Personally, I think the ideas that "Archenemy" occurs when there's a fast combo deck at the table and that holding mana up for instants stunts your ability to "actually play" are pretty overblown. Comboing out on an early turn with enough protection for 2 spells aimed at disrupting the combo is highly unlikely, and I think it's the table's fault if the combo player gets enough breathing room to set this up.
That said, I also agree with what Goose had to say. I think a playgroup that's mindful of everyone having a good time is the most important aspect of this format. In other words, some compromises should be made on either end of the spectrum.
I've gotten to test against Grixis Death's Shadow a bit, and I took the deck to an FNM last week. I played against UW prison, Burn, UWR Delver, and 8Rack.
Death's Shadow can be tough if they get a nuts draw, but the deck performed a bit better than expected, primarily due to having access to burn, flexible counters, and bounce spells. Ideally I'd want to build up a critical mass of burn spells for the late game, while holding up countermagic whenever I can and bouncing their delve fatties. Rune Snag shines here, largely due to the fact that the stock Shadow list plays so few lands. Games 2-3 I'd probably want Relic, Ratchet Bomb, at least 1 Keranos, and maybe an extra counter and/or Echoing Truth out of the board.
Burn was also a bit better than expected. Game 1 wasn't too bad, even though my opponent had a pretty nuts draw - I think it was something like turn 1 Guide and 2 Guides on turn 2, along with a couple of bolts. Fortunately I drew into enough removal, and a turn 5-6 Batterskull was backbreaking in tandem with a hard counter for 1 of 2 Searing Blazes after my opponent found his 4th land. I think G2-3 can be further in Burn's favor if it's an RG/x variant with Revelry - waiting until turn 7/8 to cast Batterskull isn't really an option the majority of the time, so I basically just had to bank on being able to counter and kill enough relevant stuff early on and hope for the best when dropping the life-gaining artifacts on-curve. Side note: Spreading Seas is an all-star in this matchup. I think it's almost always worth dropping on turn 2 instead of keeping counter/removal mana up, just because it's so crippling to lock a sub 20-land deck out of a color/RR.
UWR Delver was a good matchup. Venser is an incredible answer to an attacking Geist of Saint Traft, and maindecked Angers + 1 CMC removal + Batterskull are tough for Delver decks to handle. Unfortunately I wasn't patient enough with my win conditions in games 1 and 3, and ended up losing - but I don't think the deck is to blame for my errors in judgment.
8Rack is a horrific matchup, as is the case for almost any control deck. Echoing Truth, Ratchet Bomb, Sun Droplet, Vandalblast, Negate, and Keranos probably all come in for this one. Repeated pinpoint discard in tandem with Liliana, Wrench Mind, and the potential for a semi-transformative Pack Rat sideboard plan (I pretty much have to side Anger out) make it almost impossible to win. Basically the 8Rack pilot needs to draw poorly and I need to have a turn 5 Batterskull or Keranos.
Essence Backlash looks hilarious for the Death's Shadow matchup. I may try out a single copy in the sideboard if I see enough Shadow/big aggro at the next FNM. Logic Knot is a card I've been considering for a little while, and it's probably better than Deprive in a lot of situations. I'll probably test it once I start modifying the counter suite in anticipation of acquiring some Cryptic Commands. Given that I'm only playing 4 fetchlands, I think I'd probably want a single copy.
Decided to go with a more tempo/aggro-control oriented list. Young Pyro is a good wincon, especially dropped on turn 4 or later. I think it's in a pretty good place right now with Death's Shadow running rampant. Stratus Dancer and Clique are nice disruption, although neither should be played as a 4-of - and the Dancers should probably be traded out for Snaps when I have the cash available. Gearhulk is a really solid 1-of with several high-impact instants available: Cryptic and Commit/Memory are both excellent targets. Keranos is also a great 1-of here. I'm considering going with 1-2 Cryptic Serpent, but I'm not sure what I'd cut at this point.
