I had forgotten Desert was Modern legal... I had tried playing it in paper Pauper before. Really impressive stuff.
I had tried this deck out a couple weeks ago at FNM, and it went terribly (0-3). I was pretty disappointed especially with 2 of the losses coming to Jund and Junk which should be good matchups. I used to play the deck for a while about a year ago (and I've played UWR or UW control heavily since), so it's not like I didn't have experience. I might give it a go again once I acquire some Secure the Wastes. I think being able to cast that early w.r.t. WSZ makes it far more versatile.
I played a list very similar to Nate's at the WMCQ in Lincoln, NE on 7/10. I had been messing around with a Geist-less Jeskai flash list, but I decided to return to Saint Traft as I thought the card would be good against any Jeskai Nahiri decks. The differences from Nate's list were:
-1 Grim Lavamancer, -1 Mana Leak, -1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Spell Snare, +1 Celestial Colonnade, +1 Electrolyze
I felt fairly nervous about 23 lands, and it's hard for me not to sleeve up at least 3 of Colonnade!
After a horrendous 0-2 start, I was able to rebound and finish at 6-2 for 26th place which snuck in for prizes. The losses were both close matches of 3 games to Jund and Infect. I'm still not sure how I lost the first game against the infect player (my opening hand was bolt, bolt, helix, snapcaster, 3 lands)! I'll likely take some version of this deck to the upcoming PPTQs, but I was wondering if you all are intrigued by any of the new cards. I was looking at Spell Queller in particular. I'm even considering dropping Geist and going back to a full flash list, but perhaps that's not the best idea. It's possible that Spell Queller is more of a sideboard card. I think it is very strong against any matchups that are light on removal spells (Tron, Infect, Ad Nauseam, Storm, etc.). It will likely function similarly to Vendilion Clique, but they won't receive a card off the top. What do you all think?
I tend to have more success at competitive tournaments running some variant of UWR (control, geist, and even delver). I have been dabbling with UW Thopter and UW control, but I decided to go back to my comfort zone for yesterday's States competition (94 participants). I decided to give a a flash variant with a couple of Kiki-jiki, Mirror Breaker a whirl and .... I Won! My list had no Ancestral Vision, but I don't think that card is necessary depending on your build. If y'all are interested, I can write up a play-by-play from the tournament or maybe just provide a decklist (though I imagine it will be up on the SCG website within the next couple days).
Also, I'll jump in on the card draw discussion. I feel like the addition of AV has made the inclusion of Sphinx's Revelation in lists a little unnecessary. I can see it being good, but sometimes it's just far too slow or the mana investment is too much (it can be hard to find a spot for it). The lifegain DOES matter, but in the matchups where lifegain is most important, like burn, I still don't feel like that's a good card. If your meta has gone all in on punishing AV (with redirect effects or processors), then I could see reverting back to a rev plan. I've never been much of fan of serum visions, but I think it's serviceable. I feel like I'd rather opt for the raw power of AV or the flexibility of Think Twice in most builds.
An LGS I frequent had a Pauper night last night, so I decided to take this deck for a spin. I have a lot of experience with the straight Boros version back when the LGS where I used to live held a Pauper league. I wound up finishing 2nd last night playing the Jeskai version (Mulldrifter is so good!) beating UW Acid Trip, RG Landfall, and Red Heroic. The final round put me against Bant Bogles where I lost games 2 and 3. I realized I had very little in the sideboard to combat this matchup (a single Negate and a Circle of Protection: Green).
An issue with Sea Gate Ruins is that the activated ability REQUIRES colorless mana which may be difficult to produce using the usual mana base. I usually only have a couple Ghost Quarter and maybe a Mystic Gate.
I originally had Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep in this list, but that was before I started running Cryptic Command. It's ability didn't come up too often so I thought that having Mystic gate to cast Cryptic might be more useful. I could be convinced to switch it back though. You're right about the fetches being a budgetary issue. Hopefully, I can find someone who's willing to lend me some Tarns for the event, but I think it will be fine either way as I actually won a PPTQ a few months using almost the exact same mana base.
I think Elspeth, Knight-Errant might be a little clunky.
I think you're right, so I might use that slot to add the 2nd Spell Snare so that I might more consistently see it early.
I definitely recommend Anger of the Gods
I think I might go with that then, especially if I switch out Mystic Gate with Shinka.
I am planning on attending a PPTQ tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a Geist deck. After toying around a bit with an Esper Delve list (featuring Geist), I've decided on sticking with UWR because I have much more experience with it (it also has a better burn matchup). Here's the list I'm thinking about:
I thought I might try to incorporate Serum Visions (if only slightly) as I think it can be very useful early in the game to set up land drops. It also helps later on when it can eliminate bad draws while in topdeck mode. The other option would be to drop the visions for another Lightning Helix and Spell Snare. Right now I have an Elspeth, Knight-Errant in the 'flex' spot. She's a great card for attrition matchups like Jund, and she often allows Geist to get in for obscene amounts of damage. I do worry about it being a tap-out threat though (unlike most every other card in the deck), and in many matchups she's the first thing I want to side out. This slot could easily be another counterspell (Snare or CC), 4th Lightning Helix, or maybe another walker / Keranos, God of Storms.
The sideboard could probably stand some tuning. I think Celestial Purge, 2 Dispel, 1 Stony Silence, 2 Kor Firewalker, 1 EE, and at least one Wear // Tear are all locks. I know I want at least one board wipe effect, but I'm not sure if I want Verdict, Pyroclasm, Wrath or Anger of the Gods. I chose Wrath due to the fact that Ezuri regenerating everybody is quite annoying. It seems pyroclasm would be pretty useful in the elves matchup as well, and it could also be brought in against some other decks where 4 mana wraths or too clunky (Delver, possibly Burn, Affinity). What have you all found to be most reliable?
I'm open to any and all suggestions, and thanks for reading!
