugely matter whether you run 3 or 4, let's be clear. Just be aware Grafdigger's Cage is played more and you have to expect it from many sideboards because it fights well the current top tier decks + usual strong strategies :
Abzan Melira, Kiki Chord, Jeskai Nahiri, Elves, Snapcaster decks, Goryo's Vengeance, Unburial Rites, Living End,...
If your meta has a couple of these decks and players know each other, beware of Cage and maybe run only 3 Chords and make room for another creature or a Lead the Stampede.
Now, you want to side out Chord against decks where you don't bring in silver bullets. For example, Bant Eldrazi, GW Hatebears, D&T, Kiki Chord... all these decks you want to race and you have favourable MUs there. Unless you really want to Chord for an Elvish Champion, no reason to keep them over better SB cards.
You might not want to keep Chord against UWx and BGx if your plan is to naturally draw into CA and play the grindy game (Thrun, the Last Troll, Rest in Peace, etc...).
You also might want to side them out against a deck that runs (Cage along with) other spells that would make Chord bad (Dispel, Aven Mindcensor, Leonin Arbiter,...).
Chord is the one card you want to draw in unfavourable MUs where you need a silver bullet, basically.
Of course your SB plan - once established - drives your decision of keeping Chord or not. Every list is different.
I agree with your statements. It's all fair argument in a vacuum.
I think many players go on playing 4 Elvish Visionarys because the hardest MUs are so luck dependant and the SB options so hard to topdeck naturally that players want to put the maximum chances on their side. Infect is an unfavourable MU, so you NEED Coco-Chord into Melira, and probably a Skite too because they have ways to answer 1 silverbullet, probably not 2. GR Tron is an unfavourable MU and people play cards like Eerie Interlude, Thoughtseize, I personally run Gaddock Teeg and Magus of the Moon in a GW list... Visionary is the only card that digs into non-creature silver bullets here.
Same goes for other MUs where the opponent has a super strong plan against elves (either sthg all-in or a heavy-disruptive build).
My sideboard plan is 3 Leyline of Vitality. I seek lords to make Anger of the Gods useless. I also have Magus of the Moon to shut down Valakut. Leyline and Skite help protect Magus.
I need a good hand to win against T3 Anger into T5 Titan though. On the draw I don't think I can beat a goldfish T3-4 Titan, unless he bricks after that. Fortunately, the deck is almost as inconsistent as Grishoalbrand.
I had way more wins than losses, but it can be due to players' lack of experience, variance and all. GR Tron being a comparable MU is something I fear much more, because their top curve makes a comeback litterally impossible, unless we play Craterhoof Behemoth or some kind of spicy SB tech (early Gaddock Teeg for example).
I agree. I'd rather have a Chameleon Colossus instead of a Dismember. Elves has to be proactive, and an oppressive topdeck is always better than a reactive one in control/midrange MUs. Any reactive spell is highly debatable, especially the ones that don't win by themselves. If you play white, against Kalitas decks you should board in Rest in Peace, which fizzles Kalitas's ability since the controller of the creature that dies chooses what effect will apply first. Stony Silence and Rest in Peace kill decks, they're "wrath" effects in a way. Even Burrenton-Forge Tender indirectly wins the game. Dismember is a spot removal, and I believe that kind of interaction has to be stuck on a creature to be worth it. The more I play the deck, the more I dislike non-creature spot removal. I think they deserve slots in very specific and narrow environments, but not at large events.
For control MUs, or BGx midrange, I feel like we need a BFT / Dauntless Escort and some high-end threats if the game goes long.
But we have to admit everybody sides differently and noone's 100% right. We've seen reactive sideboards perform well, and proactive ones too. Where's the consensus then ?
Fair enough.
Mike, I'd be glad to know where to find asian results, or at least where to seek. I'm unsure a website hosts regular reports like we see on a few american websites.
Opinions were split here, results not as much. This is why I invited to check out factual performances. But it takes 5-10 minutes people don't have sometimes.