Here's a control shell that incorporates a versatile toolbox, recursive elements, and a healthy amount of card advantage overall. I've attempted to utilize the well-known Myr Servitor interaction in order to power out Salvage Titans, as well as to gain incremental value (hasn't everyone always had a secret desire to play Etherium Astrolabe?). Salvage Titan is admittedly a rather weak card, but I enjoy its potential for aggression and the grindy interactions it provides. For example: pitch a Titan to Intuition; cycle through 3 Citadels; exile the Citadels to gain a card. You can do the same thing with irrelevant trinkets. Not amazing, but worthwhile in a longer match.
It looks like a bit of a pile at present, but I've had consistent results in testing - the deck is pretty weak to aggressive strategies, and probably just folds to most combo decks. Extra Duresses and Sunbeam Spellbombs out of the board help shore up these matchups a bit.
I only have fetches in the list because I already own them - I've eschewed a few other similarly expensive options that I don't have access to.
I really like the Probes and hand disruption here. More Probes might actually be beneficial: it's important to know what the opponent is up to in order to plan out the correct Intuition chain/s.
Esper Charm is a notable omission. It's an awesome card, but I can't justify playing it over Thirst for Knowledge or any of the removal spells. Maindecked removal is necessary in order to have a shot against R and G decks, and the Esper shard is much harder to come by than 2U.
I did see that about Ring. I figure it'll work passably in a mono-colored deck.
I'd rather play Blistercoil Weird as a lesser 1-drop. I think it's generally as powerful/aggressive as the Bear, and it can be a little more resilient to removal. The untap effect is also hilarious and pretty effective vs. aggro decks.
Thanks for the info! You make some fair points, and after some testing I'm inclined to agree with you regarding Shorecrasher and Stratus Dancer. Dancer really does seem like the best option for the 2-drop slot if one does not have access to Snapcasters: it can either be played on curve as a dumb flying beater, or cast and flipped for extra mana in order to attain value. It's really the same concept as Tiago, just a little less flexible and a little better at beating down.
Currently I'm wondering whether Bear is a necessary piece of this gameplan. It's the worst card in the deck - by far - and topdecking one in almost any situation leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Stratus Dancer, Shorecrasher, and Conclave are all either very resilient or difficult to interact with - since eschewing Ninja seems a bit stronger overall (I agree with this statement in the absence of Disrupting Shoal, but I think decks that incorporate the aforementioned card need the extra draw power), why are we still trying to shove terrible 1-drops into this deck? I understand there's an argument for a more aggressive gameplan, but I really don't think Bear does positive things for the deck in lieu of other options.
I think devoting a little more attention to Delver flipping makes sense - upping the instant/sorcery count is one benefit of cutting the Bears. Psionic Blast is a passable replacement for Bear as far as damage is concerned, I think. It's also much more flexible than a dumb 2/2.
21 lands in a deck that utilizes Telling Time over Serum Visions has proven a bit more consistent for me - especially when Shorecrasher is taken into account. I also like playing an extra Conclave, given that I lack a substantial creature count.
The sideboard was constructed with the idea that I want to avoid diluting my instant/sorcery count after boarding: most matchups can be effectively boarded for without cutting more than 4 instants/sorceries. Prism Ring is a little janky, but I figure that I'll want the Mages in for most aggro matchups anyway - just to have extra bodies on the board - and that I may as well get some value out of them. Ring really isn't bad against mono red, given our curve.
Inspired by the "Ninja Bear Delver" deck that a few of the guys at CFB created, I've decided to get into Modern with a mono-U tempo list. Here's my take on this archetype (this is a budget list, of course):
Obviously eschewing Cryptic Command and Snapcaster is rather sub-optimal, but we do get maindecked Spellstutter Sprite as a result. Spellstutter can nearly achieve Snapcaster's level of effectiveness in the right metagame, and reusing it via Ninja bounce is awesome. Faerie Miscreant is a little questionable, but it's an evasive one drop that can draw cards (in combination with either Ninja or another Miscreant) and power up Sprite.
Psionic Blast gives this list some extra reach, which is great considering that I've chosen to use a few 1-power fliers as opposed to the 2-power creatures in the budgetless version. It's an unexpected card that gives us some flexibility - being able to take out a 4-toughness creature, target a planeswalker, or push through 4 points of damage are all things that this deck wants to be doing.
