The Kiki list looks pretty good, but I was curious about the manabase. Are 5 Island necessary when you are not running Blood Moon? I would add the 4th Polluted Delta to improve consistency of getting 1 black mana. Cast Down over Terminate is pretty interesting.
I really like your maindeck configuration! There are a two sideboard cards I am less enamored with though, Counterflux in particular. I suppose it's good if you face many control mirrors, but it seems a little lackluster as a sideboard option. Have you found it to be broadly useful? There are so many possible sideboard includes with UWR that I wonder if there are better uses of those slots.
A more general comment about Stony Silence. Have people been happy with this? I feel like all the decks you bring it in against max out on Nature's Claim, resulting in it not being the stone cold lock it used to be. My concern could just be from my own anecdotal experience (with low statistical weight).
Won a PPTQ yesterday with a Resto-Kiki build similar to what TheAller had posted before. 4-0-2 in the swiss to get the 2nd seed for T8. I really enjoyed having the Resto beat down plan, but I think the 2 Spell Queller really overperformed. I believe I only assembled the combo twice during the tournament in games 2&3 against Amulet Titan. Sticking to flash while ditching the Kiki-jikis for better mana might be my preferred option going forward.
Some notes:
Hardened Scales Affinity is far more difficult for UWR than for UW with Terminus. You'd rather play against normal Affinity any day.
AV came out of the side for a matchup against another UWR deck and it was decent. Could be something to go if Assassin's Trophy pops up in high numbers and make Teferi or Azcanta less reliable.
Settle the Wreckage out of the board was useful, but the fear it instills in your opponent can be a huge advantage. I legitimately should have lost in the Semi's but I think my opponent was concerned about getting blown out by this card (I had already cast and snap-cast my only copy, but he may have assumed I had others).
Alpine Moon performed well. I brought in one copy against the Affinity matches and UWR and both against Valakut and Amulet Titan. Turning your opponents Colonnades off while keeping yours is quite good.
A hidden downside of wall of omens is also that when I see a jeskai list drop a wall, I am instantly suspicious of kiki combo
That's a good point that I hadn't considered. The split between Peek and Serum Visions was a sort of hedge. I'm interested in trying out Peek because I think it could be useful in conjunction with Queller and Kiki. It would let you know if you're safe to combo into open mana or if they have an answer to your Queller. The information can be VERY useful, but the card does very little to dig for cards. On the flip side, I think Serum is generically more powerful than Opt. Keeping a one/two lander with Serum is possible, but it's a bit more loose with Opt.
Nikolich went heavy on Peek lately in a control build and seemed to like, so I thought it might be worth experimenting with.
@TheAller, I like the look of the Kiki list you posted earlier. I've been having mixed results playing UW Miracles in paper, and I was thinking about returing to UWR where I seem to have more success.
It's interesting to see that you are thinking about moving away from Remand for Logic Knot and Spell Queller as I had similar thoughts. My thought was changing the maindeck like so: -1 Helix -4 Remand -4 Opt -> +2 Serum Visions +2 Peek +2 Queller +2 Knot +1 Knot/Remand/Snare
Remand seems quite good against UW and a few other decks and it can always cycle. Had you considered Wall of Omens? It sounded like you thought Resto didn't need any more help in the deck as it performed fine, but it does make a good target. It also helps ensure Teferi sticks. 2 Walls could take a cantrip slot, but perhaps the 2 mana at sorcery speed is a little too at odds with the instant speed nature of the build.
I could see how it's good against Hollow One, and coincidentally that's the deck I'm most annoyed with right now. I'll give Lyra a shot. I don't really think there are any Demons or Dragons being played right now that matter. Stormbreath is pro-white anyway. I guess I could get blown out by a block of a pumped up Mutavault though!
I think this list looks pretty stock and should do reasonably well as long as your matchups aren't bad! I don't think Wizard's retort is probably worth a slot though. It's only Counterspell when you have Snap or Clique out, and Logic Knot already fulfills that roll pretty well. You could swap it for the SB verdict and free up a slot or you could try out a Spell Snare or a 4th Lightning Bolt or Cryptic Command. If you're just trying things out though, then that's fine as I'd be interested in how it performs.
