So the catchy title aside. I've been building a deck around snapcaster. In theory one of my biggest hose's is extirpate. Surgical extraction not so much as I can likely reliably counter it. However extirpate's split second on a snapcaster would absolutely destroy my decks strongest focus.
Does anyone have any idea's on beating extirpate. Be it return cards from exile. Or cheap exile search library, hand, and graveyard for all cards.
@elderscrollsnick
As for my casual deck, 80$ is a lot. Just want to make several decks to play with my small brother and teach my friends how to play. I'd like to get a cheap yet efficent card list consisting of cards like Black Knights, maybe 2 or 3 Royal Assasins etc.
As for the OCTGN decks, where I've got unlimited cards, I've tried many mono black builds, and got quite bored of them I really love heavy-themed decks, like -1/-1 counters - wither, proliferate, Necroskitter, Kulrath Knight... That was a really enjoyable thing to play not too competitive, though. :/
Why not just pick up a few dual decks for teaching friends?
So far as liking black. I've been working on a new variation of the mono black hand destruction deck but I have yet to finish it or test it so I don't want to relinquish information until that is done.
After hearing of the Pod ban and reading an assortment of articles and posts on the topic I wanted to add a little of my own.
I view the shuffle effect of any card past fetch lands as clogging up game time. Seriously some players do like 10 shuffles. 3-4 max, pass for a cut, and move on. The fewer shuffle effects the better.
The main problem with pod is there access to Abrupt Decay. Other than clogging your sideboard with 4 of leylines, any sideboard hate you brought into the second match is removable before setting off a combo.
Wizards problem is the restrictions they put on themselves based around colors. Blue being the draw/dig, white being life, etc etc. I believe if they stopped thinking inside the box during RnD they could print cards for all modern staples tier 1 and 2 decks with cards that answer that specific decks match-ups.
Charms are an excellent attempt at this but are falling incredibly short.
I was actually just toying around on MTGO with Bant Charm. The deck seemed strong enough with access to Goyf, counters, removal, and draw. Not sure how good the deck would of done but the charm seemed to answer a large part of the meta... even though the casting cost is a little steep.
All in all I think Pod was a good ban and tutor effects like that which are continuous don't belong in the modern format. The fact they built the card with multiple downsides in order to tutor and it still defines the format is proof the card and tutoring to some extent is easily printed in a broken way.
Also just a thought here but is Pod not able to adapt to a graveyard strat through dredge? Take on a more mid range aggressive stance... Its seem the past few sets have printed a ton of cards to help graveyard strategies and also to shut them down.
I've been trying to break Bitterblossom for the past week and I really feel like the card is no longer a build around. At best its a sideboard card against certain match-ups against control. It was a staple when there were not cards like Abrupt Decay and the format I imagine was slower. With the way combo decks can dig, search, and draw, faeries is just too slow.
With the kind of cards that are being printed now, compared to then, it seems ludicrous to limit your card pool to mainly one set.
I strongly suggest rethinking how you build UB and open your mind to other cards and variations.
I kind of like the Emeria land because it gives card advantage if the game ever drags out and I don't think its unreasonable to have 7 plains in play by turn 10ish. Makes the deck not have to auto forfeit in the first game if control manages to stabilize. Also on the sideboard it would likely be swapped out for a Cavern of Souls x2 along with Urborg.
So this is what I managed to put together. I didn't check out a sideboard but I saw a few cards that would of worked well. It may even be an idea to run a few Mortify main board but I'm unsure where it would fit.
I'm making a few adjustments as I refine the deck. Subscribe to this thread if you want to see updates to this deck and its possible sideboard.
After doing a little digging myself I think the right path to go with Athreos is Humans. You allow yourself enough power in the 1 drops and 2 drops to fight back vs Zoo I believe by having first strike.
Also the protection white, black, etc works good to protect your creatures from single card removal. However maybe you actually want them to be removed...
Also something to keep in mind is that graveyard hate likely completely shuts Athreos down. I imagine a splash of red or blue would be a good idea so you could make use of one of the other gods and still be able to turn them on.
Just a thought or possible angle the deck could take.
I would like to ask one thing though. How is Terminus working as a sweeper in the deck? I feel with the card draw offered in esper that you would be drawing the card as a second draw as opposed to a first draw and lose the value of Miracle. For this reason I've felt that Hallowed Burial is a better slot than Terminus.