The rest of the list is pretty standard. I think it needs Boomerang or a similar effect in order to deal with problem permanents. Setting control decks/Tron back a land drop can prove effective (as can bouncing a shock when the opponent has to replay it in order to maintain tempo), too. Faerie Conclave works as a budget replacement for Mutavault, but its downsides are rather substantial.
The sideboard may need work, but it covers most of the deck's weaknesses at present. Relic obviously helps out vs. Living End and other graveyard strategies. The 1-CMC counterspells are effective vs. decks that seek to out-tempo me - Affinity, red decks, and Twin, namely. Hibernation is an out vs. Bogles/Gx aggro.
Here's a list I've been toying with for a few days. I think it shows promise. Coastal Piracy effects could prove effective in tandem with a strong token production engine, even in a multiplayer environment.
The gameplan is essentially to bounce/counter early threats, then drop Talrand once I draw into protection/have enough mana up to counter a spell or two after casting him. Cranking out drakes happens pretty passively, but building a critical mass of them requires skilled political interaction and a lot of discernment with counters. Opposition could prove extremely useful here, locking out the opponents most likely to wrath/disrupt my strategy.
Right now I'm leaning pretty heavily on the deck's ability to power up soft-lock cards (or cards that allow me to consistently control aspects of the game that are relevant to my strategy) like Forbid (with Coastal Piracy & co.) in the mid-game, and then planning on using Walk the Aeons and/or Opposition to close things out. Soulblade Djinn is also an effective finisher, and can be accessed via Riptide Shapeshifter. Not sure this is a viable gameplan, overall; I imagine it'll ultimately depend on how fast/wrath-heavy the table is.
Riptide Shapeshifter is a second copy of Hellkite, Sphinx, Meloku, Djinn, Wall, and Impersonator. Neat toolbox card, given the distinct creature types here. Keep Watch could be awesome in a number of situations. It's sort of a one-time Coastal Piracy effect that nets a drake, and it can profitably be used without any of my own creatures in play. Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Oona's Grace is fun, and pretty backbreaking lategame. Terrain Generator and Journeyer's Kite aren't necessary to make this work, but also synergize with Meloku/Grace.
Current considerations:
Sunder: great in numerous situations, and potentially game-ending with a strong nonland board. Not sure what I'd cut for this.
I'm very interested in the possibility of utilizing certain global disruption cards -
e.g. Mana Web (one of my favorite cards) Torpor Orb Damping Matrix
Mono blue control has long been an interest of mine. The current MUC standard is a Delver-based tempo deck that incorporates Back to Basics and True-Name Nemesis, but I'm interested in crafting a deck more along the lines of a classic MUC list. There does seem to be a bit of a fundamental problem with an already-low-tier deck eschewing Jace and Tiago...but I'd still like to try this out.
The Trinket Mage package is a bit unconventional, but I think it could prove effective. Chalice of the Void may be a viable inclusion for the maindeck in certain metagames.
Foil is pretty bad, but I have fantasies of hitting it off a Dig in a critical situation - I think it could prove effective as a 1-of.
I have a Shorecrasher Elemental lying around, but I'm sure there's something better that could go in this slot. A second win-con might be good.
Sorry it's taken me so long to reply here. Interesting that Burn was the deck you beat; it's one of this deck's worst matchups. Then again, Tron is bad for us as well.
I like cutting Rune Snag. We don't have great options for countermagic given a strict budget and the fact that we want to use a delve kill spell in addition to Logic Knot - in my case a single Logic Knot alongside maindecked Negate and Condescend seems to work out okay. Dream Fracture is a card that I'd like to test - it's not a stellar card, but I think it's better than Remand for us in many cases.
Not sure about cutting Noxious Revival. I can see having both it and Extraction maindeck feeling a little clunky, but I think this deck needs some redundancy with regard to all of its silver bullets and unique effects. Pulling a card out of the yard and immediately drawing it with Think Twice (or even Esper Charm) feels pretty good to me.
PLA seems fine. Did you play against any removal-heavy decks?
How did Duress perform for you?