In the 4 rounds of the tournament I played UWR Control, Grixis Delver, UWR Control, and RG aggro. The deck played very well for me and I went 4-0 without dropping a game. My opponent and I decided to split the store credit prior to playing the last round, but we played the match anyway for the planeswalker points and for a store T-shirt. I think this list is very close to what I'll play at Charlotte with some minor modifications (I have a friend who's lending me 4 Tarn to replace the Deltas and Mire). I believe the mainboard Keranos is where I want to be and I think the Cryptic Command is excellent (two might be better, but I have only 1 on hand for now). Unfortunately I've been waiting on my 4th Snapcaster to arrive in the mail from Pucatrade, but if it isn't in by tomorrow afternoon I'll have to settle with 3.
I was mainly hoping to get some input about the top end of the deck and the sideboard. I previously had T-Maw in the MB, but I found myself siding it out a lot. Now I'm not even sure if I want in the board either. I think I would only bring it in against Abzan, so I think it might be in my interest to play a card that is good in that mathcup as well as others. Some things I've considered are Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Sphinx's Revelation, Gideon Jura, Aven Mindcensor, or a 2nd Relic of Progenitus. I haven't seen lil' Elspeth played too often, but it seems like a good card in attrition matchups. For those of you who have experience with some of these cards, what's your preference?
Hey Khainn, let us know how the FNM goes. I've seen some lists with Grim Lavamancer in them, and I am curious how well they perform. I plan on attending a PPTQ on Saturday and the lava man is one of the cards I've been considering.
So the Abzan matchup is manageable? I just imagine it being fairly hard to safely swing with Geist with all the fatties they play.
I think it's manageable. If you're looking to have a clear advantage versus GBx decks, then this probably isn't the deck to play. While the playstyle of the decks is markedly different, both UWR and Abzan are similar in that they tend to have fairly even matchups against most of the metagame. Abzan can be a grind for sure, and I think it's probably correct to side out at least one Geist and maybe more for high impact cards from the sideboard.
Awesome write-up PurpleSunsZenith, and congratulations on your win. I've been looking for an UWr list and I absolutely love yours, so I have some questions:
1. How often did vigilance on Lightning Angel matter? Considering Resto has flash, is only half a turn slower and is less difficult to cast, I think I'd rather first max out on Resto before adding a Lightning Angel.
2. Is the 1-of Forked Bolt worth it? I see it a lot in UWr Geist lists but I think I'd rather just have a third Spell Snare or Electrolyze.
3. Was Shinka useful? I'm on the fence between that, Eiganjo Castle and the fourth Colonnade
4. How much did you playtest with Sulfur Elemental? For one thing I think it's a very clever bit of tech, being Izzet Staticaster while also being able to attack.I do however wonder how much I'd miss Staticaster versus Affinity, and can imagine some horror scenario against tokens where they drop an anthem after Sulfur Elemental resolves and then a Spectral Procession for 3 3/1 flyers
Again, awesome list, I am really hard-pressed to think of something I'd change myself
Hey, thanks for reading!
1. Vigilance on the Lightning Angel can be surprisingly relevant. The two scenarios that come to mind are for fighting through Lingering Souls and when racing burn. Although Resto also avoids the trigger from Eidolon, Lightning Angel can start attacking while still preventing the burn player from making a profitable attack. There was an occasion or two where I would have liked the ability to flash in EOT though. When against something like Infect or twin, it can be a risky proposition to tap out for Lightning Angel even if it does play defense. If you're more comfortable with Resto, then I think it's a fine choice. Vendilion Clique is also a good choice, though it's terrible versus Lingering Souls.
2. I've liked the Forked Bolt as another way to clear out Lingering Souls or Pyromancer. Electrolyze is a much slower way to answer some of your opponents threats, but it's definitely much better as the game drags on. If your meta lacks good targets, then swapping out for either of the cards you mentioned is probably a good choice.
3. I think I drew and played Shinka once over all the matches that day, so it had little bearing on any outcome. I haven't done enough playtesting to say whether I like it or not (tough I personally I think it looks really cool). Initially I had planned to include a fourth colonnade at the expense of the 2nd Hallowed Fountain. However, the card didn't arrive in the mail on time, so I stuck with 3. I think you 3 of Colonnade at a minimum.
4. I had used Sulfur Elemental in the sideboard of Grixis Delver before. I brought it in against B/W tokens one time, and my opponent nearly Inquisitioned it before realizing taking the EE was far better. He then proceeded to play 3 Intangible Virtue. Luckily for me he never drew any token producers. If you know your opponent is on the token plan, then the Elemental might not work to your advantage. It should be noted that staticaster is basically useless once they play an anthem as well though. With respect to affinity, Staticaster is definitely useful, but I felt like my affinity matchup is already ok. Maybe it actually isn't, but I haven't had the privilege of playing against affinity very often.
I wanted to give an update on the PPTQ I attended yesterday. I'm not certain on the attendance, but I think it was at least 40 people. Here's the list I registered:
There were six rounds of swiss before cut to Top 8. I thought it might be useful to give some matchup reports, so hopefully I remember everything!