Actually cancel that question. I forgot about Black Sun's Zenith. Against most match ups it can be a sweeper for 4 mana and outright kill anything that may come back with persist. It may not be strong vs Voice of Resurgence but it does enough work against enough other decks that I feel its a better option than both of the above cards.
Aetherling is too slow for modern. Six mana is unreasonable to cast in most game and it causes you to tap out allowing your opponent to cast what ever they want. The key success of a control deck is its ability to work at instant speed. For this reason I also think Wurmcoil is a bad slot. You see decks that run tron lands or unburial rites running cards that cost 6 and up and they ideally cheat the cards into play on earlier turns. As control facing these decks without the cards to cheat them in you will simply be running at a slower pace then them with the same cards.
Its a fine balance in control to be able to either A: control the opponent because they are aggro or combo or B: aggro the opponent out before they get online. For this reason esper can have a difficult time doing this better than UWR and its why its currently not in the established modern section.
However I'm currently working on an esper control that hopefully solves this problem. Still have a few cards to pick up and deck test with it.
Now again for the same reason as above the two planeswalkers your running are too slow and low impact.
Cards I run for my esper build are 2 snapcasters, 2 wall of omens, 2 vendilion cliques, and 3 resto angels. The cliques and resto's act as threats for the deck and to be honest are not enough.
Cryptic Command is a must in almost any control deck but the 3 blue mana can get clunky and requires you to run lands that allow you to tap for blueblue. I personally run Punish Ignorance over cryptics as I feel the card draw I gain from sphinx and other cards is enough to replace cryptics advantage.
For the reason of keeping the deck at instant speed I would remove the detention sphere and add cards like Hero's D and Mortify.
I'm unsure of how my deck will play out so I haven't got a solid sideboard yet but I've heard lingering souls is best vs Jund or aggro, possibly even the mirror match if it ever happens. For this reason it was mentioned to run Vendilion Cliques over it.
One thing about modern is you will have to pay to be competitive. Fetch lands, key cards like clique, resto, cryptic, and snapcaster. Certain cards cost because they give card advantage instead of trade 1-1 and its what makes a winning deck in modern.
Hope this helps.
Edit: Also I run 2 Creeping Tar Pits and 2 Celestial Colonnade. I do this because as I mentioned instant speed is a control's best friend so lands coming in untapped for the first few turns is vital to success. I run 2 of each because tar pit can be unblockable in some cases but is weak to cards like Electrolyze or Lightning Bolt so the Colonnade does the work against decks that would run those.
3 esper charm is too many. At most I would run 2. Also you seem to still have a few to many counter spells.
One thing I like to keep in mind when deck building main is what is my meta. If I'm playing FNM, 1v1 online, 8-man, or Modern Daily, what decks to I expect to go up against most. For each of these meta's you can build a different main board plan. 1v1 tends to be storm or aggro decks so a heavy creature removal package main board goes a long way as well as 4 inquisition of Kozilek over 4 thoughtseize. Modern Daily tends to be more refined decks that combo so running more counter spells over board wipes would be the game plan. (I may have these main boards mixed up also, new to this concept so have to do some testing).
Against a deck like storm a top tier win condition can be Consuming Aberration, also works against Dredgevine or deck that like to empty they're libraries. Not sure if enough of these decks are actually being played to warrant a sideboard slot however. Like I mentioned still working on finding more win conditions for the deck.
I also want to know why no one seems to play Liliana of The Veil, as she seems to me a good option in this deck.
For me personally I dislike the fact you have to discard a card. I'm unsure how well she would actually fit into the deck. Against burn she could be a 2-1 as they hit her twice with spells. Zoo she would like be a 1-1. I could see her being viable against Tron but even then you have to worry about Oblivion Stone. I think unless you can fit her in as a 3 of she is kind of weak and you'll always be pitching a card you could have used.
I've not really tested Lili in the deck however and I'm really only speculating.
Main reason I don't like her is the sorcery speed it forces you to play at on turn 3. Instead of leaving mana up to be able to cast an Electrolyze your tapping out to get a 1-1 instead of potential 2-1 and draw.
One of the main benefits of the Grixis deck is its ability to gain card advantage with spells. Why would you play something that completely counter acts that ability.