I'll let you know when I get some actual testing done. This deck is one of a few ideas that I'm throwing around for getting into Modern without buying Snapcasters - unfortunately, the archetypes that I'm interested in (tempo and control) generally play 2 and a few Cryptics, bare minimum. Teachings could prove a good way to dodge this, but it seems pretty easy to lose the game early on with a build that's sub-optimal AND silver bullet-oriented. The trade-off is that we can grab a number of trump cards reliably on turn 4 or 5, and probably won't lose if we make it to that point with a relatively healthy life total.
Updated the original list; let me know what you think. I have a few pet cards slotted in at the moment. Dimir Charm should probably go, but I like its feeble attempt at versatility Devour Flesh may end up moved into the board, and the countermagic suite is under constant revision: Rewind and Dream Fracture are probably the most suspect cards here.
I have some Flooded Strands lying around, and as such I'd like to build a UW tempo deck rather than another color combination. I get the feeling I may be trying to do a few too many things with this list; I'm sure it could benefit from a few more sets of eyes on it.
It's more or less a blue-heavy tempo deck with a white splash for great equipment holders and a few utility cards. Not sure my win-cons are streamlined enough as is; it sort of just looks like a clumsy Delver deck that has subbed Squawk, Familiar, and equipment for Snapcaster and Geist, which obviously isn't optimal. I haven't tested yet.
Origins brings us a few exciting options with regard to artifact-dependent effects. As long as Darksteel Citadel remains in standard, Artificer's Epiphany is an easily activated card advantage engine, while Thopter Spy Network provides a good defense mechanism and doubles as a CA engine/win condition (albeit a slow one).
Here's a list (I'm spitballing this, so bear with me):
That said, I also agree with what Goose had to say. I think a playgroup that's mindful of everyone having a good time is the most important aspect of this format. In other words, some compromises should be made on either end of the spectrum.
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Ash Barrens
1 Blighted Fen
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Drownyard Temple
1 Dust Bowl
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Exotic Orchard
12 Forest
1 High Market
5 Island
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Lumbering Falls
1 Opulent Palace
1 Petrified Field
5 Swamp
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Tolaria West
1 Tranquil Thicket
Instants (22):
1 Beast Within
1 Capsize
1 Constant Mists
1 Corpse Dance
1 Crop Rotation
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Deglamer
1 Dig Through Time
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Far // Away
1 Harrow
1 Krosan Grip
1 Lim-Dûl's Vault
1 Murderous Cut
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Putrefy
1 Reality Shift
1 Shred Memory
1 Slaughter
1 Sultai Charm
1 Turnabout
1 Cultivate
1 Deep Analysis
1 Edge of Autumn
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Far Wanderings
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Jarad's Orders
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Life from the Loam
1 Praetor's Grasp
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Spring // Mind
Creatures (24):
1 Bane of Progress
1 Body Double
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Entomber Exarch
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fierce Empath
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Greenwarden of Murasa
1 Joiner Adept
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Loaming Shaman
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Shefet Monitor
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Thragtusk
1 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Ulvenwald Hydra
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Woodland Bellower
1 World Breaker
1 Primal Command
1 Brutalizer Exarch
1 Snuff Out
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Seeds of Innocence
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Ramunap Excavator
Death's Shadow can be tough if they get a nuts draw, but the deck performed a bit better than expected, primarily due to having access to burn, flexible counters, and bounce spells. Ideally I'd want to build up a critical mass of burn spells for the late game, while holding up countermagic whenever I can and bouncing their delve fatties. Rune Snag shines here, largely due to the fact that the stock Shadow list plays so few lands. Games 2-3 I'd probably want Relic, Ratchet Bomb, at least 1 Keranos, and maybe an extra counter and/or Echoing Truth out of the board.
Burn was also a bit better than expected. Game 1 wasn't too bad, even though my opponent had a pretty nuts draw - I think it was something like turn 1 Guide and 2 Guides on turn 2, along with a couple of bolts. Fortunately I drew into enough removal, and a turn 5-6 Batterskull was backbreaking in tandem with a hard counter for 1 of 2 Searing Blazes after my opponent found his 4th land. I think G2-3 can be further in Burn's favor if it's an RG/x variant with Revelry - waiting until turn 7/8 to cast Batterskull isn't really an option the majority of the time, so I basically just had to bank on being able to counter and kill enough relevant stuff early on and hope for the best when dropping the life-gaining artifacts on-curve. Side note: Spreading Seas is an all-star in this matchup. I think it's almost always worth dropping on turn 2 instead of keeping counter/removal mana up, just because it's so crippling to lock a sub 20-land deck out of a color/RR.