On an unrelated note, the Nikolich list that keeps popping up has a Baneslayer Angel in the SB, but I can't really figure out what that's for. I mean it will really beat up on people if they take removal out of their decks, but most of the aggro decks are so fast that a turn 5 tapout doesn't seem worth it. It doesn't strike me as particularly great against Jund either. I'm considering using Timely Reinforcements in that slot instead (also I don't have a Baneslayer). I DID crack a Lyra Dawnbringer last night which is almost the same thing, so I could sub that in if you guys think Baneslayer is actually worth it.
Both of those lists look fairly identical to what Nikolich ran the previous weekend. I tried out something similar at my LGS's modern night, but I was a little annoyed by only 3 bolt and lack of basic mountain (to be fair my losses to burn and GW company probably influence that opinion). I did not have any Teferi yet, but I think he might be an excellent option for this deck as it will act as a pseudo 3 drop walker. Leaving up that too mana is crucial, and the tuck mode for ANY problematic permanent is not to be underrated.
I'm still unsure about how much work those Damping Sphere's in the sideboard are doing though.
I'm on Geist-Azcanta as well right now. The things you're trying out are very interesting. Personally, however, I don't think I would dare to cut a SV. I'm skeptical of some of your sb choices, but sb is very personal and meta dependent. Personally I find Disdainful Stroke to be a worse version of Counterflux and Settle the Wreckage a bad Verdict.
I find the Remand idea to be rather appealing, however, at the end of the day, I'm not sure I would give up my Spell Snares. They're so good vs Storm, Jund, Burn and other blue based control and swarm aggro decks.
Thanks for the input. I too thought it was odd to be playing 3 SV, but after jamming all the cards I thought I wanted I was left with a cut to make. I thought it might be fine considering the front side of Search does some of what we need SV for, and it's otherwise a fairly low impact card. The 2 Remands also pick up some slack for the missing cantrip.
The main EE could be switched to a miser's Spell Snare. I do like Snare, but the initial thought was to construct the main deck with no potentially dead cards. EE covers so many random annoyances that I thought it could be good. Also frees up a sideboard slot when I move one to the main. There may be more equity to be gained by including the Snare though. I'll try to find room for at least one.
I don't think Counterflux and Disdainful Stroke are really doing the same thing. Generally I don't consider Flux, but the fact that it answers all of BBE had me curious to try it out. Stroke is a much better card in the Titanshift and Tron matchups than Counterflux though.
Some other potential Sideboard cards:
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir - Like Counterflux, this card serves as a potential BBE answer. It also has applications in Combo and Control matchups. Provided you can protect it, it also let's your Geists have flash which is nice.
Entrancing Melody - This card has shown in UR control decks, but I've yet to see UWx decks make use of it. Is it because we just have too many better options in white? Primary use I can think of is to steal a Goyf, but I'm sure there are some other nice targets out there.
I think the ability to just burn people out after connecting with a Geist is pretty attractive. The pyromancer decks and Jund are pretty susceptible to getting burned out with how much damage they do to themselves. It's been a while since I've played without Spell Queller, but I think going without good targets for removal could be good. Sideboard Quellers could be attractive though.
The Search-Gideon-Secure package could be Restos and other value ETBs instead, but I wanted to remain agnostic to removal. I think this list is pretty loose, but I wanted to try a few things out. It's likely better to just jam all 4 Geist and a 4th Helix.
Have any of you found Counterflux or Settle the Wreckage to be worth a slot, or should I be pursuing some better sideboard options?
I've been on Jeskai lists in Modern for some time now, but the recent unbannings have me a little unsure of what direction I want to go. I've generally been fond of the Geist + Queller lists, and they have treated me well in kind yielding me 2 PT invites and a 6-4 record at PT RIX (5-0 on day 1 though!). If Jund, grindy Jace decks, and Bolt are going to be more prevalent, then I'm a bit concerned about sticking with Queller. I don't currently possess Jace's, so I feel like I want to stick with some Geist lists that maximize the decks burn-out potential.
The list posted by The Aller on 180 looks very appealing (though I think I would try to squeeze the Secure in the MD). Another option I've been thinking about is swapping the 4 Quellers for a 2 Wall 2 Resto package. These of course synergize very well with Geist to protect against combat damage and edicts. Additionally, they both handle BBE well and are bolt-proof. I also think the instant speed of Resto will also matter more as Mardu, Shadow, and Jund switch some of their Terminate to Dreadbore. Main-phasing Wall of Omens in an otherwise instant-speed deck may not feel great though, so maybe 3 Resto + Clique could be better. Regardless of whether Resto is in a better spot, do you all think there's a niche in UWR-space for the Geist deck? It should perform better against Big Mana, but I'm worried about being softer to Jund.
