from my perspective Kess is on the same power-level-ish as 1UBR Nicol Bolas (NBR). You get immediate value (flashback 1 card vs opponent discards). Kess wins on this point.
NBR hits harder for a 5 turn clock in the air, Kess hits for 3, likewise in the air.
NBR has a much stronger top-end, but Kess keeps giving every turn as long as your GY is stocked, without any further input from the pilot (apart from the casting cost of the spell).
Perhaps the trickiest part of the equation is Kess needs you to keep her alive, which is best done with counterspells, but then her ability works best with discard, which puts tension on your deckbuilding choices. She wants Dreadbores, Rise // Fall, Inquisition of Kozilek, but she needs Countersquall, Cryptic Command, Spell Pierce.
Next question is - does she outdo the other 4 cmc sorcery-speed threat, JTMS? That appears to be on a whole other wavelength but make no mistake, they're in direction competition for the same slots in this deck. In fact JTMS despite being another permanent type probably has more in common with Kess than NBR, although Kess shares the same vulnerabilities as NBR.
What I have enjoyed and loathed about playing Nicol Bolas, the Ravager is that he is a card you generally just want to play once you have the mana. Once you get the discard effect he is generally their as a beat-stick. Should you get to 4UBR you are either already going to kill them with damage or you just played him the turn beforehand. Either way, he is great in the grindy matchups and why he sits in my sideboad. Kess, Dissident Mage on the other hand is good against a majority of matchups as having the ability to rebuy your spells is always good throughout the game and unlike Snapcaster Mage she has a sizeable body with evasion. I do think the large concentration of 4-drops is going to be an issue, but I would rather play Kess in the main alongside Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Something like this is what I am going to start testing with.
I'm trying to build a control deck different from the usual teferi's decks and I'm looking into grixis.
I like your list but as you said I'd add a couple of negate or maybe the new archmage's charm seems a good versatile tool less expensive than cryptic command
Also I'd remove the blast zone wich seems conflicting with the spells wich requires a lot of specific mana. Rise // fall seems a cool card but I'm not sure about it's utiliy... to me seems like collective brutality is a better choice.
Let me know what do you think, thank you.
I will agree that in a few rare instances Blast Zone can inhibit my early game plays as unlike Field of Ruin which can turn into colored mana later, Blast Zone cannot. This leads to a pattern that makes casting spells much more difficult turns 1 through 3. I have yet to have the scenario of drawing Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God and the land without drawing any other colored sources, but I can foresee that being an issue. With that said I will restate that it is rare that it occurs. With this style of pro-actively attacking the opponent's hand instead of countering, it allows the deck to let the opponent resolve certain permanents; only for them to get swept up by Blast Zone and other Terminate-style cards. Rise // Fall on the other hand I can understand for not liking. It has a low-ground/high-ceiling as double land reveal is terrible, but double impactful spell reveal is backbreaking. Most times I cast it I get the unfortunate luck of only getting the opponent to discard a single card, which for its rate is overall not worth it. I do like it paired with the other hand-hate spells in the deck as the information of knowing what is in their hand offers me the opportunity to minimize misses. The Unsummon/Raise Dead function comes up sometimes; mostly in the midrange matchups (ex: bounce their Gofy, return my Snap from yard), but it is alright. I can be convinced to remove them in favor of Collective Brutality, card draw, or counterspells.
I have played Grixis like 4 years back. Haven't touched it since, but this card looks pretty nice. What do you guys think about this? I can't really evauate it, but it seems printed for this archtype. Will it change anything or not? (with all the artifact hate printed, I will most likely switch to a control archtype and grixis might just be it)
I am so happy that this got spoiled! This will easily revitalize modern players to give grixis another chance. Aside from being Snapcaster Mage copies 5-8, she has evasion and great stats (dodges Lightning Bolt). She even pairs well with a discard-heavy decklist! I will definitely be playing some number of her.
I recently placed 3rd at a Team Unified Event for Modern and wanted to show off the decklist that did so well. I played against Bant Spirits, Ad Naus, UR Phoenix, BR Hollow One, and Hardened Scales. I'll be giving a quick breakdown of each matchup and talk about what cards stood out for me.
vs Bant Spirits (1-0)
Between the large amount of removal and constant hand-hate, the Spirits player rarely had any permanents in play and a hand to keep. Angrath's Rampage helped me out against the duo Drogskol and even went overtime when I flashed it back later to kill off a Queller that had my Lili. When we went to Game 2 I was already ahead before my teammates finished their games. Overall I felt that if we were given more time that it would of ended the same as the first game.
vs Ad Naus (2-1)
Game 1 is just awful as I have a hand full of removal and he just goes off turn 5. Game 2 however I felt I was going to lose as he resolve Leyline of Sanctity, but pivoted into Fulminator Mage and K Command loops to stop him from ever having mana from lands and Lotus Bloom. Game 3 I am worried as now I am on the draw against multiple Leylines and we were the group that determined the team victory. I get an early Fulminator to slow'em down before resolving Liliana of the Veil and Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God. Double uptick on discard made it impossible for him assemble combo. I eventually win with Nicol Ult. The matchup felt very dicey as at any moment I thought I was going to lose. Made me wish I had more counterspells.
vs UR Phoenix (1-2)
I got overwhelmed Game 1 and couldn't ever pull out. Game 2 I surprisingly milled all of his win cons with Ashiok, Dream Render so he scooped up for Game 3. Sadly that game doesn't go well for me as I eventually draw 5 lands in a row after stripping his hand apart. He eventually lands a Drake that I can't seem to draw removal for and get hit for 16 damage in one swing! The matchup seems reasonable post-board, but not having either Jace made card manipulation a bit tough. Makes me want to reconsider putting back Nihil Spellbomb back in the 75; even if to just cantrip. My other friend loses so we take our first team loss.
vs BR Hollow One (0-2)
Sometimes you just lose to the nutty turn 1 Burning Inquiry into double Hollow One. Sometimes it happens again Game 2. Never saw hate for them and actually got mana denied from discarding too many lands. Feels like a rough matchup with my current configuration. 2nd Anger would of done wonders. My team picked up the slack and we eventually won.
vs Hardened Scales (2-1)
Easily one of my favorite matchups as I have so much disruption to their plans. Game 1 really showed how much I like Blast Zone and Engineered Explosives in the main. Destroying the namesake card and all of the tokens makes the matchup so swingy in my favor. Game 2 I sadly flooded, but Game 3 was a repeat of Game 1. Aside from the hiccup Game 2, was the easiest matchup of the day.