UWR Delver was a good matchup. Venser is an incredible answer to an attacking Geist of Saint Traft, and maindecked Angers + 1 CMC removal + Batterskull are tough for Delver decks to handle. Unfortunately I wasn't patient enough with my win conditions in games 1 and 3, and ended up losing - but I don't think the deck is to blame for my errors in judgment.
8Rack is a horrific matchup, as is the case for almost any control deck. Echoing Truth, Ratchet Bomb, Sun Droplet, Vandalblast, Negate, and Keranos probably all come in for this one. Repeated pinpoint discard in tandem with Liliana, Wrench Mind, and the potential for a semi-transformative Pack Rat sideboard plan (I pretty much have to side Anger out) make it almost impossible to win. Basically the 8Rack pilot needs to draw poorly and I need to have a turn 5 Batterskull or Keranos.
Essence Backlash looks hilarious for the Death's Shadow matchup. I may try out a single copy in the sideboard if I see enough Shadow/big aggro at the next FNM. Logic Knot is a card I've been considering for a little while, and it's probably better than Deprive in a lot of situations. I'll probably test it once I start modifying the counter suite in anticipation of acquiring some Cryptic Commands. Given that I'm only playing 4 fetchlands, I think I'd probably want a single copy.
4 Young Pyromancer
3 Stratus Dancer
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Torrential Gearhulk
Enchantments (1):
1 Keranos, God of Storms
Instants (21):
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Burst Lightning
2 Vapor Snag
2 Mana Leak
1 Deprive
1 Logic Knot
3 Think Twice
2 Izzet Charm
2 Electrolyze
1 Commit // Memory
2 Cryptic Command
4 Serum Visions
Lands (23):
4 Flooded Strand
2 Steam Vents
7 Island
1 Mountain
2 Shivan Reef
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Temple of Epiphany
1 Spirebluff Canal
1 Wandering Fumarole
1 Desolate Lighthouse
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Batterskull
1 Vandalblast
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Crumble to Dust
1 Bedlam Reveler
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Dispel
2 Negate
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
It looks like a bit of a pile at present, but I've had consistent results in testing - the deck is pretty weak to aggressive strategies, and probably just folds to most combo decks. Extra Duresses and Sunbeam Spellbombs out of the board help shore up these matchups a bit.
4 Myr Servitor
1 Leonin Squire
3 Auriok Salvagers
3 Salvage Titan
1 Hangarback Walker
Artifacts (7)
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sunbeam Spellbomb
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Etherium Astrolabe
Enchantments (4):
4 Artificer's Intuition
Instants (6):
2 Orzhov Charm
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Oust
3 Duress
1 Castigate
Lands (24):
2 Phyrexia's Core
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Arcane Sanctum
4 Flooded Strand
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
2 Island
2 Plains
3 Swamp
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sunbeam Spellbomb
1 æther Spellbomb
1 Moratorium Stone
3 Celestial Purge
3 Flashfreeze
1 Duress
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Chimeric Mass
4 Disenchant
I only have fetches in the list because I already own them - I've eschewed a few other similarly expensive options that I don't have access to.
I really like the Probes and hand disruption here. More Probes might actually be beneficial: it's important to know what the opponent is up to in order to plan out the correct Intuition chain/s.
Esper Charm is a notable omission. It's an awesome card, but I can't justify playing it over Thirst for Knowledge or any of the removal spells. Maindecked removal is necessary in order to have a shot against R and G decks, and the Esper shard is much harder to come by than 2U.
I'd rather play Blistercoil Weird as a lesser 1-drop. I think it's generally as powerful/aggressive as the Bear, and it can be a little more resilient to removal. The untap effect is also hilarious and pretty effective vs. aggro decks.