Round 1 B/W Dead Guy Ale
I'm pretty sure that's was up against, as this was definitely not just a tokens strategy (Dark Confidant, Tidehollow Sculler). I keep an ok starting hand for game one, but the best action is immediately taken with Inquisition of Kozilek. He begins to accumulate some Souls tokens and plays a Lily. I'm able to remove the Lily with Bolt+Lightning angel, but his Sword of Light and Shadow on the tokens is too much and I begin to flood out. Game 2 proceeds in a very similar fashion with T1 discard taking the best thing I've got going. I'm able to purge a Lily, but I've fallen behind on board with my Geist to his Souls. I flood out once again and am unable to stop Pack Rat from going out of control. In a very inauspicious start, I lose the match 0-2. In: Sulfur Elemental, 2xEE, Wear//Tear, Purge Out: 2 Remand, Lightning Helix, Resto Angel, Path Record: 0-1
Round 2 Grixis Delver Burn
Being in the 0-X bracket exposed me to some less tuned list like this Delver deck. In addition to Delver I saw Serum Visions, Bump in the Night, Lightning Bolt, and Lava Spike. I had plenty of Spell Snare and Lightning Helix action for this game. G1 was a fairly easy victory with snapped Helices. G2 I get a lot of sideboard counters and Timely and so I was never really threatened and an unchecked Geist takes the game. Win 2-0. In: Flashfreeze, Negate, Counterflux, 2x Timely, Purge, Out: Thundermaw, some Remand, some Angels Record 1-1
Round 3 U/G Infect
Playing against infect can be quite scary especially when the opponent lands a Wild Defiance. His only threat is an Inkmoth Nexus. He makes a move to attack and I have to let him resolve pump spells and just pray that my Path will resolve. The Nexus becomes lethal and I'm forced to cast the Path. He has the Apostle's Blessing, so I die to a OHKO. I'm keenly aware of the Wild Defiance so I make sure to bring in the Wear//Tear. He doesn't play it this game, but he does manage to land a Blighted Agent. I Flashfreeze his Vines of Vastwood, but this allows a Become Immense to resolve putting me at 7 poison. I take one more Agent hit without pump, but my Lightning Angel beatdowns and bolt-snap-bolt end the game. My opponent has to mulligan to 5 in G3 while I keep on OK hand. He actually makes a game of it and begins to beat down with a doubly exalted Noble Hierarch. He's limited on cards, but manages to snag two of my attempts to remove the Hierarchs with a Dispel and Spell Pierce. I finally Electrolyze the both of them which lets me run away with the game. In: 2x Wear // Tear, Flashfreeze, Counterflux, Negate, EE Out: Thundermaw, Batterskull, some angels and maybe a geist Win 2-1. Record 2-1
Round 4 Jund
I feel better about this matchup as opposed to Junk. He mulligans to six and keeps a hand he doesn't seem thrilled about. I'm on the play G1, but I lose my Geist to Inquisition (this happens a lot!). His manabase hurts him a bit as I start sniping with Burn spells. I draw another Geist and it resolves and he has no Lily, so geist takes it. G2 is somewhat similar. He takes a Path instead of a snapcaster with his Inquistion. This allows me to snap+path his Tarmogoyf and he grabs a swamp. I start beating down and he plays an Outpost Siege. I take a turn to animate Colonnade and bash in with Lightning Angel joining the assault to leave him at one. His siege finds a Stomping Ground and he contemplates a little bit before conceding. Apparently he could have won if his deck ran a single mountain as he need another red mana to Thundermaw + 2x Bolt to finish me off. In: Celestial Purge, Flashfreeze, 1 Wear // tear, 1 Explosives Out: Resto, Thundermaw, Forked Bolt, Remand Win 2-0 Record 3-1
Round 5 U/R Delver
G1 is very close as his burn spells get me perilously low, but he can't keep a threat due to my fistful of removal. He floods a bit late game and were' both sitting at precarious lifetotals (I'm at 4 he's at 5 or so). He plays a Young Pyromancer with 1 card in hand. I've got 4 lands in play including a Flooded Strand, and if I crack it I can burn him out. I bite the bullet and hope he does have the bolt. He doesn't and we go to G2. I have plenty of removal for his threats once again and he spends most of his turns casting cantrips. I take a chance on resolving a Batterskull and it sticks. He has no way to remove it and concedes. In: Rending Volley, Flashfreeze, Negate, EE, Celestial Purge Out: Thundermaw, Lightning Angels, 2 Remand. Record 3-1
Round 6 Griselbrand Reanimator
Due to my first round loss, I am sitting at 8 in the standings (the bottom of the x-1's). 1-6 all ID to Top 8, while I don't quite have that luxury as the #9 player would beat me on breakers if he won. I'm a little worried because I know what I'm up against (this guy played next to me earlier). He does a lot of Faithless Looting in the first game after a mulligan to 5, but I never see a Griselbrand go the yard. Snapcaster, bolt and a spirit token from his Forbidden Orchard get there before he finds anything. I'm relieved to find Relic in my opening hand for G2 and slam it down T2 with activation mana. Unfortunately, all of my burn spells are rendered rather useless due to his T0 Leyline. I land a geist and begin the beatdowns always leaving up mana for relic. He's furiously digging with multiple Lootings + Flashback, but never casts anything I have to worry about. He eventually just dies while I have a hand of 3 Lightning Helix and 2 Bolt. In: Relic, Negate, Counterflux, Flashfreeze, Purge Out: Thundermaw, Batterskull, Forked Bolt, 2 Angels Record 5-1
TOP 8
Due to playing in the last round I wind up as the #2 seed, so I'll get to be on the play for at least the first 2 rounds of the playoff. Quarterfinals RWg Burn
I have a lot of experience playing burn, so I don't mind be matched up against it as I'm usually prepared. Being on the play helps here, but I'm stuck with a questionable keep with a Remand and path in hand with Snap, but only Colonnade, Plains, and Ghost Quarter for Lands. Usually Remand is not great here, but I'm able to hit the best target Rift Bolt twice. I get my red source eventually as my draws wind up being decent. He resolves a Eidolon of the Great Revel on T4, but it's essentially useless as I respond with a Lightning Angel and start a race he cannot win (hooray for Vigilance!). All the hate comes in for G2 and I wind up seeing plenty of it. Flashfreeze, Snare, and Helix all make an appearance which are made all the worse (for him) with Snapcaster Mage. Geist closes out the game and I'm of to the Semis. SB: See Round 2 Semifinals RWg Burn
Burn again! I'm glad I am on the play, but I wind up keeping a rather slow hand with good mana but only Angels for action. I'm simply unable to hold off the assault and die pretty quickly. I'm pretty nervous at this point as I'll need to win 2 games in a row to escape, but I know my sideboard will help. G2 is somewhat close, but I draw just enough in the form of counterspells to stay healthy. Once again Geist saves the day by ending the game as quickly as possible. More of the hate cards arrive in G3 and my opponent has to mulligan to 6. The game is relatively close, but once I'm able to hold up mana he starts feeling the pressure. I make sure to helix when he's tapped out or in response to Atarka or Skullcrack and Geist delivers. Phew! SB: See Rd 2
Finals Abzan
The finals was against Abzan, a deck I never look forward to playing against. To make matters worse I as up against a player I know is prone to get REALLY salty, so I definitely did not want to lose this one. I'm the higher seed for the finals as well so I opt for the play and keep a hand of 4 lands, Remand, Electrolyze, Geist. Geist gets taken by the T1 Inquisition of course, so it looks like I'll have to win via another route. I begin to draw land after land after land, but fortunately my opponent has the opposite issue and is stuck on 2 lands until he begins to discard. His attempt to flashback a discard souls eats remand, but I continue to draw land. He finally hits three begins to accumulate souls and the match becomes a Colonnade vs Souls battle. I eventually start drawing some threats, but the my angel eats path. In the late game he's down to 4 life with tokens blocking the lethal colonnade. I have helix in hand, but just need a bolt or snapcaster to finish it. He plays a Finks to go up to six and leaves one black mana up, and then I finally draw my bolt. I cast the helix and wait to hear if it resolves or if he has a response. Seeing as he does nothing I assume it does, so I go to cast bolt. The salt is real as he assumes I'm just slow rolling him. This combined with his mana screw makes him rather grouchy and he's mumbling under his breath. I try not to let it get to me and look at the judge who's smiling so I just end up grinning the entire time and enjoying the fact that he's just putting himself on tilt.