So our team eventually ended the day going 4-1 securing 3rd place for us. My takeaways are:
- If you resolve Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God and are allowed to untap him, you win the game. He never once got hit and the amount of hand hate pairs so well with his plus. You drown your opponent so quickly that they concede before you even need to ult. 3 feels like the right number.
- The amount of checklands felt ok as I wanted to try and avoid having too many lands enter tapped, but some number of fastlands are probably the better call; even if it means having to play a fastland late game for Nicol. Probably change the Dragonskull Summit into Blackcleave Cliffs.
- Counterspells are certainly nice in some matchups, but I have no regrets not having any in the main. The deck just feels like a better Jund deck. Sure I don't have Goyf, but having such efficient 2-1s makes the deck feel pretty good throughout the entire game. I may bump my squall count to 3 in the board.
- I don't hate the land count right now, but I do mind the card manipulation. Not certain where I want to go with it at the moment.
Went to SCG Milwaukee for the Modern Open and was playing Tezz. For weeks I have been tearing it up in FNM but must of just been a bad day cause I just couldn't draw nonlands at all. With that in mind I will say that I had to face Counters Company THREE times and it was just rough. I can sneak a win, but all of the games went to game 3 with me losing. I didn't prep for the match up as I tuned my list for the tier 1 decks, but I would like to hear what everyone likes and doesn't like in the match up. Cage just doesn't seem like enough for them.
new idea... in times where we are badly positioned, could we forego the combo for a more all-in prison build winning with 5/5 beats and tezz ult?? we can play seeker alongside AoB now and we have trophy mage to fetch bridge, crucible, quicksilver, and trinisphere. there's plenty of other artifacts to be fetching up (bottled cloister, witchbane orb, chalice) and i think we could add some hangarbacks and ballista's to gum up the board with the help of trinket/trophy mages and cranes. some fatal push's and brutalities for removal/discard. completely different build but it's still tezzerator. crucible lock and quicksilver fountain slot into this sort of build much more easily and playing only 1 or 2 copies of whir means we can afford more GQ/field of ruin?
more of an old school build but i think there could be some merit to playing this kind of prison style build. would need some protection from skite/welding jar too. all theory crafting right now but i might draft a list up if someone would be willing to test it? i dont really have the time :/
I have actually considered replaying Tezzeret the Seeker alongside Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. In the past we couldn't but together you have 2 ways to get artifact quickly, and both can threaten very quickly. Considering most decklist configurations at the moment, only Mox Opal gets any real value off of Seeker's +1. Maybe Signets/Talisman could make a comeback too?
Back from a hiatus and also a PPTQ. I have the results to share with you! Did a quick update of the list the week before based off of my local meta and anticipating travelers to the event. I have been playing Grixis Control for the past month so I figured I would give the locals the ol' switch-a-roo.
Round 1: Mardu Burn (SB: -1 Bridge, -1 Relic, -1 Needle, -1 Serum, -1 Time Sieve; +1 CotV, +2 ADecay, +1 Witchbane, +1 Damnation)
A good friend of mine and a list we brewed together for the event. Basically the RB Burn deck with Claim//Fame, but with a hint of Boros.
G1: Lost - Had a bad case of drawing every 3+ drop and couldn't make the Bridge work.
G2: Won - Fought through 2 Smash to Smithereens and a Wear//Tear, but still assembled combo.
G3: Lost - A very close game, but sadly I couldn't cobble together a way to stop the burn to the face, raise dead the Eidolon of the Great Revel, and the threats in play already. I just needed more mana to do all of it at once. Something my friend didn't give me the chance to do.
Round 2: Naya Burn (SB: -1 Relic, -1 Needle, -1 Cage, -1 Serum, -1 Time Sieve; +1 CotV, +2 ADecay, +1 Witchbane, +1 Damnation)
Jeez, Burn twice in a row and against another friend! Either way a stock list. Was almost an inverse of round 1.
G1: Won - Emptied hand for bridge, proceeded to topdeck combo pieces.
G2: Lost - Opponent drew all of the hate and I didn't draw ways to stop it.
G3: Won - Finally drew a copy of Collective Brutality from the past 6 games and does it work. Take over the game from there with combo.
Round 3: Slivers (SB: -1 Relic, -1 Needle, -3 CBrutality; +1 Damnation, +1 Padeem, +2 ADecay, +1 MPulse)
Surprisingly enough this turnout was real strange for decks. This was one of 2 Sliver players! There was an 8-Rack guy next to me as well. It was the battle of the obscure.
G1: Won - Mutavault + Aether Vial pass turn1. I draw Pithing Needle. Opponent proceeds to show that he isn't a Fish deck, but was Slivers. After some 15+ turns of doing nothing I finally draw some action and win.
G2: Won - His Harmonic Sliver met a quick death to Abrupt Decay and the game ends up like the first.
Round 4: Dredge (SB: -1 Needle, -3 CBrutality; +1 Relic, +1 Witchbane, +1 Padeem, +1 Damnation)
A local that has had favorable match-ups all day...till now.
G1 and 2: Won - Turn 1 Relic for both games and proceed to assemble combo within the next few turns. My fastest games of the day (I finally got to get up before round and get a bite to eat!)
Round 5: GW Ramunap Company (SB: -1 Tezz, -1 Foundry, -1 Sword, -3x CBrutality, -1 Serum, -1 WJar, -1 TimeSieve; +1 Needle, +2 ADecay, +1 MPulse,+1 Padeem, +1 Damnation, +2 Herald, +1 Ghirapur)
A friend of mine that shifts decks around a lot and sadly I wasn't certain what he was on. Arguably the hardest match of the day, but if I won I would be locked for Top 8.
G1: Won - We go back and forth trading resources, but eventually I get combo online with bridge. He concedes to preserve time.
G2: Won - The best match of the day. He must have drawn 15 more cards than me with Horizon Canopy. Fought through Qasali Pridemage and Kataki, War's Wage lock for as long as I could. I finally draw Relic and Pulse and his value town was all gone. Proceed to drop both Heralds after rebuilding. He admits he boarded out all of his Path to Exile. Down to one life and constrained on mana (Had both Spires in play), I was lucky enough to draw Steam Vents so I could finally cast the Grid in hand. He finally loses after many turns and I lock TOp 8.
Top 8 Round 1: Jeskai Control (SB: +2 Herald, +1 Padeem, +1 MPulse, +2 ADecay, +1 Canoist, +1 Relic; -1 Tezz, -1 Bridge, -1 Foundry, -1 Sword, -1 WJar, -3 CBrutality)
Alright the beginning to the top.
