This is not a problem I've ever had before. When I can't pick a deck from my sealed pool it's always been because there's always something missing, but there were almost no bad cards in this pool. Every color and every combination was at least playable, and most of it was close enough that I ran out of time in deck building before I was able to finish looking at all the decks I wanted to. Also, this was a PPTQ so I couldn't change things up after taking more time later.
If this gets some traffic and people are interested, I'll post what I built after people have had some time to look at what they would do. Like I said, every color/combination looks reasonable here, there's nothing I would be unhappy with. I laid out maybe four different decks to look at, and there were still at least two more I didn't get time to go into before I had to register. I'm not unhappy with the deck I built, but there's so much here I just want to see what other ways I could have gone with it.
Incidentally, due to a combination of some bad draws, a few misplays, and a couple bombs from my opponent, I lost four very frustrating games in a row and dropped. I wish now that I had stayed in, if only to try out some of the other decks after my game 1s.
That said and on that note, CoP: Red probably is better than Warmth against Burn nowadays, considering maindeck Eidolon of the Great Revel and Sulfuric Vortex. Generally though, a one-time investment noncreature spell is best for a Death and Taxes shell.
I've got a friend that's been running Worship lately. He's playing a different deck (specifically he's playing it alongside counterspells and TNN), so obviously it wouldn't just slide in here so neatly, but if you can resolve Worship against any kind of burn strategy you should be at a huge advantage. The issue, of course, is trying to play it along with Thalia.
I think the biggest problem with Squadron Hawk is that you absolutely have to play all four copies in order to really take advantage of it, and I just don't think you can afford to open up that many slots in this deck for a two-mana 1/1. I love it in something like Modern's Martyr-Proc where having more (white) cards in your hand is a big advantage, and where your primary goal is to grind out as much card advantage as possible over as many turns as it takes. Death and Taxes, on the other hand, really needs creatures that either significantly hinder the opponent or provide a decent clock/defense on their own. Squawk doesn't do either of those things - it can only be good when you have certain other things to go with it, namely Scroll Rack (which in turn would only be good in this deck along with the Squawk) or Stoneforge/Equipment (which is perfectly serviceable with the creatures we already have).
It would seem to me that with karakas shenanigans if you want to be on the Pia & Kiran that ticking vial up to 4 is a non issue.
Once you're doing that, you might as well play one or two Restoration Angel. It goes well with lists that want to tick Vial up to four, and would play very well with an EtB effect like P&K.
Out of pure boredom, I'm just going to throw out some speculation.
We've got 15 unknown lands, assuming the new cycle gets completed, and it's very likely that among those are a cycle of 10, if only because there aren't 15 individual lands good enough for this kind of promo. That part is relatively easy - the cycle of lands that are both the most playable and the most valuable/in need of a reprint are the Filter lands. The buddy/check lands are the next best thing, but I can't imagine such a common/boring cycle getting this treatment.
Beyond that, it depends on what WotC's actual goal is with these reprints. So far, all 25 lands that have shown up are Modern legal. If that remains true with the rest of the expeditions, then those last five slots are really up in the air. If they are willing to do some Legacy reprints, however, there are some clear choices. First and foremost would be Rishadan Port. It's more expensive than Wasteland now, and from what I hear it's the single most expensive Legacy card on MTGO. Next up would be Wasteland, followed by Horizon Canopy and Grove of the Burnwillows. Canopy and Grove can't realistically be reprinted into Standard, because as a cycle the blue lands would probably just be way too good for Standard and probably Modern too.
That leaves just one slot with several realistic options. Mutavault would be great - it does already have a full-art promo, but it's like $700. Mishra's Factory would be another great one, although that one is very easy to find cheap copies.
If they're sticking with Modern legal, full-art Urzatron definitely hits the "cool" factor, but those are too narrow to think that they would get such an awesome promo.