G2 opens up with a fetch+shock Steam Vents to Snare his T2 Scavenging Ooze. He's is quite upset by this muttering something like "yeah of course, what is that a 1-of in the sideboard". I just said I maindeck it and left it at that. From there I begin remanding multiple times (Remanding Tasigur is sweet btw) and then snap+remand to begin snap beats. Snap eats a Decay and he finally resolves a Finks I've been remanding. This scenario leads to my favorite sequence of the day. EOT I bolt the Finks to get it's persist trigger and it comes back to the battlefield. I then flash in Sulfur Elemental to give it -1 toughness and kill it. Untap, take the opening to play Geist and swing with the elemental bringing him to 14. He plays a Batterskull on his turn which I can't prevent from resolving and leaves 2 mana up. I look at the Celestial Purge in hand and consider if I want to save it for the Tasigur, but I feel I need to try to close the game out with a huge swing from Geist and Elemental so I EOT Purge the black Germ token. I swing in with the team on my turn and he attempts to decay the Elemental. Restoration Angel saves the day by blinking the AB target and angel plus geist get in for damage. He says six which I correct to 8 as both the Geist and the Angel get +1 from the still living Sulfur Elemental. I can tell he's very frustrated at this point and facing down lethal on the next turn he cranks out a Lingering Souls with 2 flashbacks and the Tasigur. I point out that the souls all die due to state-based actions from the static ability of Sulfur Elemental. It didn't even matter as I had EE in hand and enough flying damage for tasigur to be useless. GAME! Win 2-0
I got a Booster Box of Dragons of Tarkir and invitation to the RPTQ for the victory! I apologize for the wall of text, but this is the biggest win I've had playing Magic so far so I'm a little excited. Here are some stray notes/observations:
- I definitely prefer Sulfur Elemental to Izzet Staticaster due to it being far more proactive. Cool Card
- I like that this deck has a good (imo) burn matchup. Helix and Geist work wonders.
- I felt some tension at times with Lightning Angel not being a flash threat in some games where I was not willing to tap out. In other instances it performed admirably, and it's a more resilient threat than Clique.
- "Cute", "Lightning Angel?", "Is that Modern legal?","Huh" -- some of the responses to Lightning Angel being cast
- Although I know there were at least some Affinity and Twin players, I don't think any made the Top 8. I think the deck is fine against Affinity, but I haven't tested the Twin matchup much.
- Cards I never cast: Counterflux, Wear // Tear, Keranos, Thundermaw, Stony Silence
- Electroyzed myself in the Rd 6 just to draw a card
Concerning the sideboard I think that you want a 2nd Stony Silence (Affinity is always a thing and it helps vs Tron as well) and a 2nd Rending Volley (since Twin is popular). Not sure if Ajani in the board is worthwhile. What would you side him in against? Not sure what else you would potentially cut. I like having access to a wrath, but maybe it isn't worth it since we don't really want to play that sort of game and Engineered Explosives does a modest sweeper impression.
I liked Ajani coming in against aggro and for any grindy matchups (Abzan or Control), but I'm not certain that's the best thing to do. I took the list to my LGS modern night on Wednesday and it performed fairly well for me. I went 3-1 defeating Esper Mentor (2-0), Elves (2-0), and Burn (2-1) while losing to a homebrew Dredge deck (0-2). Any graveyard deck is going to be hard to beat without ANY sideboard hate. I think I should try to squeeze in a Relic of Progenitus, Tormod's Crypt, or Rest In Peace for the sideboard. I think I could probably cut the Wrath in this case.
After toying around a bit with Grixis Devler, I've decided to come back to UWR for a nearby PPTQ this Saturday. I know my manabase could stand to be improved, but I am mostly happy with the mainboard. I'm less certain about the contents of the sideboard and what to side out for certain matchups.
The SB has been pretty fluid and I'm not even sure that's what I currently have it set to. For matchups like Burn and Bogles it's usually pretty easy to take certain cards out for others. There's the question of Timely Reinforcements vs Kor Firewalker, but Timely has been pretty good the times I have seen it. My main issue is combating Abzan decks. I usually try to go a more grindy route and side in cards like Keranos, Ajani, and Wrath. Yet I also don't want to lose to things like Choke and Souls so I'd like at least one Wear/Tear and EE. I fear I may just be diluting my gameplan too much by doing this though. If those of you with more experience with deck have any tips or suggestions I would love to hear them!
Thanks for the kind words CurdBros! In my current experience, I'm finding myself much more partial to the quicker versions of the deck that employ Probe, Pyromancer, Swiftspear. I think as long as Treasure Cruise is legal that it is a very strong core. I like the creature suite used by the URW player in the GP, but I feel like I would swap out Thought Scour and Snag for Helix and Path respectively. Adding that kind of power can give you a distinct edge over the UR decks, although the consistency of the deck may suffer. I think it remains to be seen if trading in the velocity of those cards for the power of the white cards is worth it.
As far as the midrange builds go, my concern is over the possibility that the deck will just find itself in limbo between the aggressive strategy and the higher top end the decks in the UWR midrange thread provide. It's a fine line that could prove very effective, but I just haven't been comfortable running that kind of deck at that point. I think I will probably try out some midrange possibilities similar to the Team Geist lists in the future. Especially if Cruise gets the axe like many think it will.
I had forgotten Desert was Modern legal... I had tried playing it in paper Pauper before. Really impressive stuff.