G1: Lost - Made my first play mistake. I was playing around Mana Leak the whole game and a Brutality showed he had multiple Snapcaster Mage. All I had to do was play the Cage in hand WHILE also holding up 3 extra mana. I draw Whir thinking "Jeez, if I do it now he will have to Leak it" He counters Whir with Leak. I go to play Cage only to realize that he still had all of those Snaps...walk right into the counter I knew of. He proceeds to go on the Snap-Beats and kills me. Felt bad.
G2: Lost - He switches from being Burn focus to Creature focus and kills me with Queller, Geist, and Colonade. I just didn't draw a hand that could fight against all of his threats and answers. If I went for Bridge he had Negate. If I had Decay he had Queller. It was like playing against someone who got to DTutor every turn instead of drawing.
So I went 4-1 in rounds and ended 5th-8th place. Lost to 2 major play mistakes against my last opponent knocking me out. Overall was a good experience. I managed to dodge both Tron players and the TitanBreach player so my Lost Legacy never saw play. Hopefully Ixalan brings us good fortune.
@Curundil (Used your FNM June 23rd Decklist)
Against Burn I try to trim the excess cards and bring in cards that will lock them out of the game. Eidolon of the Great Revel is the scariest card in the matchup (followed by Harsh Mentor if they have it in the 75), so you need to be able to answer those threats. There is some consideration to keep in Relic effects to keep Grim Lavamancer down, but it probably isn't worth it. Based off your current decklist I would cut: -1 Relic, -1 Map, -1 Tezz, +1 Trinisphere, +1 Spellskite, +1 Witchbane Orb.
Against Merfolk I try to bring in boardwipes and disruption as they will bring in similar artifact hate that they pack for Affinity. Scariest card from them is Hurkyl's Recall as it can completely undo several turns worth of work and give them the opportunity to swing past a Bridge. Based off your current decklist I would cut:
-1 Chalice, -1 Relic, -1 Map, -2 Welding Jar, +1 Needle (For naming Vial and add back up your artifact count), +1 Damnation, +1 Witchbane ORb (Stops the Recall), +2 Thoughtseize.
You could also slot in Spellskite if you believe they are running Echoing Truth in which case I would trim a Prism.
Against Vizier CoCo I am still trying to figure it out. They have access to white and usually run Stony so I am mindful of that, but they can go off so quickly that it can be a lot of pressure to keep them down, protect your stuff, AND try to progress your board. Herald and Grid are amazing for picking off their little dudes and Needle stops Devoted Druid from using the untap ability.
Against Death's Shadow whether it be UBx or BGx you need to deal with their threats and their graveyard. This is your matchup where your copies of GQ really shine as you can cut them off of mana once the game goes for too long. Just side out the Capsule as it doesn't kill DS, Angler, or Tas. There is some consideration to leave it in for Goyf, but I would suspect you traded it out for Damnation. This is still a matchup I need a bit more practice on because I believe they can attack your deck from so many different angles so there is probably some other cuts that are needed just to stay relevant in the match (Herald?).
Basically made some modifications to decklists I saw here to better fit my preferences and meta calls.
Round 1 (GW Hatebears): Game 1 he had an explosive start and began to strip away my lands by using Leonin Arbiter. I eventually get to a spot where I can pay the tax and Whir for Sword to begin to take over. He flashes in Restoration Angel to flicker the Cat and I couldn't pay the new search clause (new objects overpowered!). Game 2 We play a long fight and after hate card after hate I eventually get through and allow Tezz to Ult. Game 3 time was called and we never got to finish. Match 1-1-1.
Round 2 (Tainted Remedies): Game 1...This was such a strange matchup and I just played it out. He eventually lands the namesake Tainted Remedy after my hand hate took care of the first one and a Heroes' Reunion. He eventually floods the board with Wall of Shards and looks grim for me. Luckily I had already made a bunch of thopters beforehand and just let Tezz Ult. I dealt 18 damage and I was at 23 life so after the suicide ult I survive Game 1 with 5 life!. Game 2 I had no idea what he could possibly be sideboarding. I just assumed with white mana he was on a Stony/RiP setup, but oh no. He drops those early game and Leyline of Sanctity on turn 0!. I just progress my board as normal and eventually get Tezz at 8 loyalty. I drawe Pulse and proceed to spend the next 2 turns Ulting. Strange deck, but was very clever and entertaining. Match 2-0.
Round 3 (GB Elves): Game 1 we both flood but eventually I get a Bridge down and Inventor's Fair going. Begin to dig for the three piece combo because of Crucible of Worlds recursion and finally win the game. Game 2 I draw the actual nuts and tear apart his hand while also getting a Whir for combo. He just kept drawing his 3+ drops and lost. Revenge for last week! Match 2-0.
Round 4 (Dredge): Now because of my tie I had to play the last round out. Game 1 I just tutor for both Relics and steal the game. Game 2 he is chipping away at me with Narcomoeba and I just can't seem to stop them. Nuke his yard, lay down a Bridge, but I just couldn't empty my hand. I drew Tezz, Whir, Whir, 2nd Bridge. I eventually hit a land pocket (Never thought I wanted that considering my luck) and begin to finally take over. Time is called and he develops a sizable board to block my thopters. My Turn 1 I draw Time Sieve and proceed to take the remaining 4 Turns. Finished the game with an extra turn to spare! Match 2-0.
Night Results: 3-0-1. 1st Place!
Was a very good night. I think I am getting a lot more use to sideboarding for the deck. I think that was what was causing me to trip up these past fews weeks. Looking forward to more testing with the list.
What is the basic rationale in choosing maelstrom pulse vs abrupt decay for the board? And is consensus that whichever way you go you want 2 total copies of the effect? (or a 1/1 split?). The main purpose of the card ithink is to hit stony silence. Instant speed and 1 less mana looks better to me for that purpose, especially if I need a prism or opal to give me that green mana (float in response)
But for those on pulse, what does pulse hit that this deck is worried about - lingering souls tokens? Karn/Ugin? Platinum Emperion? Elesh Norn? The latter two admittedly bother me and had me maindecking an executioners capsule, although at least for norn you could relic/spellbomb if they are reanimating it so there's technically a play to be made. I just hate seeing a single card out and knowing there is nothing I can do or draw that would stop it. Madcap into Emperion is literally unbeatable g1 if you dont run capsule or echoing truth. A resolved Norn is pretty close. Resolved Ugin or Karn you could hit your needle.
But I think all else being equal I'd take the instant speed and cheaper cost of decay over the ability of pulse to hit a few giant threats?
I am currently using 2 Abrupt Decay and 1 Maelstrom Pulse. The Pulse is primarily used against Leyline of the Void and Leyline of Sanctity as they can prove to be quite bothersome while Decay isn't capable of taking them out. I have had Living End and Dredge players pack the Void while I have had UWx Control, Storm, and Lantern Control pack Sanctity. The Sanctity isn't as annoying as the Void, but when I cannot ult Tezz and they can keep me from attacking in with 5/5s, I just needed to drop the 3rd Decay for the Pulse.