As underwhelming as they are, I would have to say that if they go fully Modern the most likely five lands are the original Zendikar manland cycle. Only two or three of them are really playable, but I would say it's more likely they put in the whole cycle than just the good ones plus a couple stand-alones.
Fair point against Curse, but it's not the only thing I have against those decks. I have Cursed Totem, Deluge, and Chains on top of Plague for Elves, and my maindeck rarely loses to Storm in the first place, even with a Warrens draw. I see Curse more as a nail in the coffin than a first line of defense most of the time, since it hits everything instead of just most/some things.
Looking at my list, I'm thinking that most things are locked in what I want to play and I have five cards I'm not sure about. Those are the two Wurmcoil Engine, two Liliana of the Veil, and the Relic of Progenitus.
I want some kind of big threat besides planeswalkers, and it's mostly between Wurmcoil and Lodestone Golem. I've run Golem before, and I do like that it's another big threat that can be dropped on turn 2. But I think I'm good enough against combo and need more help against the fair/midrange/creature decks. I don't like that the Golem dies to Bolt, even if he does tax it, and Wurmcoil is the best threat I know of against fair decks. Only Swords to Plowshares really deals with it efficiently. If there's something that works better I'm open to changing it, but if I run a creature in this slot I don't think I'll find a better one.
I don't know which graveyard hate card to run in the main deck slot. I'm debating between Relic, Nihil Spellbomb, and Grafdigger's Cage (which is currently in the board, which would open a slot there). I've been reading around that Reanimator could be a big thing at the GP, so Relic may not be the right choice. The Cage was in the main deck until recently, and I might move it back because it's good against Elves as well as graveyard decks. If I do go with Leyline of the Voids in the sideboard that would be plenty of graveyard hate and leave me with an extra slot.
Liliana is the most open to change. I really don't know if it will work out or not. There are two main reasons I decided to try her out. First, I know that she has been great against fair decks in other decks I have played her (mainly Jund/BG style decks), and second that she plays very well with Ensnaring Bridge. There have been several games where I have Bridge out, but I struggle to empty my hand enough to keep it relevant, especially when I want to plus a Tezzeret or brainstorm with Jace and put another card in my hand. My main concern with Liliana is the mana - 1BB is an awkward cost in this deck. Adding Lili and moving Damnation to the main are the reason that the 5th fetch is black instead of blue.
Some random cards I've considered (some more seriously than others), whether for the main deck or the sideboard. Ratchet Bomb for general utility. Staff of Nin for long-game endurance. Trading Post mostly for life gain, but for everything really. Duplicant as an answer to the giant creature decks, whether Show or Reanimate. Lodestone Golem, as mentioned above. Karn Liberated to go bigger than everything.
More Damnation.
I'm just passing by, but I wanted to post this list here since it seems quite different. Not sure if someone saw this list before, sorry if it has already been discussed.
How were the Judge's Familiars? I'm a fan of both more fliers and more 1-drops, so I'm interested to know if it's a real thing or if it's just something you were experimenting with.
I've also thought of Dryad Militant before mainly as a little extra Storm hate, but mine was usually in the board.
Also, why Body and Mind over pretty much any other Sword?
It's an interesting build. A couple of quick suggestions:
1. Do you ever want Thopter Foundry with Sword of the Meek unavailable?
You don't have Transmute Artifact or Tezzeret the Seeker in the build so your ability to match up your 2 Thopter Foundry's with your singleton Sword of the Meek is limited to blind luck, Tezzeret, AoB or Jace. Making the second Thopter Foundry into a singleton Transmute Artifact or Tezzeret the Seeker probably increases your chances to get the combo on line. It also increases your chances to get your other silver bullets online when you need them.
So I posted a 55-card list. I left out all the spells; there should be 3 Transmute Artifact, 1 Thirst for Knowledge, and 1 Damnation in there.
Thopter Foundry without Sword has bought me time at least two or three times before, but it was too long ago to remember the circumstances. I don't think it's bad to just put one down; people that are familiar with the combo usually play different when it's out and might target it over other things that are actually more important. I could probably cut down to one, but I don't know what else I would put in that slot.
