I would personally go with Runed Halo since it can answer problematic creatures (Infect and Bogles creatures, Etched Champion, Reality Smasher, ...) as well as combo decks (Valakut, the molten pinnacle, Grapeshot, Lightning storm, ...). If you see alot of planeswalkers or problematic permanents like Ensnaring bridge, Anguished Unmaking is just as fine though. It really comes down to your meta and personal preference.
Same thing with Fatal Push. I play 3, since it can be dead in some matchups (Especially Eldrazi), but 4 is perfectly fine in an aggressive meta.
Against graveyard based decks like Dredge, Reanimator, Living End, etc. you really want to have Rest in Peace over the spellbombs. It is well worth the sacrifice of Lingering Souls flashback. For your last SB slot, if your meta is very diverse, I would advise for a broad answer that can be sided in against several strategies. Runed Halo, Anguished Unmaking or discard spells come to mind.
Some critique:
- go up to at least 3 Fatal Push, possibly 4. It makes your aggro matchup much better. Cut Dismember/ put Blessed Alliance in the SB.
- I do not recommend Read the Bones. Our matchup against grindy decks is good enough and it sucks versus aggro.
- Cut 1 Timely Reinforcements from the Main. It is dead in some matchups and you can still board it or Auriok Champion if you need the life/blockers. A combination of 3 overall Auriok/Blessed Alliance in your SB and 2 Timely main should be enough for the aggro matchup, so you can free up some space in the SB.
- Your list is light on token producers. I'd say play at least some Spectral Procession or more Bitterblossom/Raise the Alarm.
- If you want to beat Tron, play a combination of as many as you can in your sideboard: Stony Silence, Pithing Needle, Duress, Lost Legacy, Selfless Spirit, Tidehollow Sculler. I personally don't like Surgical Extraction since it needs 2 cards to be useful. That said, you need to dedicate a lot of sideboard cards for Tron to be a halfway decent matchup, and even then it's about 45/55 in their favor...
Some unusual choices:
- Landbase: Only 5 fetches, a lot of basics and 2 Ghost quarter. There is no Spectral or Lili with demanding manacost, which has upsides regarding lifetotal, Bloodmoon and the inclusion of utility lands. Less triggers for Revolt though.
- Token Producers: No Spectral, 2 BB, 2 Raise and 2 Secure the Wastes. Not sure I like 2 of the latter.
- 6 Planeswalkers can put in quite a bit of work in the lategame but also raise the curve.
I would advise against Mirran Crusader. Its protection is mostly relevant in matchups that are already favorable (BGx decks) and even there it will turn on spot removal like Bolt and Path. Its also not a good clock unless you can pump it up, so if u need fast damage versus combo, Tron, etc., consider something like Hero Of Bladehold in the SB instead.
tldr: We do not need it and it does not fit the token plan.
With 4 Bitterblossom and 3 Thoughtseize, at least 1 Timely Reinforcements can stay main, more so in an aggressive meta. How is Elspeth working out for you? When I played her, she always felt underwhelming even though I played 2 Tidehollow Sculler and 3 Shambling Vent, making her first ability more relevant. I switched her for Gideon and never looked back, he has so much more impact. Also, what's the purpose of Brimaz in the SB? SB looks fine otherwise.
Edit: Guess you were faster MisterMuffin, agreed on Elspeth and Brimaz
On another note: How is the general consent regarding the Inquisition - Thoughtseize ratio? I see a 4-2 split in most lists. With more big mana decks in the meta now, could a 3-3 split be reasonable?
Artifact
At the beginning of your upkeep, scry 1.
Whenever you cast a creature spell, you may pay . If you do, draw a card.
It is similar to Cloudstone Curio in that it does not add any immediate benefit/devotion to the board, but in a creature centric built this could be insane card quality + draw .
Elder of Laurels can pump but is probably worse than Unyaro Bees. If you just want some punch with your Bellower, I would suggest Reverent Hunter. I'm playing a Bellower-toolbox, too, with the usual targets (Witness, Reclamation Sage, Scavenging Ooze, Reverent Hunter) plus Troll Ascetic.
7 plains and 3 swamps are too many basics, you won't be able to cast discard turn 1 or spectral turn 3 in some cases. Also, 4 shrines are at least 1 too many with the new fastland imo. Add some number of shambling vent (I prefer 2), I also love Caves of Koilos as an 1of, as it rarely costs you more than 1 life and it can still provide the right color if needed. If you don't want to spend more (-> I would run at least 6 fetches) there isn't much to improve otherwise I think.
How about the new Blessed Alliance? Sacrifice effect + lifegain seems good vs aggressive decks, maybe even the untap mode comes in handy from time to time for some surprise blockers. Downside is it's pretty much dead vs combo and control.
How is everybody getting by on the aggro matchups? I'm struggling pretty hard right now.
Lifegain helps. I'm playing 2 Timely Reinforcements main and one more in the sideboard. If your meta is heavy on burn and zoo, I'd recommend Auriok Champion (a little pricey unfortunately). I tried both Hour of reckoning and wrath of god and found them to be too slow most of the time. Don't run too many lands that enter the battlefield tapped (max 3 between Shambling Vent and windbrisk heights). Depending on your meta, play some specific hate in the sideboard (engineered explosives is nice vs. merfolk for example).
Edit: Didn't see you're running the primer So you probably know about all that already. Anyway, I'm usually doing fine with my aggro matchups, I'm struggling more with combo and Tron because we lack a fast clock...
So I've been looking at getting into Modern for a while, but I've been intimidated by the price tag, so I figured here's a good place to get started.