Round 1 - (Bx Zombies): Game 1 deployed early Chalice and locked him out from using Gravecrawler or casting his Viscera Seer and Dread Wanderer. Followed up with Bridge and Tezz Ult for game. Game 2 is a repeat except instead of Chalice I used Cage. Easy 2-0.
Round 2 - (Green Tron): Kept a pretty decent hand Game 1 and my opponent drew nothing but lands and sphere-effects. Eventually he gets Karn and sacs his three Sanctum of Ugin to tutor for NUlamog, New Emmy, and Wurmcoil Engine. Couldn't draw a way out of it and lost. Game 2 he drops a Chalce on 2 and 3! Thought the game was lights-out. Draw into Tezz and proceed to animate some 5/5s and win the game. I guess he was all in on the lockout plan Game 3 was very close, but he eventually finds an answer for my Padeem, Consul of Innovation and Bridge. Lost the Match 1-2.
Round 3 - (Big Abzan): Friend of mine was getting back into modern and wanted to build Abzan. He decided to just throw in huge beaters like Siege Rhino,Sigarda, Host of Herons, and Grave Titan with dorks to accelerate the plan. Long story short he also packed his deck with anti-artifact cards. Won game 1. Got Krosan Grip and Kataki, War's Wage out of the 2nd game. Ran out of time Game 3. Match 1-1-1.
Round 4 (Eldrazi Taxes): Game 1 assemble the three piece combo and take infinite turns. Game 2 I take away a Stony only for him to draw into another one anyway. He proceeds to lock me out by using Ghost Quarter and Leonin Arbiter. Game 3 I take away Stony again, but my opponent draws into RiP and plays out early Thought-Knot Seer. Couldn't find a single bridge or whir that game to save myself. Lost 1-2.
Round 5: Dropped. Was pretty down after losing another match and figure I would rather get an early drive home.
Final Record: 1-2-1
I suppose the question for you guys is that has anyone missed playing Fatal Push? My matches that I seem to lose that I can control are the ones where my opponent plays a creature that stunts my progress. I have seen Scavenging Ooze, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Harsh Mentor really put me in a squeeze where I basically pray the top card of library is Collective Brutality. These aren't even all of the offenders, but these are the 3 I see the most among my meta. I just don't know if I should commit to more creature removal or not. I keep my deck attuned for what I would expect at a large event, and if these types of creatures are going to keep on cropping up I just want to make the best deck optimizations moving forward.
If your meta is particularly infested with random hatebears you could play some number of fatal push. Even in your board if those matchups aren't extremely common. It's not like Fatal Push is a bad card. Nobody here is going to argue that it is, it simply has less utility in this deck compared to most.
My best suggestion however would be sweepers. If your list is current with the link in your signature than I would cut Padeem, Damnation, and Flaying Tendrils from the main to play Radiant Flames. It is efficient and likely easier to cast than either of the BB cards for you and kills pretty much everything those cards would. If Padeem has been putting in work for you I would move it to the sideboard instead of cutting it completely. Also keep the Damnation in your sideboard because of Eldrazi Tron. Access to consistent sweepers against these go wide creature vial decks is invaluable.
Xremag: For your meta, you could also look into running up to two Engineered Explosives MB? Tricks with it include casting with UU to set it on one through Chalice for ex. or paying the Thalia tax mana with a coloured mana so its actually taken into account in the Sunburst count.
And I really wouldnt feel comfortable running a 32-mana sources list with this little filtering, for dead topdecks and all. Consider Glint-Nest Crane perhaps? Finds your EE, combo, Bridge and bullets while pushing unwanted SSG's out of the way, on top of conveniently eating all the weenies. Equip with Sword to surprising resiliency and maximum troll factor. In small creatures metas, it really does wonders.
@racing089: The Radiant Flames doesn't sound like a bad idea actually. I have used it before in a Grixis Shell so maybe it is about time I try it out again.
@radouf: I used to use Glint-Nest Crane in my previous shell when it was purely a 4x Chalice/4x Bridge deck and it worked wonders then, however that list was more like the older list that ran mana rocks and 0 Whirs. I don't think I can go back to that list when I believe Whir is just the better card to play.
I think for this week I'll re-sleeve Serum Visions and Inquisition of Kozilek and reintroduce the silver bullets. I may just be trying to slot too many prison cards for a deck that just wants to combo off instead. Will record my results and let everyone know how it goes!
Round 1 - (Bx Zombies): Game 1 deployed early Chalice and locked him out from using Gravecrawler or casting his Viscera Seer and Dread Wanderer. Followed up with Bridge and Tezz Ult for game. Game 2 is a repeat except instead of Chalice I used Cage. Easy 2-0.
Round 2 - (Green Tron): Kept a pretty decent hand Game 1 and my opponent drew nothing but lands and sphere-effects. Eventually he gets Karn and sacs his three Sanctum of Ugin to tutor for NUlamog, New Emmy, and Wurmcoil Engine. Couldn't draw a way out of it and lost. Game 2 he drops a Chalce on 2 and 3! Thought the game was lights-out. Draw into Tezz and proceed to animate some 5/5s and win the game. I guess he was all in on the lockout plan Game 3 was very close, but he eventually finds an answer for my Padeem, Consul of Innovation and Bridge. Lost the Match 1-2.
Round 3 - (Big Abzan): Friend of mine was getting back into modern and wanted to build Abzan. He decided to just throw in huge beaters like Siege Rhino,Sigarda, Host of Herons, and Grave Titan with dorks to accelerate the plan. Long story short he also packed his deck with anti-artifact cards. Won game 1. Got Krosan Grip and Kataki, War's Wage out of the 2nd game. Ran out of time Game 3. Match 1-1-1.
Round 4 (Eldrazi Taxes): Game 1 assemble the three piece combo and take infinite turns. Game 2 I take away a Stony only for him to draw into another one anyway. He proceeds to lock me out by using Ghost Quarter and Leonin Arbiter. Game 3 I take away Stony again, but my opponent draws into RiP and plays out early Thought-Knot Seer. Couldn't find a single bridge or whir that game to save myself. Lost 1-2.
Round 5: Dropped. Was pretty down after losing another match and figure I would rather get an early drive home.
Final Record: 1-2-1
I suppose the question for you guys is that has anyone missed playing Fatal Push? My matches that I seem to lose that I can control are the ones where my opponent plays a creature that stunts my progress. I have seen Scavenging Ooze, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Harsh Mentor really put me in a squeeze where I basically pray the top card of library is Collective Brutality. These aren't even all of the offenders, but these are the 3 I see the most among my meta. I just don't know if I should commit to more creature removal or not. I keep my deck attuned for what I would expect at a large event, and if these types of creatures are going to keep on cropping up I just want to make the best deck optimizations moving forward.