2. The 4th Dimir Signet (or Talisman of Dominance if your meta is wasteland heavy) can be really important in the early ramp. Mox Opal and even Mox Diamond also work well as the 7th ramp piece but the 2cc artifacts are the best. There's nothing more depressing than having a perfect hand except for no acceleration at the start.
I definitely want to always have an early Signet/Talisman, but I hate seeing them late. I've lost a not-insignificant number of games where I nearly stabilize but then draw nothing but lands and mana rocks until I die. I almost never want to see more than the second one unless I'm playing against a deck that kills all my lands.
I'd add a 2nd Engineered Plague in the sideboard. It's so good against a bunch of different lists at this point.
I do have Curse of Death's Hold as my second copy. I think I would play a couple Tundras for an Enlightened Tutor in the sideboard before running an extra Plague. Perhaps the Flusterstorm could become a Tutor and another bullet.
Je3vEs: Main feedback is that 18 lands seems way too few. 19-20 would be recommended, especially with Sulfuric Vortex in the list. Other thing is Ingot Chewer seems out of place.
I agree with the land count. It's back up there.Ingot chewer is in there for decks running things like chalice. It's also a way to get around everything but Stifle. I'm still testing it out.
If that's your goal, Shattering Spree can do the same thing with more upside. The replicated copies don't get countered by Chalice, and if there's something you really want off the table you can target it with multiple copies so they can't counter all of them.
[quote from="Nevelo »" url="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/legacy-type-1-5/established-legacy/aggro-tempo/488613-burn?comment=1974"] Look at it as an efficiency angle, Blaze+Bolt to kill Tasigur is 1 wasted damage. Blood+Bolt is exact damage and both still do 3 when Tasigur dies, if you had the landfall that is.
The point with Searing Blaze is that you don't have to kill the creature at all. It just does 3 to both creature and player, and then you can throw that Bolt at their face and ignore Tasigur. Also, it targets the player where Searing Blood doesn't, so getting rid of the creature before resolution would counter Blood while Blaze would still hit the player.
I think the main factor in which one you run is how many fetch lands you have. If you don't run fetches, you probably just don't run Blaze at all. If you have 8+ fetches, and you remember to always keep one uncracked unless you absolutely need it, then Blaze is probably better.
So I've made some minor changes, but I don't really get to test much. Here's what I'm going to try working with, and hopefully I get to do some real testing before GP Seattle.
There are five open slots that I'm not sure about. The Flusterstorm could also be changed, because I'm pretty strong against Storm pre-board anyway. I've run with a Tabernacle, an Abyss, Spellskite, and other random things in the past. I'm thinking 4 Leyline of the Void is very likely, possibly along with a Helm of Obedience. I really don't know yet.
I also considered swapping the Volcanic for a Tundra (and the off-color fetch appropriately) and adding an Enlightened Tutor in the board, since I have a few bullet enchantments.
My friend is going to make UB Tezzeret and I have a question how does Death and Taxes do against it?
I don't have experience playing the matchup, but I have played both decks, so I can tell you what I think about it for what that's worth.
Tezzeret is one of those decks where it depends hugely on your exact list. Changing just a few cards can have a drastic effect on how the deck plays out and what matchups it shines or is vulnerable against. Because of that, I can only really talk about my own list and others that I'm familiar with.
That said, in general Tezzeret tends to be better against the unfair decks and often struggles against fair decks. Their best main deck answer to creatures is mostly Ensnaring Bridge, unless/until they get the Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek combo online. D&T's creatures are often small enough to sneak under a Bridge because Tezz can't always completely empty their hand in the early game, so you can get them to low life totals early on. As usual, Flickerwisp is secretly one of the best cards here - mostly to remove Bridge on your turn, but it can also reset their Planeswalker counters or reset an artifact that Tezzeret has animated, just to mention a couple obvious things.