Opinions diverge because players search for new ideas when they see a card of the core sometimes feels underwhelming in their experience with the deck. That's it. Then they cut the card, play the deck more, and come back to it. When a player does top8 at a Daily on Mtgo without Visionary or Sentinel, it's gonna change the stats a bit, but that's not relevant in the long course. It doesn't mean the player didn't come back to Visionary or Sentinel either, btw.
Now, trimming 1-2 copy of some core cards to tune a list, yes ! But it's different to ask "is a core piece necessary to the deck ?". It's like ignoring 227 pages of discussion, and ~1 year of results. I won't blame a player for naively asking that kind of question though, so if I sounded as such, I apologize.
I've been active on several modern forums over the last few years, the Elf topic is no different than most. I would even say Elves is easier to talk about than Pod, which I've been on quite a lot in the past.
Now Nettle Sentinel x4 has been in every deck that performed in what they present as 2-3-BIG stars events on MTGtop8 in 2016, except 2 decks at 2-star events that still played 3 copies in very fringe builds (Wurmcoil Engine, Lightnng Greaves...). The extremely vast majority of 1-star events saw 4 copies, a minority saw 3, and the negligible rest that played less were experimental tunings / brews, what we'd call a significant stretch.
To me, when provided at a wide scale, tournament results are answers.
As a reminder, here's the core of Elves in 2016 (source MTGTop8, check it out by yourself):
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Heritage Druid
4 Dwynen's Elite
3 Elvish Visionary
4 Elvish Archdruid
2 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4 Collected Company
Anything diverging from that core made up results in very small events (and change the stats a bit), but for the most part and for the big tourneys, this is the core.
I suggest not to talk about cutting core pieces unless it's about another very different Elf variant, or because you're convinced you next-leveled everybody with your insight, in which case everyone will be glad to read it.
Minister is a more expansive creature with a less effective effect than Kataki against Affinity. I found the card to be extremely disappointing in my experience. Doesn't hit non-creature artifacts, doesn't hit Ravager, Orni, Nexus, Overseer can resp, Champion, Master... Infect runs too many pumps.
The only competitive MUs where it could shine are Lord-less Faeries and Soul Sisters.
Golgari Charm will almost always be better in a SB since it has more applications, costs less, and can easily resp to an opponent's move.
I don't understand the idea behind Viscera Seer since it responds to only one MU. Since Jeskai Nahiri is on the rise, why not play Tajuru Preserver, at least it responds to 2 MUs instead of 1 and is a 2-power elf... ?
Eidolon of Rhetoric is a good SB card (well it was great in Pod at least), I suggest you lean towards that one. Great against Burn, Storm, Grixis, Delver, LE and Grishoalbrand, it pulls some weight !
What I like with Tusk is Searing B's don't put you behind on board, it plays around Eidolon, and it gains enough life so 1 copy is enough (Leyline will give you nearly 5 life as well in the course of a Burn game). Same goes for Dwynen !
Well It's not always true. Eidolon of the great Revel is their MVP. We can be stuck with uncastable cards in hand in order to save our life total. Tusk can be cast and allow a few more elves to be cast afterwards, or gets back the life we lost that turn we took 6 by casting 3 dudes. Tusk alone can race Burn.
The Burn MU plays out quite weirdly in my experience : I very often see a board state where my elves can block his guys, but 2 more burn spell topdecks kill me. Since we don't have any interaction with his creatures whatsoever, Eidolon is a pain and we have to keep some guys on the back foot to block attackers.
Tusk, Dwynen, Coco, Chord, these are the cards I aim at. Any 1-3 drop is rather bad at this stage of the game, unless it wins on the spot. Even then, it's a risk that your opponent finishes you because the play put you down to 3.
I think the idea behind Pulse of Murasa is to generate a big swing of life because cards like Finks are a bit underwhelming sometimes. Disciple of Nylea is another card that's been discussed and ignored for the most part. Primal Command is versatile. I go with Dwynen + Tusk after I went for Leylines, can't say I regret the latter.