Currently I'm wondering whether Bear is a necessary piece of this gameplan. It's the worst card in the deck - by far - and topdecking one in almost any situation leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Stratus Dancer, Shorecrasher, and Conclave are all either very resilient or difficult to interact with - since eschewing Ninja seems a bit stronger overall (I agree with this statement in the absence of Disrupting Shoal, but I think decks that incorporate the aforementioned card need the extra draw power), why are we still trying to shove terrible 1-drops into this deck? I understand there's an argument for a more aggressive gameplan, but I really don't think Bear does positive things for the deck in lieu of other options.
Here's the list I'm testing at present:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Stratus Dancer
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
Instants (23):
4 Vapor Snag
3 Spell Pierce
4 Rune Snag
2 Remand
4 Telling Time
2 Boomerang
3 Psionic Blast
1 Dissolve
4 Gitaxian Probe
Lands (21):
3 Faerie Conclave
18 Island
2 Trinket Mage
1 Prism Ring
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Dispel
1 Spell Pierce
1 Annul
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Echoing Truth
1 Boomerang
2 Hibernation
I think devoting a little more attention to Delver flipping makes sense - upping the instant/sorcery count is one benefit of cutting the Bears. Psionic Blast is a passable replacement for Bear as far as damage is concerned, I think. It's also much more flexible than a dumb 2/2.
21 lands in a deck that utilizes Telling Time over Serum Visions has proven a bit more consistent for me - especially when Shorecrasher is taken into account. I also like playing an extra Conclave, given that I lack a substantial creature count.
The sideboard was constructed with the idea that I want to avoid diluting my instant/sorcery count after boarding: most matchups can be effectively boarded for without cutting more than 4 instants/sorceries. Prism Ring is a little janky, but I figure that I'll want the Mages in for most aggro matchups anyway - just to have extra bodies on the board - and that I may as well get some value out of them. Ring really isn't bad against mono red, given our curve.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Faerie Miscreant
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
Instants (20):
4 Vapor Snag
4 Spell Pierce
4 Rune Snag
3 Telling Time
2 Boomerang
3 Psionic Blast
4 Gitaxian Probe
Lands (20):
2 Faerie Conclave
18 Island
3 Relic of Progenitus
1 Dispel
1 Annul
2 Hibernation
Obviously eschewing Cryptic Command and Snapcaster is rather sub-optimal, but we do get maindecked Spellstutter Sprite as a result. Spellstutter can nearly achieve Snapcaster's level of effectiveness in the right metagame, and reusing it via Ninja bounce is awesome. Faerie Miscreant is a little questionable, but it's an evasive one drop that can draw cards (in combination with either Ninja or another Miscreant) and power up Sprite.
Psionic Blast gives this list some extra reach, which is great considering that I've chosen to use a few 1-power fliers as opposed to the 2-power creatures in the budgetless version. It's an unexpected card that gives us some flexibility - being able to take out a 4-toughness creature, target a planeswalker, or push through 4 points of damage are all things that this deck wants to be doing.
The rest of the list is pretty standard. I think it needs Boomerang or a similar effect in order to deal with problem permanents. Setting control decks/Tron back a land drop can prove effective (as can bouncing a shock when the opponent has to replay it in order to maintain tempo), too. Faerie Conclave works as a budget replacement for Mutavault, but its downsides are rather substantial.
The sideboard may need work, but it covers most of the deck's weaknesses at present. Relic obviously helps out vs. Living End and other graveyard strategies. The 1-CMC counterspells are effective vs. decks that seek to out-tempo me - Affinity, red decks, and Twin, namely. Hibernation is an out vs. Bogles/Gx aggro.
The gameplan is essentially to bounce/counter early threats, then drop Talrand once I draw into protection/have enough mana up to counter a spell or two after casting him. Cranking out drakes happens pretty passively, but building a critical mass of them requires skilled political interaction and a lot of discernment with counters. Opposition could prove extremely useful here, locking out the opponents most likely to wrath/disrupt my strategy.