Other people have mentioned this being alright in the deck but in my opinion they are both dead cards. Visions is to cycle through a deck to get to a win condition. Point of it being to speed out a combo of some type fast enough that your opponent can't react. The card fits good in aggro decks. The control shell the Grixis plays doesn't make proper use of the card at all. An example being UWR control and UWR aggro. In one you run sphinx's rev the other you run delver of secrets and geist of saint traft. In the aggro version Visions works wonders to increase the speed of the aggro, and in the control version Visions is better used as a slot to better control the game so you can get to late game.
So far as augur of bolas the card was only good in standard unless someone finds a deck to break it. Against most aggro decks at best its a stall or absorbs a bolt, even then vs zoo it will rarely be able to block anything. Beyond that in most match ups I'd rather have another answer to one of they're threats instead of a stall card. By replacing the augur with another spell I don't need Augur's ability.
this is basically the cruel control deck in the established section with a dragon finisher instead of the signature sorcery--I like the deck, but think you could do well just by skipping it for a different finisher as well but you may want to check it out for tips.
As a tip, listing all the ways in which you 2-1, 3-1, or 4 for 1 your opponent with every play you can make in a deck make it seem like you are living in magic christmas land and not actually playing... happy to help with your list, but what decks do you actually have and play?
I didn't realize it was the same, I'll have to check the forums for that.
Decks I play currently are this one as I've been testing and refining it for the past week and I have enough cards to do something in UWR but I'm unsure what route I want to take. Be it Delver aggro control or Ajanni V control with a slower pace.
OK, so I've posted versions of this deck over the past week but I've finally cracked it. First I learned a lot about deck building in the sense of taking a deck to control or aggro. Due to the slow nature of the deck I feel the Tar Pit name suits it well as the opponent has to sludge along to get that W or slowly sink in card advantage to the decks many ways to draw and or get 2 for 1's and in some cases 3 for 1's, with the rare 4 for 1 that wins a match off Pithing Needle.
If you look over the deck and have any questions or comments please feel free to post. Also as I go over match ups in my head I feel Jund and Tron are my biggest weaknesses. If you can think of any cards that would help either of those please let me know and why they would help.
CREATURES (5) 3 Snapcaster Mage [Just pure value with the amount of instants the deck runs] 2 Bogardan Hellkite [Great 2 for 1 or more late game against aggressive aggro decks]
INSTANTS (22) 2 Lightning Bolt 1 Far/Away [Good to have 1 for the odd time you can't target, possibly may need to add some Tribute to Hunger] 3 Mana Leak 2 Remand 3 Terminate 2 Swerve [Absolutely needed vs Jund to get 2 for 1's against hand destruction and protect your win condition] 1 Counterflux [A catch all in many match ups from storm to ad naus] 3 Electrolyze 1 Hero's Downfall 3 Cryptic Command 1 Blue Sun's Zenith [I find any match I cast this once I win so I feel it would get redundant having more and just waste valuable deck slots as it recycles itself]
ARTIFACTS (4) 1 Pithing Needle [Can win you games simply by having 1, Ad Naus naming Lightning Storm, Celestial Colon, the mirror, fetch lands if you really have no idea what to name helping put the opponent in The Tar Pit] 3 Engineered Explosives [A god send of a card, this has so many uses its incredible and a must have vs merfolk. Spreading sea's destroy's the mana of this deck]
LAND (24) 2 Creeping Tar Pit [Only two because of the amount of instants in the deck so I like land coming in untapped the first 4 turns if I need it, may add another and remove Lavaclaw Reaches] 1 Drowned Catacombs 1 Sunken Ruins [At time mana can draw weird so to smooth out draws this helps] 4 Watery Grave 1 Lavaclaw Reaches [Currently being tested to see if the pump ever makes a difference in a match or if the BR mana is relevent enough to warrant this card] 1 Cascade Bluffs [Same as Sunken ruins] 4 Scalding Tarn [Because Grixis has a very poor selection of life gain you simply can't run any more than 4 fetches] 3 Steam Vents 1 Sulfur Falls 1 Island 1 Swamp 1 Mountain 3 Tectonic Edge [Not sure if these are really needed, I feel vs Tron, and counter wars they could come in very handy]
SIDEBOARD 2 Extirpate [Just a good card, has won me some boarded matches vs storm and decks with few creature threats completely removing any draw of them] 1 Inquisition of Kozilek 1 Thoughtseize [Both Kozilek and seize seem situational in the sideboard and could be sided out but vs Twin and Scapeshift I like em, haven't had new match ups since rebuilding the deck] 3 Circle of Affliction [A must run 3 of vs mono red or any other seriously fast aggro deck, this deck simply can get low on life vs them and with no good instant spells like Lightning Helix unless you want to further make mana stretched and have those crappy 2 dmg 2 life double blacks that are very narrow] 2 Hero's Downfall [To help vs Lilianna] 1 Izzet Staticaster [An excellent catch all in many matches from Pod, mono green nyx, or UR delver. If you manage to get it the opponent effectively draws dead cards that they will hold up for thoughtseize dmg so beware] 2 Slaughter Games [Good vs decks your weak on to gain reach and widen the pool of tar] 2 Mindbreak Trap [Excellent vs storm] 1 Swerve
Cards I'm thinking of trying to fit in the deck are Rakdos Charm could be better than Extirpate but I'm unsure. I do very much like the versatility in matches the charm offers. Would also be nice to find another decent win condition, if you can think of something please let me know.