With respect to keeping up with JTMS decks, I do think Search for Azcanta is up to the task. I reserve the right to change my mind about this after I play more games though!
I've been rocking a 1-of Settle the Wreckage in sideboard. At first, it caught a lot of people off-guard three weeks ago. Since then, it's just been good.
I'm more interested in your match up against Grixis Death's Shadow. How did you sideboard against it?
I've fared pretty well against Shadow most times I've played against it. They do a lot of the work for you! I bring in Supreme Verdict, Celestial Purge, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and maybe a Clique or a Relic or Negate (for LotV). I had been bringing in both Relics in the past, but I'm not as high on that plan as I used to be. I take out 2 Snare, and 3 Helix, and maybe trim a bolt. The snares only hit snap (or a 1 of Terminate), and they can play around it easily anyway since they'll probably see through their discard. The bolt effects don't kill any of the big threats, but it's good to keep a few bolts in to finish them off. Honestly, I would blame somebody for keeping the bolt effects and trimming Lyze instead.
Hi all, I figured I would chime in about some recent results with the deck. I took a fairly stock list to an Iconic Masters win-a-box tournament that I hoped would serve as a warm-up to the RPTQ I planned to attend that weekend. The mainboard was exactly this configuration: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/833534#online . Sideboard differences were -1 P&K, -1 Abrade, +1 Wear//Tear, +1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. I'm having trouble identifying scenarios where I would want Abrade over Wear//Tear. Anybody have input on that?
After a 1st round loss to Titan Shift (hard to beat Carnage Tyrant), I was able to win the rest of my matches and secure a box! Needless to say, that gave me some confidence going into the RPTQ. Matchups were Titanshift (1-2 L), Elves (2-1), Burn (2-1), Jeskai Mirror (2-0), and then a T8 stint of Grixis Shadow (2-0), Ad Nauseam (2-1), and Bant Company (2-0). The Ad Naus matchup was pretty dicey as I got completely blindsided by not one but TWO Sphinx of the Final Word powered out by Lotus Bloom. G3 was a bit of struggle on a mull to 5, but fortunately I had a Dispel in hand when my opponent decided to go for it. He would have drawn a Pact of Negation had he waited...
A couple of days later I attend the RPTQ in Nashville. Swiss round matchups were UW Control (W 2-1), Burn (W 2-0), E-Tron (W 2-1), Abzan Company (L 0-2), Storm (W 2-0), UW Control (W 2-0). I felt I played fairly tight throughout the day, though I distinctly remember making a bad choice in my Rd 4 loss to Abzan Company. I had lethal swing available, but I was left one mana short of making the attack work as I could only look on in despair at my Flooded Strand while sitting at 1 life. I ended up making an attack without realizing I had Electrolyze+draw Bolt effect as an out had I attacked differently.
I wasn't sure what my Quarterfinals opponent was on, but I initially pegged him on Storm after Island plus Serum Visions Turn 1. Turns out it was the mirror! I had Geist on T3 which sealed the deal in Game 1. Game 2 was the mirror image as he had an early Geist and deflected all of my attempts to stop it. G3 was a little longer, but eventually I found a spot to resolve Geist and my opponent's hand was simply too Path heavy to get anywhere. It felt really good to back to the Pro Tour one year later playing essentially the same deck (and by winning the mirror-match!). Highly likely I run this deck at the PT, but I'll be considering some fine tuning.
I'm wondering what might be some mirror-breaker options (besides Geist of Saint Traft). Would going bigger with Verdicts and maybe Search for Azcanta be reasonable? Though dropping Geist for Verdict slows things down, it likely improves the E-Tron matchup which I think will be fairly popular.
It's interesting to see that people have started to embrace using Spell Queller. For those of us who have a heavy controlling mindset, the idea of playing something that's a non-permanent answer can feel a bit unnerving. However, Queller can be quite good in Modern since there are many decks that skimp on removal. I started using the card about a year ago in sideboards and it's number in my mainboard kept going up (I played the full four in my RPTQ last December and have mostly stuck with that).
My instinct has been to go with the latter in all three. That's definitely the UW mentality, but is it how I should be playing a Jeskai list like Rossum's?