Right now I'm leaning pretty heavily on the deck's ability to power up soft-lock cards (or cards that allow me to consistently control aspects of the game that are relevant to my strategy) like Forbid (with Coastal Piracy & co.) in the mid-game, and then planning on using Walk the Aeons and/or Opposition to close things out. Soulblade Djinn is also an effective finisher, and can be accessed via Riptide Shapeshifter. Not sure this is a viable gameplan, overall; I imagine it'll ultimately depend on how fast/wrath-heavy the table is.
TCGPlayer mid total: $79.01
1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
//Creatures (9)
1 Dreamscape Artist
1 Trinket Mage
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Soulblade Djinn
1 Riptide Shapeshifter
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Windreader Sphinx
//Instants (26)
1 Brainstorm
1 Abjure
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Mind Games
1 Interdict
1 Arcane Denial
1 Echoing Truth
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Counterspell
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Keep Watch
1 Repulse
1 Exclude
1 Oona's Grace
1 Rebuild
1 Dissipate
1 Dream Fracture
1 Forbid
1 Capsize
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Dismiss
1 Overwhelming Intellect
1 Commandeer
1 Flash of Insight
1 Ponder
1 Portent
1 Preordain
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Fabricate
1 Wash Out
1 Pull from the Deep
1 Walk the Aeons
1 Knowledge Exploitation
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Curse of the Swine
//Artifacts (11)
1 Pithing Needle
1 Meekstone
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Tsabo's Web
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Bident of Thassa
//Enchantments (4)
1 Mystic Remora
1 Coastal Piracy
1 Opposition
1 Future Sight
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Buried Ruin
1 Terrain Generator
1 Temple of the False God
1 Haunted Fengraf
1 Reliquary Tower
32 Island
Super secret tech:
Riptide Shapeshifter is a second copy of Hellkite, Sphinx, Meloku, Djinn, Wall, and Impersonator. Neat toolbox card, given the distinct creature types here.
Keep Watch could be awesome in a number of situations. It's sort of a one-time Coastal Piracy effect that nets a drake, and it can profitably be used without any of my own creatures in play.
Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Oona's Grace is fun, and pretty backbreaking lategame. Terrain Generator and Journeyer's Kite aren't necessary to make this work, but also synergize with Meloku/Grace.
Current considerations:
Sunder: great in numerous situations, and potentially game-ending with a strong nonland board. Not sure what I'd cut for this.
I'm very interested in the possibility of utilizing certain global disruption cards -
e.g.
Mana Web (one of my favorite cards)
Torpor Orb
Damping Matrix
4 Trinket Mage
1 Shorecrasher Elemental
1 Aetherling
Instants:
4 Brainstorm
1 Spell Pierce
3 Daze
4 Counterspell
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Foil
3 Dig Through Time
4 Repeal
4 Ponder
Artifacts:
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Cursed Scroll
Enchantments:
3 Back to Basics
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
16 Island
The Trinket Mage package is a bit unconventional, but I think it could prove effective. Chalice of the Void may be a viable inclusion for the maindeck in certain metagames.
Foil is pretty bad, but I have fantasies of hitting it off a Dig in a critical situation - I think it could prove effective as a 1-of.
I have a Shorecrasher Elemental lying around, but I'm sure there's something better that could go in this slot. A second win-con might be good.
Is Energy Field worth a look?
