I should have beaten Nacatl Burn, but I mulled to 4 in Game 1, and you just can't come back from that. Deck felt good though, and it was nice to play magic for the first time in a long while.
How did Reflector Mage feel for you?
I only got to cast it once, bouncing a Young Pyromancer against Ascendency Combo. It was alright. It was only in the list because I couldn't think of a 60th card I wanted.
The deck seems good but I'm probably going to play full control without geist, too many times I just sideboarded out (probably because I just don't know the deck and how to play it).
You are probably correct to trim 1 Geist in a lot of these matchups, but I think it's still the best clock you can present against a lot of these decks, especially Storm, since you candisrupt them in the first two turns, and present a clock on turn three that they just can't interact with. I would highly suggest playing an Eiganjo Castle though.
I should have beaten Nacatl Burn, but I mulled to 4 in Game 1, and you just can't come back from that. Deck felt good though, and it was nice to play magic for the first time in a long while.
Putting Eldrazi aside for a moment, I've always seen the biggest issue with Geist decks that although they are stellar once ahead, it can be difficult to come back from being behind on the board. Most importantly, the deck seems to be exceptionally stronger on the play than on the draw compared to other decks I play.
So basically what I'm wondering is; what cards can be used to come back from being on the draw game 1? Spell Snare obviously comes to mind by trading up, possibly Remand. Anything more exotic? What other cards could be used to grab that original tempo needed to make the deck shine?
I've honestly never really seen this as a problem since we have so much removal for the creature decks of the format. The one mana counters like Mana Tithe, Spell Pierce and Spell Snare (and to an extent Dispel) do help with that, as does Remand, and if you're looking to trade up a bit more, you can look towards things like Valorous Stance, which will help you catch creatures that are higher on the P/T scale for cheap, and without the "downside" of Path. I also like Shadow of Doubt, since it makes your Paths better, and makes Ghost Quarter into Strip Mine if you run them, as well adjust having utility against things like Kiki-Chord and Tron (whenever Eldrazi gets banned and Tron comes back that is).
I have Thundermaw and DL Ojutai on the top of my curve with Minamo as my Tech land rather than Slayers Stonghold. Minamo will not hurt your curve and even if you untap Mr Ojutai with it, it dosent remove it from combat. It also baits the removal out of your opponents hand.
I think Stronghold is just better. It makes all of your creatures better, where as Minamo just hits the legendary creatures you're running.
If I was running a deck with Cryptics, Sphinx Rev, 26 land with perhaps a Desolate Lighthouse I'd look at running Logic Knot and Mana Leak but I'm not sure why I'd want Geist in that deck. Celestial Colonnade would probably be enough of a win condition.
You should try out a Loothouse anyway. That card's great.
It's nice filtering. I like it in other decks where I'm chasing a specific card or playing a longer, grindier game. I've been shifting away from that a bit though. I ended up taking Slayer's Stronghold as a 1 of in my current deck because of Ojutai. I'm really loving having Ojutai as an alternate win-con alongside Geist, Burn and Colonnades. Slayer's Stronghold is just downright amusing late-game to drop a Geist on an empty board and give it Haste as well.
I actually run both, because I'm running Ojutai as well. I'll post my full list later tonight. I just think that Loothouse is extremely powerful in the late game where you can loot away extra lands while looking for action.
If I was running a deck with Cryptics, Sphinx Rev, 26 land with perhaps a Desolate Lighthouse I'd look at running Logic Knot and Mana Leak but I'm not sure why I'd want Geist in that deck. Celestial Colonnade would probably be enough of a win condition.
You should try out a Loothouse anyway. That card's great.
How do you guys feel about Disdainful Stroke out of the board against Eldrazi and Tron mostly?I've been messing around with the deck and it seems like it could come in handy. Countering something Eldrazi gets to play early with Eye out could help keep your head above water for a while. It also works against Scapeshift, Commands, Tasigur, among others. Not sure what would come out for it but it's a thought.
I've heavily considered playing Stroke, but I feel like it lacks application in a lot ofthe other matchups given how low to the ground a lot of the other decks in the format are.
Maindeck Spreading Seas looks awesome against eldrazi, tron etc., but not so good against most aggro. How do you do against aggro with that list?
The biggest issue I see with Spreading Seas is that it doesn't actually shut down Tron, so your opponents other Tron lands still tap for multiple mana.
