I'm looking to build into Death & Taxes soon, but I am not sure which variant to build, choosing between Mono W, GW and Eldrazi and Taxes. Which is currently best? I've at least proxied out Eldrazi and Taxes, but the main problem I face is I have no idea how to mulligan. Is there a mulligan guide out there?
As Nikachu mentioned in a recent Facebook post, Disdainful Stroke seems good right now, perhaps as a replacement for Unified Will. We generally want to hit stuff like Eldrazi, Scapeshift, Primeval Titans or Gifts/Past in Flames, and Disdainful Stroke seems so much better when it comes to hitting these high impact cards we may have trouble with. What do you all think?
Do you guys keep a one lander with vial and a whole bunch of creatures on the draw? On one hand it feels like it would pay off handsomely if undisrupted, yet a single Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek can ruin it if we dont draw a land asap.
I notice most recent lists do not run Tectonic Edge in the sideboard. How do we play without having Tectonic Edge in the sideboard to bring in when we cut out vials post board? Is 20 lands really enough to keep us going against grindy decks?
What's the argument of Vendilion Clique vs Kira, Great Glass-Spinner (pros and cons of each)? In what sort of meta would they be favored over the other? I've been thinking of playing a list similar to Randall Barber's list, yet many have praised Kira so I'm doubting my decision. The meta at my LGS is rather broad by the way.
I'm still not sure when we should be running which counterspells in main or side. Between Negate, Dispel, Remand and Spell Pierce, what reasons would compel you to run each of these cards?
Just my opinion but Hangarback gave me the exact same feeling Ugin did when he was released; looked horrible on paper but when I tested 2x main it actually felt good. Might just be me though.
I don't really get how hangarback walker can be better then spellskite for eg. (played in mainboard like hangarback).
Walker got some late game usefullness but it's not "OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING" - and he's early game power is really poor (2 mana for 1/1 and 1 thopter? 4 mana for 2/2 and 2 thopters? Really?). Hangarback for 10 is a 5/5 creature (!) We can't kill goyf with this gentleman And to get the thopters we need to put him to graveyard, I don't know how often this will happen (PtE/repeal/vapor snag anyone?)
Now look at spellskite - he's a win card against many matchups (boogles/infect and other creature pump decks, big help against twin and burn, redirect removal from Our finishers, a great blocker against various aggro - and this is just for 2 CMC).
I know that playing hangarback means that trinket mage is going to be better but I still like to run 1 fabricate and 1 treasure mage split (fabri gives me any artifact I need at the moment, and treasure gives me a finisher).
If I'm completely wrong, plz teach me these new techs with walker, beacuse I just don't see them
Your argument is perfectly valid except for one thing not mentioned: Hangarback can grow. Feeding a +1/+1 counter to it for just 1 mana EOT is perfectly viable due to the fact that we aren't attacking much with it anyway. Once it's out of Bolt range, the enemy is gonna have to waste resources and cards just to deal with it, fast, before it becomes this huge body that gives birth to lotsa other tiny thopters. Through testing 2 mainboard I found it slowing down the beatdown a lot with them channeling their resources into killing the Walker and dealing with the flyers.
PTE, Repeal, Snag are much less played than before compared to Terminate, Bolt etc. Certainly, if somehow PTE becomes the premium removal spell compared to Bolt, Hangarback should be cut in favour of Spellskite.
I had personally played 2 Spellskite main for months and honestly sometimes it's just underwhelming. On paper it really does seem like a catchall answer but the fact that it has a whopping 0 power makes it such that we still get swarmed anyway. Another issue I have with it is that it enables previously dead cards against us as well, such as Searing Blaze or Abrupt Decay, which I felt was the deal-breaker here. Spellskite is also rather dead late game compared to a disgustingly huge hangarback that threatens lethal.
Though Spellskite is indeed a trump card against certain decks, I feel that the versatility of Hangarback much more useful compared to Spellskite, which can be quite meh at times.
Summer Bloom is banned.
Splinter Twin is banned.
Well, looks like I'm gonna quit Modern for a long time to come.
Your argument is perfectly valid except for one thing not mentioned: Hangarback can grow. Feeding a +1/+1 counter to it for just 1 mana EOT is perfectly viable due to the fact that we aren't attacking much with it anyway. Once it's out of Bolt range, the enemy is gonna have to waste resources and cards just to deal with it, fast, before it becomes this huge body that gives birth to lotsa other tiny thopters. Through testing 2 mainboard I found it slowing down the beatdown a lot with them channeling their resources into killing the Walker and dealing with the flyers.
PTE, Repeal, Snag are much less played than before compared to Terminate, Bolt etc. Certainly, if somehow PTE becomes the premium removal spell compared to Bolt, Hangarback should be cut in favour of Spellskite.
I had personally played 2 Spellskite main for months and honestly sometimes it's just underwhelming. On paper it really does seem like a catchall answer but the fact that it has a whopping 0 power makes it such that we still get swarmed anyway. Another issue I have with it is that it enables previously dead cards against us as well, such as Searing Blaze or Abrupt Decay, which I felt was the deal-breaker here. Spellskite is also rather dead late game compared to a disgustingly huge hangarback that threatens lethal.
Though Spellskite is indeed a trump card against certain decks, I feel that the versatility of Hangarback much more useful compared to Spellskite, which can be quite meh at times.