I do have a decent number of useful cards, to the point where I realize I might be better off trying the normal threads:
I like to play blue, and don't really like green.
I'm open to playing pretty much any style.
In terms of a concrete budget, I don't have anything solid, but I'd like not to exceed $100-200.
I'm looking at playing on a local, FNM-esque level, though I'd like to hit the GPs someday.
The Esper deck looks really cool! The high number of planeswalkers is too costly (cmc wise) in my opinion, so it's probably a little slow, but the other spells are exactly what I was looking for. I'll take those as a base and build either towards esper control or tempo control (delver/tasigur/monastery mentor version?) I just discovered in the primer section. What are the advantages and disadvantages between the pure control version and the tempo version? Thanks alot for the ideas!
I would personally go with Runed Halo since it can answer problematic creatures (Infect and Bogles creatures, Etched Champion, Reality Smasher, ...) as well as combo decks (Valakut, the molten pinnacle, Grapeshot, Lightning storm, ...). If you see alot of planeswalkers or problematic permanents like Ensnaring bridge, Anguished Unmaking is just as fine though. It really comes down to your meta and personal preference.
Same thing with Fatal Push. I play 3, since it can be dead in some matchups (Especially Eldrazi), but 4 is perfectly fine in an aggressive meta.
2 Fatal Push
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Path to Exile
2 Thoughtseize
3 Bitterblossom
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Collective Brutality
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Raise the Alarm
1 Dismember
4 Lingering Souls
2 Read the Bones
3 Timely Reinforcements
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Concealed Courtyard
3 Ghost Quarter
3 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
3 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Windswept Heath
3 Auriok Champion
2 Spellskite
2 Pithing Needle
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Collective Brutality
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Zealous Persecution
Some critique:
- go up to at least 3 Fatal Push, possibly 4. It makes your aggro matchup much better. Cut Dismember/ put Blessed Alliance in the SB.
- I do not recommend Read the Bones. Our matchup against grindy decks is good enough and it sucks versus aggro.
- Cut 1 Timely Reinforcements from the Main. It is dead in some matchups and you can still board it or Auriok Champion if you need the life/blockers. A combination of 3 overall Auriok/Blessed Alliance in your SB and 2 Timely main should be enough for the aggro matchup, so you can free up some space in the SB.
- Your list is light on token producers. I'd say play at least some Spectral Procession or more Bitterblossom/Raise the Alarm.
- If you want to beat Tron, play a combination of as many as you can in your sideboard: Stony Silence, Pithing Needle, Duress, Lost Legacy, Selfless Spirit, Tidehollow Sculler. I personally don't like Surgical Extraction since it needs 2 cards to be useful. That said, you need to dedicate a lot of sideboard cards for Tron to be a halfway decent matchup, and even then it's about 45/55 in their favor...
4 Concealed Courtyard
2 Ghost Quarter
3 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
5 Plains
2 Shambling Vent
2 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Windswept Heath
24 INSTANTS and SORC.
1 Dismember
3 Fatal Push
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
2 Raise the Alarm
2 Secure the Wastes
3 Thoughtseize
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Zealous Persecution
12 OTHER SPELLS
2 Bitterblossom
1 Elspeth Tirel
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Intangible Virtue
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Celestial Purge
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Sundering Growth
Some unusual choices:
- Landbase: Only 5 fetches, a lot of basics and 2 Ghost quarter. There is no Spectral or Lili with demanding manacost, which has upsides regarding lifetotal, Bloodmoon and the inclusion of utility lands. Less triggers for Revolt though.
- Token Producers: No Spectral, 2 BB, 2 Raise and 2 Secure the Wastes. Not sure I like 2 of the latter.
- 6 Planeswalkers can put in quite a bit of work in the lategame but also raise the curve.
tldr: We do not need it and it does not fit the token plan.
Edit: Guess you were faster MisterMuffin, agreed on Elspeth and Brimaz
On another note: How is the general consent regarding the Inquisition - Thoughtseize ratio? I see a 4-2 split in most lists. With more big mana decks in the meta now, could a 3-3 split be reasonable?
Locket of Myths
Artifact
At the beginning of your upkeep, scry 1.
Whenever you cast a creature spell, you may pay . If you do, draw a card.
It is similar to Cloudstone Curio in that it does not add any immediate benefit/devotion to the board, but in a creature centric built this could be insane card quality + draw .
Lifegain helps. I'm playing 2 Timely Reinforcements main and one more in the sideboard. If your meta is heavy on burn and zoo, I'd recommend Auriok Champion (a little pricey unfortunately). I tried both Hour of reckoning and wrath of god and found them to be too slow most of the time. Don't run too many lands that enter the battlefield tapped (max 3 between Shambling Vent and windbrisk heights). Depending on your meta, play some specific hate in the sideboard (engineered explosives is nice vs. merfolk for example).
Edit: Didn't see you're running the primer So you probably know about all that already. Anyway, I'm usually doing fine with my aggro matchups, I'm struggling more with combo and Tron because we lack a fast clock...
You already have the base of a solid UWR Midrange deck with Geists, Snappies and Finks (maybe add Resto Angel and Vendillion Clique) plus all the important spells. You'll probably need some more fetches but all in all this should be possible with $150. Here's the primer: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/developing-competitive-modern/220049-uwr-midrange
If you're willing to spend a little more then look into the Jeskai Harbinger Deck which basicly is an upgrade to the UWR midrange deck (both in competitivenes and price). It has a more controlish gameplan and finihes with Nahiri, the Harbinger into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Primer link: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/tier-1-modern/728834-jeskai-harbinger