Thalia is ridiculously good in the matchup. Tezzeret doesn't typically run spot removal, and very few creatures, so everything just straight up costs one more. There is a lot of ramp in the deck, but that extra one mana still makes a big difference.
The lack of spot removal also means that Mom is mostly just a vanilla 1/1. It can sneak you past a Baleful Strix now and then, but you should usually just attack with it for the extra point of damage.
After sideboard is even more dependent on Tezzeret's exact list, but I would say that it shifts a great deal in Tezzeret's favor. Whether it shifts enough to become favorable for Tezzeret, I'm not sure, but expect some kind of Wrath effects in game 2/3 at the very least.
Re: Stoneforge Mystic - I've actually cut down to three to try and make space for a splash color while trying to keep as much of the aggressive and disruptive aspects as possible. I was never happy with drawing a second Stoneforge anyway, and I think when you want to get more aggressive then extra copies just get in the way of what you're trying to do. That applies almost as much to drawing a Stoneforge along with/after naturally drawing any of your equipment. I always felt like anything beyond the first copy was redundant, so I don't necessarily feel bad about cutting the fourth copy.
I'll try to edit my current list in here soon.
I like Jund better than Sultai. The big thing you get from blue is Whirler Rogue, and that's only really good when you combo it with Husk. In Jund you replace that with Pia and Kiran Nalaar, which is mostly the same, and then you can replace Bone Splinters with Collateral Damage to get even more reach. Also, red has much better options in the sideboard than blue - Radiant Flames, Outpost Siege (for either mode), and Rending Volley just off the top of my head.
And if you have the fetch lands, Jund has better mana fixing than Sultai.
So I'll be going to GP Seattle, and I haven't made up my mind what I'm playing yet. It's between this and Tezzerator. My most recent D&T list is probably on here several pages back; I tried out a blue splash for Meddling Mage and really liked it, and I don't expect the (un)ban to change that. I probably want to make some other small changes though, especially the sideboard. I also put my most recent Tezzerator list on that thread, and I'm working on some changes to that as well.
My testing with either deck is equally minimal, but I'm comfortable playing either one. Is there anyone with experience with both archetypes and predicting metagames that has an idea which of the two might be better positioned for Seattle? It seems like every time I have a choice between two decks in a tournament, I always get the matchups that would have been better for the other deck all day long.
If you run the Leyline of the Void/Helm of Obedience combo in the sideboard, when do you bring it all in? Do you just bring in Helm along with the Leylines when you play against graveyard decks, or do you board them in as a combo sometimes? When is it better than Thopter/Sword? If it's always better, why not just run that main-deck?
I refuse to believe that any Standard card can justifiably cost more than $20-25. No individual card is so powerful that you can't win a tournament without it. Jeskai with 0 Jace can perform just as well as with 4 Jace, it's just a matter of tuning the right list.
Maybe there's a tiny bit of exaggeration there; Jeskai specifically might be better with Jace than without, but there is no good reason that a list without Jace can't do well.
On the other hand, keep in mind that the people who Top 8 big tournaments generally spend a ton of time playing that format, so the cards they run will literally pay for themselves in winning smaller tournaments by the time they've reached that point.