Context is always going to matter in these scenarios, and playing by hard rules can lead you down the wrong line in many games. The Queller deck often lacks the ability to totally control the game in many matchups, but fortunately you don't need total control in order to win. The trick of course is recognizing when to push for damage, and I feel like many pilots get a little conservative in this area. If you know there are certain cards that will beat you and you have no other answers, then holding the Queller is often the right choice. There are also plenty of instances where you have to just play a Spell Queller as a Nephalia Seakite too!
Hi all, I just wanted to state that the Queller version still feels strong. I placed 1st in a small PPTQ yesterday (only 27) using a list essentially the same as this one: UWR Flash. The only differences were -1 Spirebluff for +1 Desolate Lighthouse and -1 Logic Knot for 1 Remand. I was a little worried about the addition of a colorless land, but it never caused a problem in the matches that day. I played against Grixis Shadow, UR Storm, Knightfall, Burn, UR Storm, and GR Tron. All matches were 2-0 with the exception of Burn (which is always close!).
Highlight of the day was against the burn deck in the T8. I'm at 4 with a Spell Queller that has a Boros Charm under it and the burn opponent is at 8. My opponent's hand is all gas, but he has only had two lands to work with. Instead of going for the kill on his turn on which I only have a Steam Vents and Flooded Strand up, he let's me untap and draw. I draw an Electrolyze to match with my two bolts and go to attacks. He casts Lightning Helix on the Queller to go for the kill, and I'm able to Lyze+Bolt+Bolt for the win!
I think in this version of the deck Electrolyze is very important. It not only lets you gain incremental advantage when killing small creatures, it also chips away at your opponent's lifetotal without costing you a card. That's extremely relevant for a deck that wants to enable a bolt-snap-bolt finish. If you're playing a slower build with more powerful win-cons, then I could see the card being less useful (though I still think it's good).
There's a UWR build I'm curious about though that seems to be doing well online in the hands of habakiri: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/716363#online . It's built very similarly to the UW decks that have been successful lately, with red being added only for Helix, Electrolyze, and sideboard cards. It seems crazy to play red without lightning bolt, but it's hard to argue with his/her results. What do you all think?
I really like your maindeck configuration! There are a two sideboard cards I am less enamored with though, Counterflux in particular. I suppose it's good if you face many control mirrors, but it seems a little lackluster as a sideboard option. Have you found it to be broadly useful? There are so many possible sideboard includes with UWR that I wonder if there are better uses of those slots.
A more general comment about Stony Silence. Have people been happy with this? I feel like all the decks you bring it in against max out on Nature's Claim, resulting in it not being the stone cold lock it used to be. My concern could just be from my own anecdotal experience (with low statistical weight).
Some notes:
Hardened Scales Affinity is far more difficult for UWR than for UW with Terminus. You'd rather play against normal Affinity any day.
AV came out of the side for a matchup against another UWR deck and it was decent. Could be something to go if Assassin's Trophy pops up in high numbers and make Teferi or Azcanta less reliable.
Settle the Wreckage out of the board was useful, but the fear it instills in your opponent can be a huge advantage. I legitimately should have lost in the Semi's but I think my opponent was concerned about getting blown out by this card (I had already cast and snap-cast my only copy, but he may have assumed I had others).
Alpine Moon performed well. I brought in one copy against the Affinity matches and UWR and both against Valakut and Amulet Titan. Turning your opponents Colonnades off while keeping yours is quite good.
That's a good point that I hadn't considered. The split between Peek and Serum Visions was a sort of hedge. I'm interested in trying out Peek because I think it could be useful in conjunction with Queller and Kiki. It would let you know if you're safe to combo into open mana or if they have an answer to your Queller. The information can be VERY useful, but the card does very little to dig for cards. On the flip side, I think Serum is generically more powerful than Opt. Keeping a one/two lander with Serum is possible, but it's a bit more loose with Opt.
Nikolich went heavy on Peek lately in a control build and seemed to like, so I thought it might be worth experimenting with.
It's interesting to see that you are thinking about moving away from Remand for Logic Knot and Spell Queller as I had similar thoughts. My thought was changing the maindeck like so: -1 Helix -4 Remand -4 Opt -> +2 Serum Visions +2 Peek +2 Queller +2 Knot +1 Knot/Remand/Snare
Remand seems quite good against UW and a few other decks and it can always cycle. Had you considered Wall of Omens? It sounded like you thought Resto didn't need any more help in the deck as it performed fine, but it does make a good target. It also helps ensure Teferi sticks. 2 Walls could take a cantrip slot, but perhaps the 2 mana at sorcery speed is a little too at odds with the instant speed nature of the build.