ROund 1 vs GB Elves. Game 1 we both mulled down a card. He was on the play and had an explosive start. By turn 3 he had already emptied his hand and developed a huge board with the help of CoCo. I kept a strong hand, but drew multiple lands prevent me from deploying Ensnaring Bridge safely.
Game 2 I dropped turn 1 Chalice of the Void. He went land pass. Looked good for me. Sadly that wasn't the case as later he went into multiple two and three-drops and drew the Cavern of Souls. I drop Bridge and begin going into topdeck mode. He plays Stain the Mind naming Thopter Foundry and destroys the Bridge with Reclamation Sage. I just couldn't take advantage of my start and fell short of winning. Lose 0-2
Round 2 vs Living End. Game 1 was absurd. Was on the draw and saw he was cycling at the end of my turn. My 2nd turn I Whir for Chalice on 0 assuming he was on Living End. Turn 3 I play Bridge. He concedes.
Game 2 I keep my hand with Relic, Welding Jar, and fast mana. He deploys 2 Ingot Chewer on a Bridge and Relic. Pop the Relic and save the Bridge. He attempts to go for Violent Outburst which I respond with Whir for Canonist. Following turn draw Sword for my Foundry in play and take over. Win 2-0
Round 3 vs Mardu. Game 1 he strips my hand apart with hand disruption and is on the Bob beats. I finally get Tezz and Bridge up and begin to assemble the combo. He gets multiple topdeck answers in the form of Kolaghan's Command and looping Bolt with Soulfire Grand Master. Too much pressure that I just couldn't draw out of. Game 2 he resolves a turn 2 Stony and rides it out to victory. By the time I drew Pulse he had his Lili up to 5.
The game was just one-sided. He even had the Wear//Tear for my Bridge and Grid. Lose 0-2
Round 4 vs Abzan. Felt like I might as well get more practice in so play out the match. Game 1 he fumbled on mana and I just played the three card combo and won. Game 2 he plays turn 2 Stony into turn 3 RiP. Couldn't get past all of the hate. Game 3 was very similar to game 2 except this time I drew Padeem and Decay and hid behind the Bridge until Tezz could just ult safely. Won 2-1
Overall record: 2-2. I think my biggest issue of the night was drawing too many lands in match-ups I didn't need them in and not drawing enough combo pieces in the others. Still need to do some tuning with the deck. Will be playing again on Friday with the same list so will post my results then.
It blows my mind that people are trying to jam chalice in this deck which has like 8-10 o cmcs, a bunch of 1cmc bullets and discard, and its key combo at 2cmc. Eldrazi tron runs chalice with near impunity - this deck does not, nor can you power it down turn one without a very good opal draw or running spirit guides that are otherwise pretty bad.
Some of the cards chalice mostly strands are path push and bolt which we dont care about. Itll strand a thoughtseize just until they decay or kcommand.
I dunno I was doing rw prison for a while and the games I won with t1 chalice were far and few between. And if I set it on two id inevitably draw a bunch of helixes and blessed alliances.
You dont generally want to whir for a zero chalice and finding one with tez is meh. Just not really seeing it, if you want another potential 0cmc rock for whir then maybe I guess
I can understand why you wouldn't be a fan of stranding 1-drop removal, but Chalice of the Void offers so much more.
On 1 it also prevents early aggressive strategies from aggro decks. No more bolts and spikes from burn, no more mana dorks from CoCo decks and elves. It also suppresses control and combo decks by preventing the use of Thought Scour, Serum Visions, and Sleight of Hand. Speaking of early cantrips, Storm, a match-up that Tezz list have struggled to beat, can now be beaten by dropping chalice on 1 and 2. Sure we can't sword combo anymore, but when their entire deck is incapable of doing anything we can just ride it out with Tezz's minus 1. That ability by the way is much weaker when your opponent is holding a hand full of 1-drop removal that now has a target. With chalice you can minus safely into path or push.
Now I'll admit that I rarely Whir for 0 for the chalice. The only time it comes up is against Living End in response to the cascade trigger, but when it happens it feels pretty great. Against affinity if I already deploy my opal I have no problem dropping a chalice on 0. It has such an impact on so many games I just can't resist playing the card.
I just have to say that just give the card a chance.
I did use a few of the list posted here as a core before making changes.
My meta has a fair amount of burn, death's shadow, and other aggro decks (revolt zoo, elves to name a few). Chalice of the Void really pulls its weight in those matchups as a quick chalice into bridge leads to an early concede. It also helps against the jund and abzan players as I can blank their hand disruptions. I really only regret drawing it against the Eldrazi player.
I tried the Serum Visions and Inquisition of Kozilek and it just never felt like the right card to be casting when I had them. They were truly turn one plays and from that point forward rather medium draws in my opinion.
The 3 Whirs is mostly so that I don't end up with a hand of multiples of them and Tezz. Lost enough games to having too many expensive cmc cards that I would rather lock the game out and slowly draw a copy. In a previous build I had either Talisman of Dominance or Dimir Signet to help empty my hand and have extra mana for future turns, but without those cards I just don't have a clean way to empty my hand AND have a lot of mana. With that in mind the 4th Whir may be better than the Time Sieve as I am starting to think it may be a bit win-more.
The Steam Vents is mostly so that I have a fetchable red source. With 5 fetchlands, 4 Spire of Industry and the Vents I can reliably cast the sideboard Grid and sunburst for Engineered Explosives. Hopefully I never end up in a spot where I need to hard cast the Ape!
I can't make it to my next LGS Modern Night, but I play twice a week so I will post my results as I go.
Been a long time lurker and I am finally deciding to post my most current list. Long story short I spent last year playing at regionals and opens with a 4x chalice 4x bridge list with an Agent/Seeker split. However with new cards and new ideas the list had to evolve.
Quick breakdown. The list is designed to Chalice of the Void turn 1 as consistently as possible, with following turns being to empty our hand and begin constructing the Ensnaring Bridge. Play your cards right and you can see an early turn 3 (or the rare turn 2) Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. Anywho lemme know what you think!
What I have enjoyed and loathed about playing Nicol Bolas, the Ravager is that he is a card you generally just want to play once you have the mana. Once you get the discard effect he is generally their as a beat-stick. Should you get to 4UBR you are either already going to kill them with damage or you just played him the turn beforehand. Either way, he is great in the grindy matchups and why he sits in my sideboad. Kess, Dissident Mage on the other hand is good against a majority of matchups as having the ability to rebuy your spells is always good throughout the game and unlike Snapcaster Mage she has a sizeable body with evasion. I do think the large concentration of 4-drops is going to be an issue, but I would rather play Kess in the main alongside Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Something like this is what I am going to start testing with.