The land is set at 24 because I honestly don't think you need 26 like a lot of control decks run. I'm actually quite curious why I see UWR run so much land other than they want more powerful Sphinx's. Anyways the amount of draw a card off blue and the stall of the deck allows to hit land quite frequently.
A possible switch the deck could do is running 3 Spell Snare over the engineered explosives. However this would weaken the match up vs Merfolk by a ton. Could also argue running snare over the hand destruction but... who knows.
Does anyone have any idea's on beating extirpate. Be it return cards from exile. Or cheap exile search library, hand, and graveyard for all cards.
Why not just pick up a few dual decks for teaching friends?
So far as liking black. I've been working on a new variation of the mono black hand destruction deck but I have yet to finish it or test it so I don't want to relinquish information until that is done.
I view the shuffle effect of any card past fetch lands as clogging up game time. Seriously some players do like 10 shuffles. 3-4 max, pass for a cut, and move on. The fewer shuffle effects the better.
The main problem with pod is there access to Abrupt Decay. Other than clogging your sideboard with 4 of leylines, any sideboard hate you brought into the second match is removable before setting off a combo.
Wizards problem is the restrictions they put on themselves based around colors. Blue being the draw/dig, white being life, etc etc. I believe if they stopped thinking inside the box during RnD they could print cards for all modern staples tier 1 and 2 decks with cards that answer that specific decks match-ups.
Charms are an excellent attempt at this but are falling incredibly short.
I was actually just toying around on MTGO with Bant Charm. The deck seemed strong enough with access to Goyf, counters, removal, and draw. Not sure how good the deck would of done but the charm seemed to answer a large part of the meta... even though the casting cost is a little steep.
All in all I think Pod was a good ban and tutor effects like that which are continuous don't belong in the modern format. The fact they built the card with multiple downsides in order to tutor and it still defines the format is proof the card and tutoring to some extent is easily printed in a broken way.
Also just a thought here but is Pod not able to adapt to a graveyard strat through dredge? Take on a more mid range aggressive stance... Its seem the past few sets have printed a ton of cards to help graveyard strategies and also to shut them down.
With the kind of cards that are being printed now, compared to then, it seems ludicrous to limit your card pool to mainly one set.
I strongly suggest rethinking how you build UB and open your mind to other cards and variations.
Maybe adding a Xathrid Necromancer in place of the knights. Makes Skirsdag Flayer a more reasonable keep.
I kind of like the Emeria land because it gives card advantage if the game ever drags out and I don't think its unreasonable to have 7 plains in play by turn 10ish. Makes the deck not have to auto forfeit in the first game if control manages to stabilize. Also on the sideboard it would likely be swapped out for a Cavern of Souls x2 along with Urborg.
4 Godless Shrine
1 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
5 Plains
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Mutavault
2 Vault of the Archangel
Creatures
4 Champion of the Parish
3 Student of Warfare
1 Weathered Wayfarer
2 Black Knight
2 Cartel Aristocrat
4 Dark Confidant
2 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Skirsdag Flayer
2 White Knight
1 Athreos, God of Passage
2 Ranger of Eos
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
4 Path to Exile
4 Thoughtseize
1 Spear of Heliod
2 Idyllic Tutor
1 Dark Prophecy
1 Glorious Anthem
1 Whip of Erebos
So this is what I managed to put together. I didn't check out a sideboard but I saw a few cards that would of worked well. It may even be an idea to run a few Mortify main board but I'm unsure where it would fit.
I'm making a few adjustments as I refine the deck. Subscribe to this thread if you want to see updates to this deck and its possible sideboard.