I think this list looks pretty stock and should do reasonably well as long as your matchups aren't bad! I don't think Wizard's retort is probably worth a slot though. It's only Counterspell when you have Snap or Clique out, and Logic Knot already fulfills that roll pretty well. You could swap it for the SB verdict and free up a slot or you could try out a Spell Snare or a 4th Lightning Bolt or Cryptic Command. If you're just trying things out though, then that's fine as I'd be interested in how it performs.
On an unrelated note, the Nikolich list that keeps popping up has a Baneslayer Angel in the SB, but I can't really figure out what that's for. I mean it will really beat up on people if they take removal out of their decks, but most of the aggro decks are so fast that a turn 5 tapout doesn't seem worth it. It doesn't strike me as particularly great against Jund either. I'm considering using Timely Reinforcements in that slot instead (also I don't have a Baneslayer). I DID crack a Lyra Dawnbringer last night which is almost the same thing, so I could sub that in if you guys think Baneslayer is actually worth it.
I'm still unsure about how much work those Damping Sphere's in the sideboard are doing though.
Thanks for the input. I too thought it was odd to be playing 3 SV, but after jamming all the cards I thought I wanted I was left with a cut to make. I thought it might be fine considering the front side of Search does some of what we need SV for, and it's otherwise a fairly low impact card. The 2 Remands also pick up some slack for the missing cantrip.
The main EE could be switched to a miser's Spell Snare. I do like Snare, but the initial thought was to construct the main deck with no potentially dead cards. EE covers so many random annoyances that I thought it could be good. Also frees up a sideboard slot when I move one to the main. There may be more equity to be gained by including the Snare though. I'll try to find room for at least one.
I don't think Counterflux and Disdainful Stroke are really doing the same thing. Generally I don't consider Flux, but the fact that it answers all of BBE had me curious to try it out. Stroke is a much better card in the Titanshift and Tron matchups than Counterflux though.
Some other potential Sideboard cards:
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir - Like Counterflux, this card serves as a potential BBE answer. It also has applications in Combo and Control matchups. Provided you can protect it, it also let's your Geists have flash which is nice.
Entrancing Melody - This card has shown in UR control decks, but I've yet to see UWx decks make use of it. Is it because we just have too many better options in white? Primary use I can think of is to steal a Goyf, but I'm sure there are some other nice targets out there.
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding tarn
2 Steam Vents
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Field of Ruin
Creatures
3 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Serum Visions
3 Lightning Helix
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Remand
2 Logic Knot
2 Electrolyze
4 Cryptic Command
1 Secure the Wastes
Other Stuff
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Search for Azcanta
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Dispel
1 Negate
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Counterflux
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Celesital Purge
I think the ability to just burn people out after connecting with a Geist is pretty attractive. The pyromancer decks and Jund are pretty susceptible to getting burned out with how much damage they do to themselves. It's been a while since I've played without Spell Queller, but I think going without good targets for removal could be good. Sideboard Quellers could be attractive though.
The Search-Gideon-Secure package could be Restos and other value ETBs instead, but I wanted to remain agnostic to removal. I think this list is pretty loose, but I wanted to try a few things out. It's likely better to just jam all 4 Geist and a 4th Helix.
Have any of you found Counterflux or Settle the Wreckage to be worth a slot, or should I be pursuing some better sideboard options?
The list posted by The Aller on 180 looks very appealing (though I think I would try to squeeze the Secure in the MD). Another option I've been thinking about is swapping the 4 Quellers for a 2 Wall 2 Resto package. These of course synergize very well with Geist to protect against combat damage and edicts. Additionally, they both handle BBE well and are bolt-proof. I also think the instant speed of Resto will also matter more as Mardu, Shadow, and Jund switch some of their Terminate to Dreadbore. Main-phasing Wall of Omens in an otherwise instant-speed deck may not feel great though, so maybe 3 Resto + Clique could be better. Regardless of whether Resto is in a better spot, do you all think there's a niche in UWR-space for the Geist deck? It should perform better against Big Mana, but I'm worried about being softer to Jund.
With respect to keeping up with JTMS decks, I do think Search for Azcanta is up to the task. I reserve the right to change my mind about this after I play more games though!