Finks is a card, but against Burn, most of the time it's just 2 life gained (the opponent will play around and avoid getting it killed). And like Leyline, it's often a 2-3 slots call.
I personally have a Thragtusk in my board because it ignores Anger of the Gods and Path to Exile, as simple as that. It's also more life than Finks will ever gain you. The card has been proven efficient in Elves, give it a shot.
1- I side out Chord in the slow / fair MUs, because these MUs are favourable for the most part and I don't have creature silverbullets (mostly enchantments). Those decks bring in cards like Cage or Dispel or Aven Mindcensor to improve the MU, and I cut Chord to minimize that improvement.
2- If a Cage is played T1, 2 or 3, you can't do anything but topdecking your Rec Sage naturally anyway.
3- If a combo deck plays Cage, 2 cases :
a) something like Infect or Suicide Zoo, you'd Chord for sthg else in response anyway.
b) something like Storm / Ascendancy, you're screwed, so be it, and get a silverbullet, a lord or a Visionary according to what you brought in.
The cases where a Qasali Pridemage effect would be better are very uncommon, so I don't think it's worth considering any further.
I feel you, and I believe Dwynen is in the category of silverbullets that need a context to be worth it, yet not an obligation.
So far, I play her and see her as a MD 5th Coco, a Chameleon or Thrun, i.e. a card that you'll draw naturally and play when the mana is available, and that you miss with Coco (Coco bottoms other copies of itself, but we're like blindfolded when it happens sometimes). No big deal.
There's a consensus that implies any 4-drop is bad because the new norm is to play 4 Cocos. Well, some lists play 16 lords and perform, and some play Intruder Alarm, or Beck // Call and perform... By that I mean there's some flexibility available to us, even in the Coco lists, and we shouldn't stick to netdecking or close the door to the less obvious cards.
Now, I had 3 matches against Infect with the same player yesterday, and we analyzed the games together. I saw her in 3 games, Dwynen won me 1 game only, stopping a Nexus.
Most games though, I faced a Glistener or a Blighted, so she would just be an overcosted lord in those games (I drew her once in those games, I believe). I wish I drew her these other games where I faced Nexuses, but oh well...
I won 1 game with Magus of the Moon though (Cavern on Human, feigning Melira). It's close to Melira in this MU, it's one more big play in sum.
I ended up winning 2 matches out of 3, however in the first match no pet card of mine played a huge role iirc.
I'll come back after a wider sample of matches to discuss Magus and Dwynen again. Maybe in a week or 2.
This is a fair point. You may also point out Fecundity works when then opponent plays a non-path spot removal spell.
That's why I put the card in the "possibly not good enough". It's important to manage to next-level the field we expect anyway. Card is good and your plan looks solid.
One may argue the same about Reclamation Sage and Scavenging Ooze. They're the 3 common silver bullets we see in the main. Spellskite has the advantage of giving you game 1 VS Infect, Valakut decks, and may help VS Affi. I feel it's worth a slot more than the 2 other ones, which are way more situational and underwhelming.
I'm way more embarassed by my Rec Sage in the MUs its ability is straight dead.
Your thought emphasizes the fact silver bullets are not very well-positionned right now in the main, because the field is too wide.
Rhys dies to red removal and is a response to a very few MUs, these are the big downsides. It will die against Burn Searing Blood/Searing Blaze, and will ping you VS Eidolon of the Great Revel.
The whole advantage with Dwynen is she's a toolbox by herself. It comes with a price. In the mainboard, think of her as the 4th Chord or the 1-of Lead slot. Or think of her as a Silver bullet you doubt keeping in the main. What does she do that is better than those spells ?
1- Well she blocks Affi-Infect, and nothing else helps as much in the main but racing;
2- She naturally dodges red wraths from tough MUs Valakut decks and Tron, and saves our x/2s from dying then, and nothing else does that in the main but a 2-3 lords combination (which is worth a great Collected Company hit, without the luck factor);
3- She has natural lifegain VS Valakut, Burn, Zoo and Affinity, and nothing does that in the main but a super-expensive Westvale Abbey activation. For those who play the land, they know it wins games, and that they won't cut it anytime soon. Dwynen is less swingy but also requires way less ressources.