I had tried this deck out a couple weeks ago at FNM, and it went terribly (0-3). I was pretty disappointed especially with 2 of the losses coming to Jund and Junk which should be good matchups. I used to play the deck for a while about a year ago (and I've played UWR or UW control heavily since), so it's not like I didn't have experience. I might give it a go again once I acquire some Secure the Wastes. I think being able to cast that early w.r.t. WSZ makes it far more versatile.
I played a list very similar to Nate's at the WMCQ in Lincoln, NE on 7/10. I had been messing around with a Geist-less Jeskai flash list, but I decided to return to Saint Traft as I thought the card would be good against any Jeskai Nahiri decks. The differences from Nate's list were:
-1 Grim Lavamancer, -1 Mana Leak, -1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Spell Snare, +1 Celestial Colonnade, +1 Electrolyze
I felt fairly nervous about 23 lands, and it's hard for me not to sleeve up at least 3 of Colonnade!
After a horrendous 0-2 start, I was able to rebound and finish at 6-2 for 26th place which snuck in for prizes. The losses were both close matches of 3 games to Jund and Infect. I'm still not sure how I lost the first game against the infect player (my opening hand was bolt, bolt, helix, snapcaster, 3 lands)! I'll likely take some version of this deck to the upcoming PPTQs, but I was wondering if you all are intrigued by any of the new cards. I was looking at Spell Queller in particular. I'm even considering dropping Geist and going back to a full flash list, but perhaps that's not the best idea. It's possible that Spell Queller is more of a sideboard card. I think it is very strong against any matchups that are light on removal spells (Tron, Infect, Ad Nauseam, Storm, etc.). It will likely function similarly to Vendilion Clique, but they won't receive a card off the top. What do you all think?
I tend to have more success at competitive tournaments running some variant of UWR (control, geist, and even delver). I have been dabbling with UW Thopter and UW control, but I decided to go back to my comfort zone for yesterday's States competition (94 participants). I decided to give a a flash variant with a couple of Kiki-jiki, Mirror Breaker a whirl and .... I Won! My list had no Ancestral Vision, but I don't think that card is necessary depending on your build. If y'all are interested, I can write up a play-by-play from the tournament or maybe just provide a decklist (though I imagine it will be up on the SCG website within the next couple days).
Also, I'll jump in on the card draw discussion. I feel like the addition of AV has made the inclusion of Sphinx's Revelation in lists a little unnecessary. I can see it being good, but sometimes it's just far too slow or the mana investment is too much (it can be hard to find a spot for it). The lifegain DOES matter, but in the matchups where lifegain is most important, like burn, I still don't feel like that's a good card. If your meta has gone all in on punishing AV (with redirect effects or processors), then I could see reverting back to a rev plan. I've never been much of fan of serum visions, but I think it's serviceable. I feel like I'd rather opt for the raw power of AV or the flexibility of Think Twice in most builds.
An LGS I frequent had a Pauper night last night, so I decided to take this deck for a spin. I have a lot of experience with the straight Boros version back when the LGS where I used to live held a Pauper league. I wound up finishing 2nd last night playing the Jeskai version (Mulldrifter is so good!) beating UW Acid Trip, RG Landfall, and Red Heroic. The final round put me against Bant Bogles where I lost games 2 and 3. I realized I had very little in the sideboard to combat this matchup (a single Negate and a Circle of Protection: Green).
What cards do you all find most useful against hexproof decks? I realize that Celestial Flare is likely decent, but would Standard Bearer, Patrician's Scorn, or even Curfew be a better choice?
Cheers!
Why are you running Mystic Gate?
I originally had Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep in this list, but that was before I started running Cryptic Command. It's ability didn't come up too often so I thought that having Mystic gate to cast Cryptic might be more useful. I could be convinced to switch it back though. You're right about the fetches being a budgetary issue. Hopefully, I can find someone who's willing to lend me some Tarns for the event, but I think it will be fine either way as I actually won a PPTQ a few months using almost the exact same mana base.
I think Elspeth, Knight-Errant might be a little clunky.
I think you're right, so I might use that slot to add the 2nd Spell Snare so that I might more consistently see it early.
I definitely recommend Anger of the Gods
I think I might go with that then, especially if I switch out Mystic Gate with Shinka.
I am planning on attending a PPTQ tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a Geist deck. After toying around a bit with an Esper Delve list (featuring Geist), I've decided on sticking with UWR because I have much more experience with it (it also has a better burn matchup). Here's the list I'm thinking about:
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Restoration Angel
1 Vendilion Clique
Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
2 Electrolyze
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Cryptic Command
2 Serum Visions
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Lands
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Mystic Gate
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Stony Silence
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Dispel
1 Celestial Prurge
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Wrath of God
1 Flashfreeze
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Wear // Tear
I thought I might try to incorporate Serum Visions (if only slightly) as I think it can be very useful early in the game to set up land drops. It also helps later on when it can eliminate bad draws while in topdeck mode. The other option would be to drop the visions for another Lightning Helix and Spell Snare. Right now I have an Elspeth, Knight-Errant in the 'flex' spot. She's a great card for attrition matchups like Jund, and she often allows Geist to get in for obscene amounts of damage. I do worry about it being a tap-out threat though (unlike most every other card in the deck), and in many matchups she's the first thing I want to side out. This slot could easily be another counterspell (Snare or CC), 4th Lightning Helix, or maybe another walker / Keranos, God of Storms.
The sideboard could probably stand some tuning. I think Celestial Purge, 2 Dispel, 1 Stony Silence, 2 Kor Firewalker, 1 EE, and at least one Wear // Tear are all locks. I know I want at least one board wipe effect, but I'm not sure if I want Verdict, Pyroclasm, Wrath or Anger of the Gods. I chose Wrath due to the fact that Ezuri regenerating everybody is quite annoying. It seems pyroclasm would be pretty useful in the elves matchup as well, and it could also be brought in against some other decks where 4 mana wraths or too clunky (Delver, possibly Burn, Affinity). What have you all found to be most reliable?
I'm open to any and all suggestions, and thanks for reading!