2x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Kess, Dissident Mage
1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
1x Liliana of the Veil
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3x Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
I will agree that in a few rare instances Blast Zone can inhibit my early game plays as unlike Field of Ruin which can turn into colored mana later, Blast Zone cannot. This leads to a pattern that makes casting spells much more difficult turns 1 through 3. I have yet to have the scenario of drawing Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God and the land without drawing any other colored sources, but I can foresee that being an issue. With that said I will restate that it is rare that it occurs. With this style of pro-actively attacking the opponent's hand instead of countering, it allows the deck to let the opponent resolve certain permanents; only for them to get swept up by Blast Zone and other Terminate-style cards.
Rise // Fall on the other hand I can understand for not liking. It has a low-ground/high-ceiling as double land reveal is terrible, but double impactful spell reveal is backbreaking. Most times I cast it I get the unfortunate luck of only getting the opponent to discard a single card, which for its rate is overall not worth it. I do like it paired with the other hand-hate spells in the deck as the information of knowing what is in their hand offers me the opportunity to minimize misses. The Unsummon/Raise Dead function comes up sometimes; mostly in the midrange matchups (ex: bounce their Gofy, return my Snap from yard), but it is alright. I can be convinced to remove them in favor of Collective Brutality, card draw, or counterspells.
I am so happy that this got spoiled! This will easily revitalize modern players to give grixis another chance. Aside from being Snapcaster Mage copies 5-8, she has evasion and great stats (dodges Lightning Bolt). She even pairs well with a discard-heavy decklist! I will definitely be playing some number of her.
1 Blast Zone
2 Blood Crypt
3 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Dragonskull Summit
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
Creatures (6)
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Fatal Push
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Terminate
3 Kolaghan's Command
Sorceries (9)
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
1 Angrath's Rampage
2 Rise // Fall
1 Dreadbore
1 Damnation
Artifacts & Enchantments (2)
1 Search for Azcanta
1 Engineered Explosives
Planeswalkers (7)
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Liliana of the Veil
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Collective Brutality
2 Countersquall
2 Unmoored Ego
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Anger of the Gods
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I recently placed 3rd at a Team Unified Event for Modern and wanted to show off the decklist that did so well. I played against Bant Spirits, Ad Naus, UR Phoenix, BR Hollow One, and Hardened Scales. I'll be giving a quick breakdown of each matchup and talk about what cards stood out for me.
vs Bant Spirits (1-0)
Between the large amount of removal and constant hand-hate, the Spirits player rarely had any permanents in play and a hand to keep. Angrath's Rampage helped me out against the duo Drogskol and even went overtime when I flashed it back later to kill off a Queller that had my Lili. When we went to Game 2 I was already ahead before my teammates finished their games. Overall I felt that if we were given more time that it would of ended the same as the first game.
vs Ad Naus (2-1)
Game 1 is just awful as I have a hand full of removal and he just goes off turn 5. Game 2 however I felt I was going to lose as he resolve Leyline of Sanctity, but pivoted into Fulminator Mage and K Command loops to stop him from ever having mana from lands and Lotus Bloom. Game 3 I am worried as now I am on the draw against multiple Leylines and we were the group that determined the team victory. I get an early Fulminator to slow'em down before resolving Liliana of the Veil and Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God. Double uptick on discard made it impossible for him assemble combo. I eventually win with Nicol Ult. The matchup felt very dicey as at any moment I thought I was going to lose. Made me wish I had more counterspells.
vs UR Phoenix (1-2)
I got overwhelmed Game 1 and couldn't ever pull out. Game 2 I surprisingly milled all of his win cons with Ashiok, Dream Render so he scooped up for Game 3. Sadly that game doesn't go well for me as I eventually draw 5 lands in a row after stripping his hand apart. He eventually lands a Drake that I can't seem to draw removal for and get hit for 16 damage in one swing! The matchup seems reasonable post-board, but not having either Jace made card manipulation a bit tough. Makes me want to reconsider putting back Nihil Spellbomb back in the 75; even if to just cantrip. My other friend loses so we take our first team loss.
vs BR Hollow One (0-2)
Sometimes you just lose to the nutty turn 1 Burning Inquiry into double Hollow One. Sometimes it happens again Game 2. Never saw hate for them and actually got mana denied from discarding too many lands. Feels like a rough matchup with my current configuration. 2nd Anger would of done wonders. My team picked up the slack and we eventually won.
vs Hardened Scales (2-1)
Easily one of my favorite matchups as I have so much disruption to their plans. Game 1 really showed how much I like Blast Zone and Engineered Explosives in the main. Destroying the namesake card and all of the tokens makes the matchup so swingy in my favor. Game 2 I sadly flooded, but Game 3 was a repeat of Game 1. Aside from the hiccup Game 2, was the easiest matchup of the day.
So our team eventually ended the day going 4-1 securing 3rd place for us. My takeaways are:
- If you resolve Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God and are allowed to untap him, you win the game. He never once got hit and the amount of hand hate pairs so well with his plus. You drown your opponent so quickly that they concede before you even need to ult. 3 feels like the right number.
- The amount of checklands felt ok as I wanted to try and avoid having too many lands enter tapped, but some number of fastlands are probably the better call; even if it means having to play a fastland late game for Nicol. Probably change the Dragonskull Summit into Blackcleave Cliffs.
- Counterspells are certainly nice in some matchups, but I have no regrets not having any in the main. The deck just feels like a better Jund deck. Sure I don't have Goyf, but having such efficient 2-1s makes the deck feel pretty good throughout the entire game. I may bump my squall count to 3 in the board.
- I don't hate the land count right now, but I do mind the card manipulation. Not certain where I want to go with it at the moment.
I have actually considered replaying Tezzeret the Seeker alongside Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. In the past we couldn't but together you have 2 ways to get artifact quickly, and both can threaten very quickly. Considering most decklist configurations at the moment, only Mox Opal gets any real value off of Seeker's +1. Maybe Signets/Talisman could make a comeback too?
Round 1: Mardu Burn (SB: -1 Bridge, -1 Relic, -1 Needle, -1 Serum, -1 Time Sieve; +1 CotV, +2 ADecay, +1 Witchbane, +1 Damnation)
A good friend of mine and a list we brewed together for the event. Basically the RB Burn deck with Claim//Fame, but with a hint of Boros.
G1: Lost - Had a bad case of drawing every 3+ drop and couldn't make the Bridge work.