1 Thraben Inspector
1 Town Gossipmonger
1 Strength of Arms
2 Devilthorn Fox
1 Spectral Shepherd
1 Cathar's Companion
1 Bygone Bishop
1 Inspiring Captain
1 Reaper of Flight Moonsilver
1 Emissary of the Sleepless
2 Expose Evil
1 Puncturing Light
1 Silverstrike
1 Tenacity
[b]Blue[/b]
1 Stitched Mangler
1 Rattlechains
1 Furtive Homunculus
1 Erdwal Illuminator
1 Silent Observer
1 Engulf the Shore
1 Sleep Paralysis
1 Gone Missing
2 Reckless Scholar
1 Deny Existence
1 Essence Flux
1 Jace's Scrutiny
1 Silburlind Snapper
1 Sinister Concoction
1 Vessel of Malignity
2 Murderous Compulsion
1 Pick the Brain
1 Merciless Resolve
1 Throttle
1 Rottenheart Ghoul
1 Vampire Noble
1 Stromkirk Mentor
1 Tooth Collector
1 Markov Dreadknight
1 Rancid Rats
[b]Red[/b]
1 Ember-Eye Wolf
2 Voldaren Duelist
1 Gatstaf Arsonists
1 Vessel of Volatility
2 Dual Shot
1 Gibbering Fiend
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Magmatic Chasm
1 Senseless Rage
[b]Green[/b]
2 Hinterland Logger
1 Obsessive Skinner
1 Moldgraf Scavenger
1 Cult of the Waxing Moon
1 Silverfur Partisan
2 Thornhide Wolves
1 Quilled Wolf
1 Solitary Hunter
1 Intrepid Provisioner
1 Watcher in the Web
1 Duskwatch Recruiter
1 Vessel of Nascency
1 Confront the Unkown
1 Second Harvest
1 Clip Wings
1 Howlpack Resurgence
1 Might Beyond Reason
1 Equestrian Skill
1 Wicker Witch
1 Runaway Carriage
1 True-Faith Censer
1 Foul Orchard
If this gets some traffic and people are interested, I'll post what I built after people have had some time to look at what they would do. Like I said, every color/combination looks reasonable here, there's nothing I would be unhappy with. I laid out maybe four different decks to look at, and there were still at least two more I didn't get time to go into before I had to register. I'm not unhappy with the deck I built, but there's so much here I just want to see what other ways I could have gone with it.
Incidentally, due to a combination of some bad draws, a few misplays, and a couple bombs from my opponent, I lost four very frustrating games in a row and dropped. I wish now that I had stayed in, if only to try out some of the other decks after my game 1s.
I've got a friend that's been running Worship lately. He's playing a different deck (specifically he's playing it alongside counterspells and TNN), so obviously it wouldn't just slide in here so neatly, but if you can resolve Worship against any kind of burn strategy you should be at a huge advantage. The issue, of course, is trying to play it along with Thalia.
Once you're doing that, you might as well play one or two Restoration Angel. It goes well with lists that want to tick Vial up to four, and would play very well with an EtB effect like P&K.
We've got 15 unknown lands, assuming the new cycle gets completed, and it's very likely that among those are a cycle of 10, if only because there aren't 15 individual lands good enough for this kind of promo. That part is relatively easy - the cycle of lands that are both the most playable and the most valuable/in need of a reprint are the Filter lands. The buddy/check lands are the next best thing, but I can't imagine such a common/boring cycle getting this treatment.
Beyond that, it depends on what WotC's actual goal is with these reprints. So far, all 25 lands that have shown up are Modern legal. If that remains true with the rest of the expeditions, then those last five slots are really up in the air. If they are willing to do some Legacy reprints, however, there are some clear choices. First and foremost would be Rishadan Port. It's more expensive than Wasteland now, and from what I hear it's the single most expensive Legacy card on MTGO. Next up would be Wasteland, followed by Horizon Canopy and Grove of the Burnwillows. Canopy and Grove can't realistically be reprinted into Standard, because as a cycle the blue lands would probably just be way too good for Standard and probably Modern too.
That leaves just one slot with several realistic options. Mutavault would be great - it does already have a full-art promo, but it's like $700. Mishra's Factory would be another great one, although that one is very easy to find cheap copies.
If they're sticking with Modern legal, full-art Urzatron definitely hits the "cool" factor, but those are too narrow to think that they would get such an awesome promo.
As underwhelming as they are, I would have to say that if they go fully Modern the most likely five lands are the original Zendikar manland cycle. Only two or three of them are really playable, but I would say it's more likely they put in the whole cycle than just the good ones plus a couple stand-alones.