I plan on taking UWR Geist to GP Charlotte this weekend so I decided to go to my LGS's Modern night for some practice. Here's the list I played:
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Restoration Angel
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Vendilion Clique
Land
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Sulfur Falls
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
1 Spell Snare
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
4 Lightning Helix
2 Electrolyze
1 Cryptic Command
Attrition
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Counterflux
1 Negate
1 Flashfreeze
1 Dispel
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Stony Silence
1 Celestial Purge
2 Wear // Tear
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Rending Volley
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Relic of Progenitus
In the 4 rounds of the tournament I played UWR Control, Grixis Delver, UWR Control, and RG aggro. The deck played very well for me and I went 4-0 without dropping a game. My opponent and I decided to split the store credit prior to playing the last round, but we played the match anyway for the planeswalker points and for a store T-shirt. I think this list is very close to what I'll play at Charlotte with some minor modifications (I have a friend who's lending me 4 Tarn to replace the Deltas and Mire). I believe the mainboard Keranos is where I want to be and I think the Cryptic Command is excellent (two might be better, but I have only 1 on hand for now). Unfortunately I've been waiting on my 4th Snapcaster to arrive in the mail from Pucatrade, but if it isn't in by tomorrow afternoon I'll have to settle with 3.
I was mainly hoping to get some input about the top end of the deck and the sideboard. I previously had T-Maw in the MB, but I found myself siding it out a lot. Now I'm not even sure if I want in the board either. I think I would only bring it in against Abzan, so I think it might be in my interest to play a card that is good in that mathcup as well as others. Some things I've considered are Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Sphinx's Revelation, Gideon Jura, Aven Mindcensor, or a 2nd Relic of Progenitus. I haven't seen lil' Elspeth played too often, but it seems like a good card in attrition matchups. For those of you who have experience with some of these cards, what's your preference?
I think it's manageable. If you're looking to have a clear advantage versus GBx decks, then this probably isn't the deck to play. While the playstyle of the decks is markedly different, both UWR and Abzan are similar in that they tend to have fairly even matchups against most of the metagame. Abzan can be a grind for sure, and I think it's probably correct to side out at least one Geist and maybe more for high impact cards from the sideboard.
Hey, thanks for reading!
1. Vigilance on the Lightning Angel can be surprisingly relevant. The two scenarios that come to mind are for fighting through Lingering Souls and when racing burn. Although Resto also avoids the trigger from Eidolon, Lightning Angel can start attacking while still preventing the burn player from making a profitable attack. There was an occasion or two where I would have liked the ability to flash in EOT though. When against something like Infect or twin, it can be a risky proposition to tap out for Lightning Angel even if it does play defense. If you're more comfortable with Resto, then I think it's a fine choice. Vendilion Clique is also a good choice, though it's terrible versus Lingering Souls.
2. I've liked the Forked Bolt as another way to clear out Lingering Souls or Pyromancer. Electrolyze is a much slower way to answer some of your opponents threats, but it's definitely much better as the game drags on. If your meta lacks good targets, then swapping out for either of the cards you mentioned is probably a good choice.
3. I think I drew and played Shinka once over all the matches that day, so it had little bearing on any outcome. I haven't done enough playtesting to say whether I like it or not (tough I personally I think it looks really cool). Initially I had planned to include a fourth colonnade at the expense of the 2nd Hallowed Fountain. However, the card didn't arrive in the mail on time, so I stuck with 3. I think you 3 of Colonnade at a minimum.
4. I had used Sulfur Elemental in the sideboard of Grixis Delver before. I brought it in against B/W tokens one time, and my opponent nearly Inquisitioned it before realizing taking the EE was far better. He then proceeded to play 3 Intangible Virtue. Luckily for me he never drew any token producers. If you know your opponent is on the token plan, then the Elemental might not work to your advantage. It should be noted that staticaster is basically useless once they play an anthem as well though. With respect to affinity, Staticaster is definitely useful, but I felt like my affinity matchup is already ok. Maybe it actually isn't, but I haven't had the privilege of playing against affinity very often.
I wanted to give an update on the PPTQ I attended yesterday. I'm not certain on the attendance, but I think it was at least 40 people. Here's the list I registered:
3x Celestial Colonnade
2x Steam Vents
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Sacred Foundry
4x Flooded Strand
3x Polluted Delta
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
2x Island
1x Plains
1x Mountain
2x Ghost Quarter
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Snapcaster Mage
3x Restoration Angel
2x Lightning Angel
1x Thundermaw Hellkite
Spells:(21)
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Path to Exile
4x Remand
4x Lightning Helix
2x Electrolyze
2x Spell Snare
1x Forked Bolt
Artifact: (1)
1x Batterskull
2x Engineered Explosives
1x Stony Silence
2x Timely Reinforcements
1x Flashfreeze
1x Counterflux
2x Wear/Tear
1x Keranos, God of Storms
1x Negate
1x Celestial Purge
1x Sulfur Elemental
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Rending Volley
There were six rounds of swiss before cut to Top 8. I thought it might be useful to give some matchup reports, so hopefully I remember everything!