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Card draw/CA engines (8):
1 Barren Moor (+Loam)
1 Lonely Sandbar (+Loam)
1 Tranquil Thicket (+Loam)
1 Mystic Remora
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Deep Analysis
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Dig Through Time
Tutors (12):
1 Tolaria West
1 Crop Rotation
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Quiet Speculation
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
1 Shred Memory
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Realms Uncharted
1 Fierce Empath
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Woodland Bellower
Spot removal (10):
1 Dust Bowl
1 Blighted Fen
1 Reality Shift
1 Far // Away
1 Beast WIthin
1 Krosan Grip
1 Putrefy
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Capsize
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Perilous Vault
1 Bane of Progress
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1 Squall Line
Recursion (5):
1 Mortuary Mire
1 Life from the Loam
1 Riftsweeper
1 Eternal Witness
1 Holistic Wisdom
Graveyard management (3):
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Memory's Journey
1 Loaming Shaman
Sac outlets/protection (3):
1 High Market
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Gluttonous Slime
ETB recyclers (3):
1 Invasive Species
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Deadeye Navigator
General utility (6):
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Praetor's Grasp
1 Sultai Charm
1 Turnabout
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Brutalizer Exarch
Useful control elements (4):
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Constant Mists
1 Forbid
1 Thragtusk
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Rampant Growth
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Deep Reconnaissance
1 Far Wanderings
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Harrow
1 Explosive Vegetation
Fixing (spell-based; 2):
1 Joiner Adept
1 Krosan Tusker
Fixing (land-based; 5):
1 Command Tower
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Opulent Palace
1 SImic Growth Chamber
1 Dimir Aqueduct
Basic lands (23):
13 Forest
7 Island
3 Swamp
I like cutting Rune Snag. We don't have great options for countermagic given a strict budget and the fact that we want to use a delve kill spell in addition to Logic Knot - in my case a single Logic Knot alongside maindecked Negate and Condescend seems to work out okay. Dream Fracture is a card that I'd like to test - it's not a stellar card, but I think it's better than Remand for us in many cases.
Not sure about cutting Noxious Revival. I can see having both it and Extraction maindeck feeling a little clunky, but I think this deck needs some redundancy with regard to all of its silver bullets and unique effects. Pulling a card out of the yard and immediately drawing it with Think Twice (or even Esper Charm) feels pretty good to me.
PLA seems fine. Did you play against any removal-heavy decks?
How did Duress perform for you?
I'll let you know when I get some actual testing done. This deck is one of a few ideas that I'm throwing around for getting into Modern without buying Snapcasters - unfortunately, the archetypes that I'm interested in (tempo and control) generally play 2 and a few Cryptics, bare minimum. Teachings could prove a good way to dodge this, but it seems pretty easy to lose the game early on with a build that's sub-optimal AND silver bullet-oriented. The trade-off is that we can grab a number of trump cards reliably on turn 4 or 5, and probably won't lose if we make it to that point with a relatively healthy life total.
Updated the original list; let me know what you think. I have a few pet cards slotted in at the moment. Dimir Charm should probably go, but I like its feeble attempt at versatility Devour Flesh may end up moved into the board, and the countermagic suite is under constant revision: Rewind and Dream Fracture are probably the most suspect cards here.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Judge's Familiar
4 Squadron Hawk
1 Pride of the Clouds
2 Hushwing Gryff
Equipment (2):
1 Empyrial Plate
1 Runechanter's Pike
Countermagic (10):
2 Spell Pierce
1 Dispel
2 Remand
3 Mana Leak
1 Deprive
Tempo/Bounce (4):
2 Vapor Snag
1 Azorius Charm
2 Boomerang
1 Steelshaper's Gift
3 Telling Time
Utility (4):
3 Gitaxian Probe
1 Ojutai's Command
Lands (21):
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Glacial Fortress
6 Island
1 Plains
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Stonecloaker
3 Timely Reinforcements
2 Flashfreeze
2 Celestial Purge
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Detention Sphere
It's more or less a blue-heavy tempo deck with a white splash for great equipment holders and a few utility cards. Not sure my win-cons are streamlined enough as is; it sort of just looks like a clumsy Delver deck that has subbed Squawk, Familiar, and equipment for Snapcaster and Geist, which obviously isn't optimal. I haven't tested yet.
Here's a list (I'm spitballing this, so bear with me):
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Negate
3 Nullify
3 Artificer's Epiphany
4 Dissolve
1 Dissipate
2 Jace's Ingenuity
2 Aetherspouts
4 Dig Through Time
1 Clash of Wills
Sorceries (2):
1 Void Snare
1 Treasure Cruise
2 Encase in Ice
2 Thopter Spy Network
Artifacts (3):
3 Perilous Vault
Planeswalkers (1):
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Land (27):
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
4 Darksteel Citadel
3 Radiant Fountain
1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
11 Island
1 Perilous Vault
1 Displacement Wave
2 Shorecrasher Elemental
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Negate
2 Encase in Ice
4 Stratus Dancer
1 Grindclock
1 Cranial Archive