Apparently I was wrong. I still think it's worse than Molten Rain though
I played in a small, 3 round tournament tonight. I had a couple of infect match ups in the first and third rounds (infect seems to be big in my area). That match up seems like a bye for us. I blew both players out of the water with little effort.
The second match up was against Zoo, which seems fairly even. I took Game 1, but sloppy play led to a loss in game 2, and then I didn't have enough business (removal) in game 3 to answer his surplus of threats.
Does this analysis of these match ups sound correct to our more experienced pilots?
Zoo is a favorable matchup, but we can certainly pose to not drawing g the right stuff, I'd say its about 60/40.
BBD just posted a playlist on CFB's youtube page. Don't have time to watch the videos at the moment, but figured I'd post the link since the list looks interesting.
Pia's a nice card but I always feel it's a better card in Grixis because of Kolaghan's Command. We also tend to have Celestial Colonnade against an empty boardstate. If you have the mana to drop Pia and then explode Pia's Drones for the extra damage you've probably got enough mana to drop a 5 CMC card as well. I'd personally rather something like a Baneslayer Angel or even Dragonlord Ojutai. Minamo is an option for untapping Ojutai as a response to spot removal. Eiganjo could drop him trading with a Colonnade.
Slayers' Stronghold is also a great option alongside Ojutai. I used to run that package, and it was insanely good.
I only got to cast it once, bouncing a Young Pyromancer against Ascendency Combo. It was alright. It was only in the list because I couldn't think of a 60th card I wanted.
You are probably correct to trim 1 Geist in a lot of these matchups, but I think it's still the best clock you can present against a lot of these decks, especially Storm, since you candisrupt them in the first two turns, and present a clock on turn three that they just can't interact with. I would highly suggest playing an Eiganjo Castle though.
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Path to Exile
2x Spell Snare
1x Spell Pierce
4x Remand
4x Lightning Helix
3x Shadow of Doubt
Creatures
4x Snapcaster Mage
1x Vendilion Clique
1x Reflector Mage
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Restoration Angel
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Lands
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Flooded Strand
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Steam Vents
1x Sacred Foundry
2x Celestial Colonnade
2x Island
1x Plains
1x Mountain
3x Ghost Quarter
3x Spreading Seas
2x Kor Firewalker
2x Timely Reinforcements
2x Negate
2x Wear//Tear
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Stony Silence
1x Anger of the Gods
1x Supreme Verdict
Played this list in a 4-round "SNM" tonight. Played against:
Round 1 - Naya Burn - 2-1
Round 2 - Mono-Green Aggro - 2-0
Round 3 - Nacatl Burn - 0-2
Round 4 - UWr Ascendency Combo - 2-1
I should have beaten Nacatl Burn, but I mulled to 4 in Game 1, and you just can't come back from that. Deck felt good though, and it was nice to play magic for the first time in a long while.
I've honestly never really seen this as a problem since we have so much removal for the creature decks of the format. The one mana counters like Mana Tithe, Spell Pierce and Spell Snare (and to an extent Dispel) do help with that, as does Remand, and if you're looking to trade up a bit more, you can look towards things like Valorous Stance, which will help you catch creatures that are higher on the P/T scale for cheap, and without the "downside" of Path. I also like Shadow of Doubt, since it makes your Paths better, and makes Ghost Quarter into Strip Mine if you run them, as well adjust having utility against things like Kiki-Chord and Tron (whenever Eldrazi gets banned and Tron comes back that is).
I think Stronghold is just better. It makes all of your creatures better, where as Minamo just hits the legendary creatures you're running.
I actually run both, because I'm running Ojutai as well. I'll post my full list later tonight. I just think that Loothouse is extremely powerful in the late game where you can loot away extra lands while looking for action.
You should try out a Loothouse anyway. That card's great.
Its possible that Blade Splicer can be good again, given that KCommand is being played less and less now.
I've heavily considered playing Stroke, but I feel like it lacks application in a lot ofthe other matchups given how low to the ground a lot of the other decks in the format are.
The biggest issue I see with Spreading Seas is that it doesn't actually shut down Tron, so your opponents other Tron lands still tap for multiple mana.Apparently I was wrong. I still think it's worse than Molten Rain though
Zoo is a favorable matchup, but we can certainly pose to not drawing g the right stuff, I'd say its about 60/40.
Slayers' Stronghold is also a great option alongside Ojutai. I used to run that package, and it was insanely good.