Round 1 B/W Dead Guy Ale
I'm pretty sure that's was up against, as this was definitely not just a tokens strategy (Dark Confidant, Tidehollow Sculler). I keep an ok starting hand for game one, but the best action is immediately taken with Inquisition of Kozilek. He begins to accumulate some Souls tokens and plays a Lily. I'm able to remove the Lily with Bolt+Lightning angel, but his Sword of Light and Shadow on the tokens is too much and I begin to flood out. Game 2 proceeds in a very similar fashion with T1 discard taking the best thing I've got going. I'm able to purge a Lily, but I've fallen behind on board with my Geist to his Souls. I flood out once again and am unable to stop Pack Rat from going out of control. In a very inauspicious start, I lose the match 0-2. In: Sulfur Elemental, 2xEE, Wear//Tear, Purge Out: 2 Remand, Lightning Helix, Resto Angel, Path
Record: 0-1
Round 2 Grixis Delver Burn
Being in the 0-X bracket exposed me to some less tuned list like this Delver deck. In addition to Delver I saw Serum Visions, Bump in the Night, Lightning Bolt, and Lava Spike. I had plenty of Spell Snare and Lightning Helix action for this game. G1 was a fairly easy victory with snapped Helices. G2 I get a lot of sideboard counters and Timely and so I was never really threatened and an unchecked Geist takes the game. Win 2-0. In: Flashfreeze, Negate, Counterflux, 2x Timely, Purge, Out: Thundermaw, some Remand, some Angels
Record 1-1
Round 3 U/G Infect
Playing against infect can be quite scary especially when the opponent lands a Wild Defiance. His only threat is an Inkmoth Nexus. He makes a move to attack and I have to let him resolve pump spells and just pray that my Path will resolve. The Nexus becomes lethal and I'm forced to cast the Path. He has the Apostle's Blessing, so I die to a OHKO. I'm keenly aware of the Wild Defiance so I make sure to bring in the Wear//Tear. He doesn't play it this game, but he does manage to land a Blighted Agent. I Flashfreeze his Vines of Vastwood, but this allows a Become Immense to resolve putting me at 7 poison. I take one more Agent hit without pump, but my Lightning Angel beatdowns and bolt-snap-bolt end the game. My opponent has to mulligan to 5 in G3 while I keep on OK hand. He actually makes a game of it and begins to beat down with a doubly exalted Noble Hierarch. He's limited on cards, but manages to snag two of my attempts to remove the Hierarchs with a Dispel and Spell Pierce. I finally Electrolyze the both of them which lets me run away with the game. In: 2x Wear // Tear, Flashfreeze, Counterflux, Negate, EE Out: Thundermaw, Batterskull, some angels and maybe a geist Win 2-1.
Record 2-1
Round 4 Jund
I feel better about this matchup as opposed to Junk. He mulligans to six and keeps a hand he doesn't seem thrilled about. I'm on the play G1, but I lose my Geist to Inquisition (this happens a lot!). His manabase hurts him a bit as I start sniping with Burn spells. I draw another Geist and it resolves and he has no Lily, so geist takes it. G2 is somewhat similar. He takes a Path instead of a snapcaster with his Inquistion. This allows me to snap+path his Tarmogoyf and he grabs a swamp. I start beating down and he plays an Outpost Siege. I take a turn to animate Colonnade and bash in with Lightning Angel joining the assault to leave him at one. His siege finds a Stomping Ground and he contemplates a little bit before conceding. Apparently he could have won if his deck ran a single mountain as he need another red mana to Thundermaw + 2x Bolt to finish me off. In: Celestial Purge, Flashfreeze, 1 Wear // tear, 1 Explosives Out: Resto, Thundermaw, Forked Bolt, Remand Win 2-0
Record 3-1
Round 5 U/R Delver
G1 is very close as his burn spells get me perilously low, but he can't keep a threat due to my fistful of removal. He floods a bit late game and were' both sitting at precarious lifetotals (I'm at 4 he's at 5 or so). He plays a Young Pyromancer with 1 card in hand. I've got 4 lands in play including a Flooded Strand, and if I crack it I can burn him out. I bite the bullet and hope he does have the bolt. He doesn't and we go to G2. I have plenty of removal for his threats once again and he spends most of his turns casting cantrips. I take a chance on resolving a Batterskull and it sticks. He has no way to remove it and concedes. In: Rending Volley, Flashfreeze, Negate, EE, Celestial Purge Out: Thundermaw, Lightning Angels, 2 Remand.
Record 3-1
Round 6 Griselbrand Reanimator
Due to my first round loss, I am sitting at 8 in the standings (the bottom of the x-1's). 1-6 all ID to Top 8, while I don't quite have that luxury as the #9 player would beat me on breakers if he won. I'm a little worried because I know what I'm up against (this guy played next to me earlier). He does a lot of Faithless Looting in the first game after a mulligan to 5, but I never see a Griselbrand go the yard. Snapcaster, bolt and a spirit token from his Forbidden Orchard get there before he finds anything. I'm relieved to find Relic in my opening hand for G2 and slam it down T2 with activation mana. Unfortunately, all of my burn spells are rendered rather useless due to his T0 Leyline. I land a geist and begin the beatdowns always leaving up mana for relic. He's furiously digging with multiple Lootings + Flashback, but never casts anything I have to worry about. He eventually just dies while I have a hand of 3 Lightning Helix and 2 Bolt. In: Relic, Negate, Counterflux, Flashfreeze, Purge Out: Thundermaw, Batterskull, Forked Bolt, 2 Angels
Record 5-1
TOP 8
Due to playing in the last round I wind up as the #2 seed, so I'll get to be on the play for at least the first 2 rounds of the playoff.
Quarterfinals RWg Burn
I have a lot of experience playing burn, so I don't mind be matched up against it as I'm usually prepared. Being on the play helps here, but I'm stuck with a questionable keep with a Remand and path in hand with Snap, but only Colonnade, Plains, and Ghost Quarter for Lands. Usually Remand is not great here, but I'm able to hit the best target Rift Bolt twice. I get my red source eventually as my draws wind up being decent. He resolves a Eidolon of the Great Revel on T4, but it's essentially useless as I respond with a Lightning Angel and start a race he cannot win (hooray for Vigilance!). All the hate comes in for G2 and I wind up seeing plenty of it. Flashfreeze, Snare, and Helix all make an appearance which are made all the worse (for him) with Snapcaster Mage. Geist closes out the game and I'm of to the Semis. SB: See Round 2
Semifinals RWg Burn
Burn again! I'm glad I am on the play, but I wind up keeping a rather slow hand with good mana but only Angels for action. I'm simply unable to hold off the assault and die pretty quickly. I'm pretty nervous at this point as I'll need to win 2 games in a row to escape, but I know my sideboard will help. G2 is somewhat close, but I draw just enough in the form of counterspells to stay healthy. Once again Geist saves the day by ending the game as quickly as possible. More of the hate cards arrive in G3 and my opponent has to mulligan to 6. The game is relatively close, but once I'm able to hold up mana he starts feeling the pressure. I make sure to helix when he's tapped out or in response to Atarka or Skullcrack and Geist delivers. Phew! SB: See Rd 2
Finals Abzan
The finals was against Abzan, a deck I never look forward to playing against. To make matters worse I as up against a player I know is prone to get REALLY salty, so I definitely did not want to lose this one. I'm the higher seed for the finals as well so I opt for the play and keep a hand of 4 lands, Remand, Electrolyze, Geist. Geist gets taken by the T1 Inquisition of course, so it looks like I'll have to win via another route. I begin to draw land after land after land, but fortunately my opponent has the opposite issue and is stuck on 2 lands until he begins to discard. His attempt to flashback a discard souls eats remand, but I continue to draw land. He finally hits three begins to accumulate souls and the match becomes a Colonnade vs Souls battle. I eventually start drawing some threats, but the my angel eats path. In the late game he's down to 4 life with tokens blocking the lethal colonnade. I have helix in hand, but just need a bolt or snapcaster to finish it. He plays a Finks to go up to six and leaves one black mana up, and then I finally draw my bolt. I cast the helix and wait to hear if it resolves or if he has a response. Seeing as he does nothing I assume it does, so I go to cast bolt. The salt is real as he assumes I'm just slow rolling him. This combined with his mana screw makes him rather grouchy and he's mumbling under his breath. I try not to let it get to me and look at the judge who's smiling so I just end up grinning the entire time and enjoying the fact that he's just putting himself on tilt.