Regarding those tough MUs where she shines, it looks super appealing to me !
It slows them down, and does it for sure (hopefull for 2+ turns). This is where my comparison with Revoker tends to go. Revoker has the same downside as Thoughtseize against Tron and Infect : sometimes the opponent has a strong hand and our spell will stop one card but not the other, making the play underwhelming.
Magus and Gaddock stop more cards in average, and stop an opposing hand with various answers. Btw Magus is very decent VS Infect.
The card has already been tested (along with Blood Moon), and it worked. Moon is randomly played in Affinity as well, that's to say how much the card is worth in certain fields. I think the 13 year-old kid who made to the finals at the last GP had one in his main.
About Gaddock, it will shut down your Coco-Chords until they kill it. The goal is to gain enough turns to kill them with the already established board. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't solve the MU, and nothing does actually, so I understand everyone feels different about certain cards.
Great call ! I had forgotten that card.
1- Tier 1 is GR Tron (30/70), Infect (40/60), Jund (50/50), Burn (50/50), Affinity (50/50) and Melira (60/40).
One may argue about the ratio I put in parenthesis, but overall, we struggle really hard against Tron and Infect, this is fact.
Even though Burn and Affinity may feel slightly favorable when we know the MU well, we still lose to races post-sideboard, variance included, so I'll stay humble about those MUs.
Finally, Melira I never lost to unless they had very lucky draws (got beaten on the thread twice in ~10 matches).
Conclusion : we NEED a strong sideboard plan for at least Infect and Tron. Ignoring these MUs = wrong deckbuilding. It also means dedicating more slots, and more powerful silver bullets. Magus of the Moon and Gaddock Teeg shut down Tron in a huge manner. Phyrexian Revoker, way too narrow (since we don't see the opponent's hand, it's all guessing). Removal for Infect like Dromoka's Command, Golgari Charm, Beast Within, Dismember, yes. Melira is a must (not obvious when you start playing the deck).
Thoughtseize is a good card for black, but the manabase and the build needs to focus on hitting black consistently.
Stony Silence is better than Fracturing Gust in the white variant because it also hits Tron badly.
2- Tier 2-3 offers tricky MUs where Anger of the Gods and various Supreme Verdict effects are played mainboard : GR Valakut, Scapeshift, Jeskai (Kiki or Nahiri or others), Blue Moon, Grixis, Mardu, Boros Prison.
Control MUs remain favourable but we have to slow roll and play grindy. I almost never lost to control in 20+ matches. On the other hand Valakut decks are ramping fast and they are unfavourable MUs.
Conclusion : More than ever, the SB needs many answers to sweepers, but the presence of AotG makes some options obsolete : Leyline of Vitality, Kitchen Finks, Prowess of the Fair, Fecundity, possibly not good enough. Burrenton-Forge-Tender, Dauntless Escort, Golgari Charm, Dromoka's Command, yes. What I like with the 2 latter is that they have game against sweepers and Infect + Affinity, even though their removal option may be a trade down when played in extremis.
3- The manabase : I read some confident players say they've had no issue with their splash and only 8 colored sources. This is not true. With 8 sources, you lose games because you don't have your colour on time. You mulligan hard because you don't have your colour. It will happen with 10 sources as well, but I recommand pushing in that direction anyway (9 is a good start for a fairly heavy splash in the SB). Many players seem to play it super-greedy and I believe this is one reason why Elves is slightly inconsistent and doesn't perform that much.
Another reason is players drop Elvish Visionary. Believe me, I've done it for a while, and I eventually come back to 4 copies.
Cavern of Souls is overrated right now. There's not that many counterspell decks, and those ones are not our worst MUs, most of them are actually slightly favourable.
Conclusion : Consistency is one pillar of good deckbuilding. If you cut Visionaries, then you don't play off-colour non-creature cards. Concessions must be done. Infect plays 15 blue sources. Affinity plays 12 rainbow sources. They're super-short on mana yet super-consistent.