Looking at my list, I'm thinking that most things are locked in what I want to play and I have five cards I'm not sure about. Those are the two Wurmcoil Engine, two Liliana of the Veil, and the Relic of Progenitus.
I want some kind of big threat besides planeswalkers, and it's mostly between Wurmcoil and Lodestone Golem. I've run Golem before, and I do like that it's another big threat that can be dropped on turn 2. But I think I'm good enough against combo and need more help against the fair/midrange/creature decks. I don't like that the Golem dies to Bolt, even if he does tax it, and Wurmcoil is the best threat I know of against fair decks. Only Swords to Plowshares really deals with it efficiently. If there's something that works better I'm open to changing it, but if I run a creature in this slot I don't think I'll find a better one.
I don't know which graveyard hate card to run in the main deck slot. I'm debating between Relic, Nihil Spellbomb, and Grafdigger's Cage (which is currently in the board, which would open a slot there). I've been reading around that Reanimator could be a big thing at the GP, so Relic may not be the right choice. The Cage was in the main deck until recently, and I might move it back because it's good against Elves as well as graveyard decks. If I do go with Leyline of the Voids in the sideboard that would be plenty of graveyard hate and leave me with an extra slot.
Liliana is the most open to change. I really don't know if it will work out or not. There are two main reasons I decided to try her out. First, I know that she has been great against fair decks in other decks I have played her (mainly Jund/BG style decks), and second that she plays very well with Ensnaring Bridge. There have been several games where I have Bridge out, but I struggle to empty my hand enough to keep it relevant, especially when I want to plus a Tezzeret or brainstorm with Jace and put another card in my hand. My main concern with Liliana is the mana - 1BB is an awkward cost in this deck. Adding Lili and moving Damnation to the main are the reason that the 5th fetch is black instead of blue.
Some random cards I've considered (some more seriously than others), whether for the main deck or the sideboard.
Ratchet Bomb for general utility.
Staff of Nin for long-game endurance.
Trading Post mostly for life gain, but for everything really.
Duplicant as an answer to the giant creature decks, whether Show or Reanimate.
Lodestone Golem, as mentioned above.
Karn Liberated to go bigger than everything.
More Damnation.
How were the Judge's Familiars? I'm a fan of both more fliers and more 1-drops, so I'm interested to know if it's a real thing or if it's just something you were experimenting with.
I've also thought of Dryad Militant before mainly as a little extra Storm hate, but mine was usually in the board.
Also, why Body and Mind over pretty much any other Sword?
So I posted a 55-card list. I left out all the spells; there should be 3 Transmute Artifact, 1 Thirst for Knowledge, and 1 Damnation in there.
Thopter Foundry without Sword has bought me time at least two or three times before, but it was too long ago to remember the circumstances. I don't think it's bad to just put one down; people that are familiar with the combo usually play different when it's out and might target it over other things that are actually more important. I could probably cut down to one, but I don't know what else I would put in that slot.
I definitely want to always have an early Signet/Talisman, but I hate seeing them late. I've lost a not-insignificant number of games where I nearly stabilize but then draw nothing but lands and mana rocks until I die. I almost never want to see more than the second one unless I'm playing against a deck that kills all my lands.
I do have Curse of Death's Hold as my second copy. I think I would play a couple Tundras for an Enlightened Tutor in the sideboard before running an extra Plague. Perhaps the Flusterstorm could become a Tutor and another bullet.
If that's your goal, Shattering Spree can do the same thing with more upside. The replicated copies don't get countered by Chalice, and if there's something you really want off the table you can target it with multiple copies so they can't counter all of them.
The point with Searing Blaze is that you don't have to kill the creature at all. It just does 3 to both creature and player, and then you can throw that Bolt at their face and ignore Tasigur. Also, it targets the player where Searing Blood doesn't, so getting rid of the creature before resolution would counter Blood while Blaze would still hit the player.