G2 opens up with a fetch+shock Steam Vents to Snare his T2 Scavenging Ooze. He's is quite upset by this muttering something like "yeah of course, what is that a 1-of in the sideboard". I just said I maindeck it and left it at that. From there I begin remanding multiple times (Remanding Tasigur is sweet btw) and then snap+remand to begin snap beats. Snap eats a Decay and he finally resolves a Finks I've been remanding. This scenario leads to my favorite sequence of the day. EOT I bolt the Finks to get it's persist trigger and it comes back to the battlefield. I then flash in Sulfur Elemental to give it -1 toughness and kill it. Untap, take the opening to play Geist and swing with the elemental bringing him to 14. He plays a Batterskull on his turn which I can't prevent from resolving and leaves 2 mana up. I look at the Celestial Purge in hand and consider if I want to save it for the Tasigur, but I feel I need to try to close the game out with a huge swing from Geist and Elemental so I EOT Purge the black Germ token. I swing in with the team on my turn and he attempts to decay the Elemental. Restoration Angel saves the day by blinking the AB target and angel plus geist get in for damage. He says six which I correct to 8 as both the Geist and the Angel get +1 from the still living Sulfur Elemental. I can tell he's very frustrated at this point and facing down lethal on the next turn he cranks out a Lingering Souls with 2 flashbacks and the Tasigur. I point out that the souls all die due to state-based actions from the static ability of Sulfur Elemental. It didn't even matter as I had EE in hand and enough flying damage for tasigur to be useless. GAME! Win 2-0
I got a Booster Box of Dragons of Tarkir and invitation to the RPTQ for the victory! I apologize for the wall of text, but this is the biggest win I've had playing Magic so far so I'm a little excited. Here are some stray notes/observations:
- I definitely prefer Sulfur Elemental to Izzet Staticaster due to it being far more proactive. Cool Card
- I like that this deck has a good (imo) burn matchup. Helix and Geist work wonders.
- I felt some tension at times with Lightning Angel not being a flash threat in some games where I was not willing to tap out. In other instances it performed admirably, and it's a more resilient threat than Clique.
- "Cute", "Lightning Angel?", "Is that Modern legal?","Huh" -- some of the responses to Lightning Angel being cast
- Although I know there were at least some Affinity and Twin players, I don't think any made the Top 8. I think the deck is fine against Affinity, but I haven't tested the Twin matchup much.
- Cards I never cast: Counterflux, Wear // Tear, Keranos, Thundermaw, Stony Silence
- Electroyzed myself in the Rd 6 just to draw a card
If you made it this far, then thanks for reading!
I liked Ajani coming in against aggro and for any grindy matchups (Abzan or Control), but I'm not certain that's the best thing to do. I took the list to my LGS modern night on Wednesday and it performed fairly well for me. I went 3-1 defeating Esper Mentor (2-0), Elves (2-0), and Burn (2-1) while losing to a homebrew Dredge deck (0-2). Any graveyard deck is going to be hard to beat without ANY sideboard hate. I think I should try to squeeze in a Relic of Progenitus, Tormod's Crypt, or Rest In Peace for the sideboard. I think I could probably cut the Wrath in this case.
After toying around a bit with Grixis Devler, I've decided to come back to UWR for a nearby PPTQ this Saturday. I know my manabase could stand to be improved, but I am mostly happy with the mainboard. I'm less certain about the contents of the sideboard and what to side out for certain matchups.
4x Celestial Colonnade
2x Steam Vents
1x Hallowed Fountain
2x Sacred Foundry
4x Flooded Strand
3x Polluted Delta
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
2x Island
1x Plains
1x Mountain
2x Ghost Quarter
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Snapcaster Mage
3x Restoration Angel
2x Lightning Angel
1x Thundermaw Hellkite
Spells:(21)
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Path to Exile
4x Remand
4x Lightning Helix
2x Electrolyze
2x Spell Snare
1x Forked Bolt
Artifact: (1)
1x Batterskull
2x Engineered Explosives
1x Stony Silence
2x Timely Reinforcements
1x Flashfreeze
1x Counterflux
2x Wear/Tear
1x Keranos, God of Storms
1x Negate
1x Celestial Purge
1x Ajani Vengeant
1x Wrath of God
1x Rending Volley
The SB has been pretty fluid and I'm not even sure that's what I currently have it set to. For matchups like Burn and Bogles it's usually pretty easy to take certain cards out for others. There's the question of Timely Reinforcements vs Kor Firewalker, but Timely has been pretty good the times I have seen it. My main issue is combating Abzan decks. I usually try to go a more grindy route and side in cards like Keranos, Ajani, and Wrath. Yet I also don't want to lose to things like Choke and Souls so I'd like at least one Wear/Tear and EE. I fear I may just be diluting my gameplan too much by doing this though. If those of you with more experience with deck have any tips or suggestions I would love to hear them!
As far as the midrange builds go, my concern is over the possibility that the deck will just find itself in limbo between the aggressive strategy and the higher top end the decks in the UWR midrange thread provide. It's a fine line that could prove very effective, but I just haven't been comfortable running that kind of deck at that point. I think I will probably try out some midrange possibilities similar to the Team Geist lists in the future. Especially if Cruise gets the axe like many think it will.