Side note, Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen is an appealing card since it blocks flyers from Affi and Infect, survives Anger of the Gods and gains life against Burn. She may be a good meta call. I'll try it since there's always a few flex spots in my list.
We can expect from Wizards new conditional counterspells like Silumgar's Scorn in the future, and maybe one will be pushed enough to see Modern play along/over the ones that are currently played.
About Misdirection, before talking about Delver, one may guess that card would raise Infect higher than it already is.
Free spells are pretty uncommon in Modern, we have the Shoals cycle which sees almost no play (Nourishing in Grishoalbrand, Disrupting somewhere in rogue Delver lists), and their power level is pretty low.
Then the Pacts cycle, but they require an awkward mana investment (that's why it's mainly played in decks that generate a lot of mana like Amulet Titan or that kill before the next upkeep like Ad Nauseam).
Plus that kind of card mechanic (free spells with game-winning effects) will never be reprinted in a standard environment again.
It doesn't hugely matter whether you run 3 or 4, let's be clear. Just be aware Grafdigger's Cage is played more and you have to expect it from many sideboards because it fights well the current top tier decks + usual strong strategies :
Abzan Melira, Kiki Chord, Jeskai Nahiri, Elves, Snapcaster decks, Goryo's Vengeance, Unburial Rites, Living End,...
If your meta has a couple of these decks and players know each other, beware of Cage and maybe run only 3 Chords and make room for another creature or a Lead the Stampede.
Now, you want to side out Chord against decks where you don't bring in silver bullets. For example, Bant Eldrazi, GW Hatebears, D&T, Kiki Chord... all these decks you want to race and you have favourable MUs there. Unless you really want to Chord for an Elvish Champion, no reason to keep them over better SB cards.
You might not want to keep Chord against UWx and BGx if your plan is to naturally draw into CA and play the grindy game (Thrun, the Last Troll, Rest in Peace, etc...).
You also might want to side them out against a deck that runs (Cage along with) other spells that would make Chord bad (Dispel, Aven Mindcensor, Leonin Arbiter,...).
Chord is the one card you want to draw in unfavourable MUs where you need a silver bullet, basically.
Of course your SB plan - once established - drives your decision of keeping Chord or not. Every list is different.
I think many players go on playing 4 Elvish Visionarys because the hardest MUs are so luck dependant and the SB options so hard to topdeck naturally that players want to put the maximum chances on their side.
Infect is an unfavourable MU, so you NEED Coco-Chord into Melira, and probably a Skite too because they have ways to answer 1 silverbullet, probably not 2.
GR Tron is an unfavourable MU and people play cards like Eerie Interlude, Thoughtseize, I personally run Gaddock Teeg and Magus of the Moon in a GW list... Visionary is the only card that digs into non-creature silver bullets here.
Same goes for other MUs where the opponent has a super strong plan against elves (either sthg all-in or a heavy-disruptive build).
I need a good hand to win against T3 Anger into T5 Titan though. On the draw I don't think I can beat a goldfish T3-4 Titan, unless he bricks after that. Fortunately, the deck is almost as inconsistent as Grishoalbrand.
I had way more wins than losses, but it can be due to players' lack of experience, variance and all. GR Tron being a comparable MU is something I fear much more, because their top curve makes a comeback litterally impossible, unless we play Craterhoof Behemoth or some kind of spicy SB tech (early Gaddock Teeg for example).
Stony Silence and Rest in Peace kill decks, they're "wrath" effects in a way. Even Burrenton-Forge Tender indirectly wins the game. Dismember is a spot removal, and I believe that kind of interaction has to be stuck on a creature to be worth it. The more I play the deck, the more I dislike non-creature spot removal. I think they deserve slots in very specific and narrow environments, but not at large events.
For control MUs, or BGx midrange, I feel like we need a BFT / Dauntless Escort and some high-end threats if the game goes long.
But we have to admit everybody sides differently and noone's 100% right. We've seen reactive sideboards perform well, and proactive ones too. Where's the consensus then ?