G2: Won - Fought through 2 Smash to Smithereens and a Wear//Tear, but still assembled combo.
G3: Lost - A very close game, but sadly I couldn't cobble together a way to stop the burn to the face, raise dead the Eidolon of the Great Revel, and the threats in play already. I just needed more mana to do all of it at once. Something my friend didn't give me the chance to do.
Round 2: Naya Burn (SB: -1 Relic, -1 Needle, -1 Cage, -1 Serum, -1 Time Sieve; +1 CotV, +2 ADecay, +1 Witchbane, +1 Damnation)
Jeez, Burn twice in a row and against another friend! Either way a stock list. Was almost an inverse of round 1.
G1: Won - Emptied hand for bridge, proceeded to topdeck combo pieces.
G2: Lost - Opponent drew all of the hate and I didn't draw ways to stop it.
G3: Won - Finally drew a copy of Collective Brutality from the past 6 games and does it work. Take over the game from there with combo.
Round 3: Slivers (SB: -1 Relic, -1 Needle, -3 CBrutality; +1 Damnation, +1 Padeem, +2 ADecay, +1 MPulse)
Surprisingly enough this turnout was real strange for decks. This was one of 2 Sliver players! There was an 8-Rack guy next to me as well. It was the battle of the obscure.
G1: Won - Mutavault + Aether Vial pass turn1. I draw Pithing Needle. Opponent proceeds to show that he isn't a Fish deck, but was Slivers. After some 15+ turns of doing nothing I finally draw some action and win.
G2: Won - His Harmonic Sliver met a quick death to Abrupt Decay and the game ends up like the first.
Round 4: Dredge (SB: -1 Needle, -3 CBrutality; +1 Relic, +1 Witchbane, +1 Padeem, +1 Damnation)
A local that has had favorable match-ups all day...till now.
G1 and 2: Won - Turn 1 Relic for both games and proceed to assemble combo within the next few turns. My fastest games of the day (I finally got to get up before round and get a bite to eat!)
Round 5: GW Ramunap Company (SB: -1 Tezz, -1 Foundry, -1 Sword, -3x CBrutality, -1 Serum, -1 WJar, -1 TimeSieve; +1 Needle, +2 ADecay, +1 MPulse,+1 Padeem, +1 Damnation, +2 Herald, +1 Ghirapur)
A friend of mine that shifts decks around a lot and sadly I wasn't certain what he was on. Arguably the hardest match of the day, but if I won I would be locked for Top 8.
G1: Won - We go back and forth trading resources, but eventually I get combo online with bridge. He concedes to preserve time.
G2: Won - The best match of the day. He must have drawn 15 more cards than me with Horizon Canopy. Fought through Qasali Pridemage and Kataki, War's Wage lock for as long as I could. I finally draw Relic and Pulse and his value town was all gone. Proceed to drop both Heralds after rebuilding. He admits he boarded out all of his Path to Exile. Down to one life and constrained on mana (Had both Spires in play), I was lucky enough to draw Steam Vents so I could finally cast the Grid in hand. He finally loses after many turns and I lock TOp 8.
Top 8 Round 1: Jeskai Control (SB: +2 Herald, +1 Padeem, +1 MPulse, +2 ADecay, +1 Canoist, +1 Relic; -1 Tezz, -1 Bridge, -1 Foundry, -1 Sword, -1 WJar, -3 CBrutality)
Alright the beginning to the top.
G1: Lost - Made my first play mistake. I was playing around Mana Leak the whole game and a Brutality showed he had multiple Snapcaster Mage. All I had to do was play the Cage in hand WHILE also holding up 3 extra mana. I draw Whir thinking "Jeez, if I do it now he will have to Leak it" He counters Whir with Leak. I go to play Cage only to realize that he still had all of those Snaps...walk right into the counter I knew of. He proceeds to go on the Snap-Beats and kills me. Felt bad.
G2: Lost - He switches from being Burn focus to Creature focus and kills me with Queller, Geist, and Colonade. I just didn't draw a hand that could fight against all of his threats and answers. If I went for Bridge he had Negate. If I had Decay he had Queller. It was like playing against someone who got to DTutor every turn instead of drawing.
So I went 4-1 in rounds and ended 5th-8th place. Lost to 2 major play mistakes against my last opponent knocking me out. Overall was a good experience. I managed to dodge both Tron players and the TitanBreach player so my Lost Legacy never saw play. Hopefully Ixalan brings us good fortune.
Against Burn I try to trim the excess cards and bring in cards that will lock them out of the game. Eidolon of the Great Revel is the scariest card in the matchup (followed by Harsh Mentor if they have it in the 75), so you need to be able to answer those threats. There is some consideration to keep in Relic effects to keep Grim Lavamancer down, but it probably isn't worth it. Based off your current decklist I would cut: -1 Relic, -1 Map, -1 Tezz, +1 Trinisphere, +1 Spellskite, +1 Witchbane Orb.
Against Merfolk I try to bring in boardwipes and disruption as they will bring in similar artifact hate that they pack for Affinity. Scariest card from them is Hurkyl's Recall as it can completely undo several turns worth of work and give them the opportunity to swing past a Bridge. Based off your current decklist I would cut:
-1 Chalice, -1 Relic, -1 Map, -2 Welding Jar, +1 Needle (For naming Vial and add back up your artifact count), +1 Damnation, +1 Witchbane ORb (Stops the Recall), +2 Thoughtseize.
You could also slot in Spellskite if you believe they are running Echoing Truth in which case I would trim a Prism.
Against Vizier CoCo I am still trying to figure it out. They have access to white and usually run Stony so I am mindful of that, but they can go off so quickly that it can be a lot of pressure to keep them down, protect your stuff, AND try to progress your board. Herald and Grid are amazing for picking off their little dudes and Needle stops Devoted Druid from using the untap ability.
Against Death's Shadow whether it be UBx or BGx you need to deal with their threats and their graveyard. This is your matchup where your copies of GQ really shine as you can cut them off of mana once the game goes for too long. Just side out the Capsule as it doesn't kill DS, Angler, or Tas. There is some consideration to leave it in for Goyf, but I would suspect you traded it out for Damnation. This is still a matchup I need a bit more practice on because I believe they can attack your deck from so many different angles so there is probably some other cuts that are needed just to stay relevant in the match (Herald?).
Hope this helped.
1 Breeding Pool
3 Darkslick Shores
1 Flooded Strand
1 Inventors' Fair
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Spire of Industry
1 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
Quick Whir
4 Mishra's Bauble
3 Mox Opal
3 Pentad Prism
4 Whir of Invention
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Time Sieve
2 Sword of the Meek
3 Thopter Foundry
Bullet Pieces
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Welding Jar
Not Artifacts
3 Collective Brutality
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Serum Visions
1 Academy Ruins
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Flaying Tendrils
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1 Damnation
1 Herald of Anguish
Basically made some modifications to decklists I saw here to better fit my preferences and meta calls.