I've fared pretty well against Shadow most times I've played against it. They do a lot of the work for you! I bring in Supreme Verdict, Celestial Purge, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and maybe a Clique or a Relic or Negate (for LotV). I had been bringing in both Relics in the past, but I'm not as high on that plan as I used to be. I take out 2 Snare, and 3 Helix, and maybe trim a bolt. The snares only hit snap (or a 1 of Terminate), and they can play around it easily anyway since they'll probably see through their discard. The bolt effects don't kill any of the big threats, but it's good to keep a few bolts in to finish them off. Honestly, I would blame somebody for keeping the bolt effects and trimming Lyze instead.
After a 1st round loss to Titan Shift (hard to beat Carnage Tyrant), I was able to win the rest of my matches and secure a box! Needless to say, that gave me some confidence going into the RPTQ. Matchups were Titanshift (1-2 L), Elves (2-1), Burn (2-1), Jeskai Mirror (2-0), and then a T8 stint of Grixis Shadow (2-0), Ad Nauseam (2-1), and Bant Company (2-0). The Ad Naus matchup was pretty dicey as I got completely blindsided by not one but TWO Sphinx of the Final Word powered out by Lotus Bloom. G3 was a bit of struggle on a mull to 5, but fortunately I had a Dispel in hand when my opponent decided to go for it. He would have drawn a Pact of Negation had he waited...
A couple of days later I attend the RPTQ in Nashville. Swiss round matchups were UW Control (W 2-1), Burn (W 2-0), E-Tron (W 2-1), Abzan Company (L 0-2), Storm (W 2-0), UW Control (W 2-0). I felt I played fairly tight throughout the day, though I distinctly remember making a bad choice in my Rd 4 loss to Abzan Company. I had lethal swing available, but I was left one mana short of making the attack work as I could only look on in despair at my Flooded Strand while sitting at 1 life. I ended up making an attack without realizing I had Electrolyze+draw Bolt effect as an out had I attacked differently.
I wasn't sure what my Quarterfinals opponent was on, but I initially pegged him on Storm after Island plus Serum Visions Turn 1. Turns out it was the mirror! I had Geist on T3 which sealed the deal in Game 1. Game 2 was the mirror image as he had an early Geist and deflected all of my attempts to stop it. G3 was a little longer, but eventually I found a spot to resolve Geist and my opponent's hand was simply too Path heavy to get anywhere. It felt really good to back to the Pro Tour one year later playing essentially the same deck (and by winning the mirror-match!). Highly likely I run this deck at the PT, but I'll be considering some fine tuning.
I'm wondering what might be some mirror-breaker options (besides Geist of Saint Traft). Would going bigger with Verdicts and maybe Search for Azcanta be reasonable? Though dropping Geist for Verdict slows things down, it likely improves the E-Tron matchup which I think will be fairly popular.
Context is always going to matter in these scenarios, and playing by hard rules can lead you down the wrong line in many games. The Queller deck often lacks the ability to totally control the game in many matchups, but fortunately you don't need total control in order to win. The trick of course is recognizing when to push for damage, and I feel like many pilots get a little conservative in this area. If you know there are certain cards that will beat you and you have no other answers, then holding the Queller is often the right choice. There are also plenty of instances where you have to just play a Spell Queller as a Nephalia Seakite too!
Highlight of the day was against the burn deck in the T8. I'm at 4 with a Spell Queller that has a Boros Charm under it and the burn opponent is at 8. My opponent's hand is all gas, but he has only had two lands to work with. Instead of going for the kill on his turn on which I only have a Steam Vents and Flooded Strand up, he let's me untap and draw. I draw an Electrolyze to match with my two bolts and go to attacks. He casts Lightning Helix on the Queller to go for the kill, and I'm able to Lyze+Bolt+Bolt for the win!
I think in this version of the deck Electrolyze is very important. It not only lets you gain incremental advantage when killing small creatures, it also chips away at your opponent's lifetotal without costing you a card. That's extremely relevant for a deck that wants to enable a bolt-snap-bolt finish. If you're playing a slower build with more powerful win-cons, then I could see the card being less useful (though I still think it's good).
There's a UWR build I'm curious about though that seems to be doing well online in the hands of habakiri: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/716363#online . It's built very similarly to the UW decks that have been successful lately, with red being added only for Helix, Electrolyze, and sideboard cards. It seems crazy to play red without lightning bolt, but it's hard to argue with his/her results. What do you all think?