Also the protection white, black, etc works good to protect your creatures from single card removal. However maybe you actually want them to be removed...
Also something to keep in mind is that graveyard hate likely completely shuts Athreos down. I imagine a splash of red or blue would be a good idea so you could make use of one of the other gods and still be able to turn them on.
Just a thought or possible angle the deck could take.
Actually cancel that question. I forgot about Black Sun's Zenith. Against most match ups it can be a sweeper for 4 mana and outright kill anything that may come back with persist. It may not be strong vs Voice of Resurgence but it does enough work against enough other decks that I feel its a better option than both of the above cards.
Its a fine balance in control to be able to either A: control the opponent because they are aggro or combo or B: aggro the opponent out before they get online. For this reason esper can have a difficult time doing this better than UWR and its why its currently not in the established modern section.
However I'm currently working on an esper control that hopefully solves this problem. Still have a few cards to pick up and deck test with it.
Now again for the same reason as above the two planeswalkers your running are too slow and low impact.
Cards I run for my esper build are 2 snapcasters, 2 wall of omens, 2 vendilion cliques, and 3 resto angels. The cliques and resto's act as threats for the deck and to be honest are not enough.
Cryptic Command is a must in almost any control deck but the 3 blue mana can get clunky and requires you to run lands that allow you to tap for blueblue. I personally run Punish Ignorance over cryptics as I feel the card draw I gain from sphinx and other cards is enough to replace cryptics advantage.
For the reason of keeping the deck at instant speed I would remove the detention sphere and add cards like Hero's D and Mortify.
I'm unsure of how my deck will play out so I haven't got a solid sideboard yet but I've heard lingering souls is best vs Jund or aggro, possibly even the mirror match if it ever happens. For this reason it was mentioned to run Vendilion Cliques over it.
One thing about modern is you will have to pay to be competitive. Fetch lands, key cards like clique, resto, cryptic, and snapcaster. Certain cards cost because they give card advantage instead of trade 1-1 and its what makes a winning deck in modern.
Hope this helps.
Edit: Also I run 2 Creeping Tar Pits and 2 Celestial Colonnade. I do this because as I mentioned instant speed is a control's best friend so lands coming in untapped for the first few turns is vital to success. I run 2 of each because tar pit can be unblockable in some cases but is weak to cards like Electrolyze or Lightning Bolt so the Colonnade does the work against decks that would run those.
3 esper charm is too many. At most I would run 2. Also you seem to still have a few to many counter spells.
One thing I like to keep in mind when deck building main is what is my meta. If I'm playing FNM, 1v1 online, 8-man, or Modern Daily, what decks to I expect to go up against most. For each of these meta's you can build a different main board plan. 1v1 tends to be storm or aggro decks so a heavy creature removal package main board goes a long way as well as 4 inquisition of Kozilek over 4 thoughtseize. Modern Daily tends to be more refined decks that combo so running more counter spells over board wipes would be the game plan. (I may have these main boards mixed up also, new to this concept so have to do some testing).
Against a deck like storm a top tier win condition can be Consuming Aberration, also works against Dredgevine or deck that like to empty they're libraries. Not sure if enough of these decks are actually being played to warrant a sideboard slot however. Like I mentioned still working on finding more win conditions for the deck.
For me personally I dislike the fact you have to discard a card. I'm unsure how well she would actually fit into the deck. Against burn she could be a 2-1 as they hit her twice with spells. Zoo she would like be a 1-1. I could see her being viable against Tron but even then you have to worry about Oblivion Stone. I think unless you can fit her in as a 3 of she is kind of weak and you'll always be pitching a card you could have used.
I've not really tested Lili in the deck however and I'm really only speculating.
Main reason I don't like her is the sorcery speed it forces you to play at on turn 3. Instead of leaving mana up to be able to cast an Electrolyze your tapping out to get a 1-1 instead of potential 2-1 and draw.
One of the main benefits of the Grixis deck is its ability to gain card advantage with spells. Why would you play something that completely counter acts that ability.
Other people have mentioned this being alright in the deck but in my opinion they are both dead cards. Visions is to cycle through a deck to get to a win condition. Point of it being to speed out a combo of some type fast enough that your opponent can't react. The card fits good in aggro decks. The control shell the Grixis plays doesn't make proper use of the card at all. An example being UWR control and UWR aggro. In one you run sphinx's rev the other you run delver of secrets and geist of saint traft. In the aggro version Visions works wonders to increase the speed of the aggro, and in the control version Visions is better used as a slot to better control the game so you can get to late game.