I think the main factor in which one you run is how many fetch lands you have. If you don't run fetches, you probably just don't run Blaze at all. If you have 8+ fetches, and you remember to always keep one uncracked unless you absolutely need it, then Blaze is probably better.
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Liliana of the Veil
4 Baleful Strix
2 Wurmcoil Engine
3 Talisman of Dominance
3 Dimir Signet
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Trinisphere
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Pithing Needle
2 Thopter Foundry
1 Sword of the Meek
3 City of Traitors
4 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
3 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Academy Ruins
The sideboard I'm really not sure about. Here's what I've got.
There are five open slots that I'm not sure about. The Flusterstorm could also be changed, because I'm pretty strong against Storm pre-board anyway. I've run with a Tabernacle, an Abyss, Spellskite, and other random things in the past. I'm thinking 4 Leyline of the Void is very likely, possibly along with a Helm of Obedience. I really don't know yet.
I also considered swapping the Volcanic for a Tundra (and the off-color fetch appropriately) and adding an Enlightened Tutor in the board, since I have a few bullet enchantments.
Tezzeret is one of those decks where it depends hugely on your exact list. Changing just a few cards can have a drastic effect on how the deck plays out and what matchups it shines or is vulnerable against. Because of that, I can only really talk about my own list and others that I'm familiar with.
That said, in general Tezzeret tends to be better against the unfair decks and often struggles against fair decks. Their best main deck answer to creatures is mostly Ensnaring Bridge, unless/until they get the Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek combo online. D&T's creatures are often small enough to sneak under a Bridge because Tezz can't always completely empty their hand in the early game, so you can get them to low life totals early on. As usual, Flickerwisp is secretly one of the best cards here - mostly to remove Bridge on your turn, but it can also reset their Planeswalker counters or reset an artifact that Tezzeret has animated, just to mention a couple obvious things.
Thalia is ridiculously good in the matchup. Tezzeret doesn't typically run spot removal, and very few creatures, so everything just straight up costs one more. There is a lot of ramp in the deck, but that extra one mana still makes a big difference.
The lack of spot removal also means that Mom is mostly just a vanilla 1/1. It can sneak you past a Baleful Strix now and then, but you should usually just attack with it for the extra point of damage.
After sideboard is even more dependent on Tezzeret's exact list, but I would say that it shifts a great deal in Tezzeret's favor. Whether it shifts enough to become favorable for Tezzeret, I'm not sure, but expect some kind of Wrath effects in game 2/3 at the very least.
Re: Stoneforge Mystic - I've actually cut down to three to try and make space for a splash color while trying to keep as much of the aggressive and disruptive aspects as possible. I was never happy with drawing a second Stoneforge anyway, and I think when you want to get more aggressive then extra copies just get in the way of what you're trying to do. That applies almost as much to drawing a Stoneforge along with/after naturally drawing any of your equipment. I always felt like anything beyond the first copy was redundant, so I don't necessarily feel bad about cutting the fourth copy.
I'll try to edit my current list in here soon.
And if you have the fetch lands, Jund has better mana fixing than Sultai.
My testing with either deck is equally minimal, but I'm comfortable playing either one. Is there anyone with experience with both archetypes and predicting metagames that has an idea which of the two might be better positioned for Seattle? It seems like every time I have a choice between two decks in a tournament, I always get the matchups that would have been better for the other deck all day long.
I've been on this for a couple weeks now, and I've been trying to convince people that this is a real thing. Whether it's Jeskai-black or Esper-red.
Not the deck, to be clear. The name. Jesper is just too good to be ignored.
Maybe there's a tiny bit of exaggeration there; Jeskai specifically might be better with Jace than without, but there is no good reason that a list without Jace can't do well.
On the other hand, keep in mind that the people who Top 8 big tournaments generally spend a ton of time playing that format, so the cards they run will literally pay for themselves in winning smaller tournaments by the time they've reached that point.