So far as augur of bolas the card was only good in standard unless someone finds a deck to break it. Against most aggro decks at best its a stall or absorbs a bolt, even then vs zoo it will rarely be able to block anything. Beyond that in most match ups I'd rather have another answer to one of they're threats instead of a stall card. By replacing the augur with another spell I don't need Augur's ability.
I didn't realize it was the same, I'll have to check the forums for that.
Decks I play currently are this one as I've been testing and refining it for the past week and I have enough cards to do something in UWR but I'm unsure what route I want to take. Be it Delver aggro control or Ajanni V control with a slower pace.
If you look over the deck and have any questions or comments please feel free to post. Also as I go over match ups in my head I feel Jund and Tron are my biggest weaknesses. If you can think of any cards that would help either of those please let me know and why they would help.
3 Snapcaster Mage [Just pure value with the amount of instants the deck runs]
2 Bogardan Hellkite [Great 2 for 1 or more late game against aggressive aggro decks]
INSTANTS (22)
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Far/Away [Good to have 1 for the odd time you can't target, possibly may need to add some Tribute to Hunger]
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
3 Terminate
2 Swerve [Absolutely needed vs Jund to get 2 for 1's against hand destruction and protect your win condition]
1 Counterflux [A catch all in many match ups from storm to ad naus]
3 Electrolyze
1 Hero's Downfall
3 Cryptic Command
1 Blue Sun's Zenith [I find any match I cast this once I win so I feel it would get redundant having more and just waste valuable deck slots as it recycles itself]
SORCERY (5)
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Damnation
1 Pithing Needle [Can win you games simply by having 1, Ad Naus naming Lightning Storm, Celestial Colon, the mirror, fetch lands if you really have no idea what to name helping put the opponent in The Tar Pit]
3 Engineered Explosives [A god send of a card, this has so many uses its incredible and a must have vs merfolk. Spreading sea's destroy's the mana of this deck]
LAND (24)
2 Creeping Tar Pit [Only two because of the amount of instants in the deck so I like land coming in untapped the first 4 turns if I need it, may add another and remove Lavaclaw Reaches]
1 Drowned Catacombs
1 Sunken Ruins [At time mana can draw weird so to smooth out draws this helps]
4 Watery Grave
1 Lavaclaw Reaches [Currently being tested to see if the pump ever makes a difference in a match or if the BR mana is relevent enough to warrant this card]
1 Cascade Bluffs [Same as Sunken ruins]
4 Scalding Tarn [Because Grixis has a very poor selection of life gain you simply can't run any more than 4 fetches]
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
3 Tectonic Edge [Not sure if these are really needed, I feel vs Tron, and counter wars they could come in very handy]
2 Extirpate [Just a good card, has won me some boarded matches vs storm and decks with few creature threats completely removing any draw of them]
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Thoughtseize [Both Kozilek and seize seem situational in the sideboard and could be sided out but vs Twin and Scapeshift I like em, haven't had new match ups since rebuilding the deck]
3 Circle of Affliction [A must run 3 of vs mono red or any other seriously fast aggro deck, this deck simply can get low on life vs them and with no good instant spells like Lightning Helix unless you want to further make mana stretched and have those crappy 2 dmg 2 life double blacks that are very narrow]
2 Hero's Downfall [To help vs Lilianna]
1 Izzet Staticaster [An excellent catch all in many matches from Pod, mono green nyx, or UR delver. If you manage to get it the opponent effectively draws dead cards that they will hold up for thoughtseize dmg so beware]
2 Slaughter Games [Good vs decks your weak on to gain reach and widen the pool of tar]
2 Mindbreak Trap [Excellent vs storm]
1 Swerve
Cards I'm thinking of trying to fit in the deck are Rakdos Charm could be better than Extirpate but I'm unsure. I do very much like the versatility in matches the charm offers. Would also be nice to find another decent win condition, if you can think of something please let me know.
The land is set at 24 because I honestly don't think you need 26 like a lot of control decks run. I'm actually quite curious why I see UWR run so much land other than they want more powerful Sphinx's. Anyways the amount of draw a card off blue and the stall of the deck allows to hit land quite frequently.
A possible switch the deck could do is running 3 Spell Snare over the engineered explosives. However this would weaken the match up vs Merfolk by a ton. Could also argue running snare over the hand destruction but... who knows.