Round 1 (GW Hatebears): Game 1 he had an explosive start and began to strip away my lands by using Leonin Arbiter. I eventually get to a spot where I can pay the tax and Whir for Sword to begin to take over. He flashes in Restoration Angel to flicker the Cat and I couldn't pay the new search clause (new objects overpowered!). Game 2 We play a long fight and after hate card after hate I eventually get through and allow Tezz to Ult. Game 3 time was called and we never got to finish. Match 1-1-1.
Round 2 (Tainted Remedies): Game 1...This was such a strange matchup and I just played it out. He eventually lands the namesake Tainted Remedy after my hand hate took care of the first one and a Heroes' Reunion. He eventually floods the board with Wall of Shards and looks grim for me. Luckily I had already made a bunch of thopters beforehand and just let Tezz Ult. I dealt 18 damage and I was at 23 life so after the suicide ult I survive Game 1 with 5 life!. Game 2 I had no idea what he could possibly be sideboarding. I just assumed with white mana he was on a Stony/RiP setup, but oh no. He drops those early game and Leyline of Sanctity on turn 0!. I just progress my board as normal and eventually get Tezz at 8 loyalty. I drawe Pulse and proceed to spend the next 2 turns Ulting. Strange deck, but was very clever and entertaining. Match 2-0.
Round 3 (GB Elves): Game 1 we both flood but eventually I get a Bridge down and Inventor's Fair going. Begin to dig for the three piece combo because of Crucible of Worlds recursion and finally win the game. Game 2 I draw the actual nuts and tear apart his hand while also getting a Whir for combo. He just kept drawing his 3+ drops and lost. Revenge for last week! Match 2-0.
Round 4 (Dredge): Now because of my tie I had to play the last round out. Game 1 I just tutor for both Relics and steal the game. Game 2 he is chipping away at me with Narcomoeba and I just can't seem to stop them. Nuke his yard, lay down a Bridge, but I just couldn't empty my hand. I drew Tezz, Whir, Whir, 2nd Bridge. I eventually hit a land pocket (Never thought I wanted that considering my luck) and begin to finally take over. Time is called and he develops a sizable board to block my thopters. My Turn 1 I draw Time Sieve and proceed to take the remaining 4 Turns. Finished the game with an extra turn to spare! Match 2-0.
Night Results: 3-0-1. 1st Place!
Was a very good night. I think I am getting a lot more use to sideboarding for the deck. I think that was what was causing me to trip up these past fews weeks. Looking forward to more testing with the list.
I am currently using 2 Abrupt Decay and 1 Maelstrom Pulse. The Pulse is primarily used against Leyline of the Void and Leyline of Sanctity as they can prove to be quite bothersome while Decay isn't capable of taking them out. I have had Living End and Dredge players pack the Void while I have had UWx Control, Storm, and Lantern Control pack Sanctity. The Sanctity isn't as annoying as the Void, but when I cannot ult Tezz and they can keep me from attacking in with 5/5s, I just needed to drop the 3rd Decay for the Pulse.
@racing089: The Radiant Flames doesn't sound like a bad idea actually. I have used it before in a Grixis Shell so maybe it is about time I try it out again.
@radouf: I used to use Glint-Nest Crane in my previous shell when it was purely a 4x Chalice/4x Bridge deck and it worked wonders then, however that list was more like the older list that ran mana rocks and 0 Whirs. I don't think I can go back to that list when I believe Whir is just the better card to play.
I think for this week I'll re-sleeve Serum Visions and Inquisition of Kozilek and reintroduce the silver bullets. I may just be trying to slot too many prison cards for a deck that just wants to combo off instead. Will record my results and let everyone know how it goes!
Round 2 - (Green Tron): Kept a pretty decent hand Game 1 and my opponent drew nothing but lands and sphere-effects. Eventually he gets Karn and sacs his three Sanctum of Ugin to tutor for NUlamog, New Emmy, and Wurmcoil Engine. Couldn't draw a way out of it and lost. Game 2 he drops a Chalce on 2 and 3! Thought the game was lights-out. Draw into Tezz and proceed to animate some 5/5s and win the game. I guess he was all in on the lockout plan Game 3 was very close, but he eventually finds an answer for my Padeem, Consul of Innovation and Bridge. Lost the Match 1-2.
Round 3 - (Big Abzan): Friend of mine was getting back into modern and wanted to build Abzan. He decided to just throw in huge beaters like Siege Rhino,Sigarda, Host of Herons, and Grave Titan with dorks to accelerate the plan. Long story short he also packed his deck with anti-artifact cards. Won game 1. Got Krosan Grip and Kataki, War's Wage out of the 2nd game. Ran out of time Game 3. Match 1-1-1.
Round 4 (Eldrazi Taxes): Game 1 assemble the three piece combo and take infinite turns. Game 2 I take away a Stony only for him to draw into another one anyway. He proceeds to lock me out by using Ghost Quarter and Leonin Arbiter. Game 3 I take away Stony again, but my opponent draws into RiP and plays out early Thought-Knot Seer. Couldn't find a single bridge or whir that game to save myself. Lost 1-2.
Round 5: Dropped. Was pretty down after losing another match and figure I would rather get an early drive home.
Final Record: 1-2-1
I suppose the question for you guys is that has anyone missed playing Fatal Push? My matches that I seem to lose that I can control are the ones where my opponent plays a creature that stunts my progress. I have seen Scavenging Ooze, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Harsh Mentor really put me in a squeeze where I basically pray the top card of library is Collective Brutality. These aren't even all of the offenders, but these are the 3 I see the most among my meta. I just don't know if I should commit to more creature removal or not. I keep my deck attuned for what I would expect at a large event, and if these types of creatures are going to keep on cropping up I just want to make the best deck optimizations moving forward.
Game 2 I dropped turn 1 Chalice of the Void. He went land pass. Looked good for me. Sadly that wasn't the case as later he went into multiple two and three-drops and drew the Cavern of Souls. I drop Bridge and begin going into topdeck mode. He plays Stain the Mind naming Thopter Foundry and destroys the Bridge with Reclamation Sage. I just couldn't take advantage of my start and fell short of winning. Lose 0-2
Round 2 vs Living End. Game 1 was absurd. Was on the draw and saw he was cycling at the end of my turn. My 2nd turn I Whir for Chalice on 0 assuming he was on Living End. Turn 3 I play Bridge. He concedes.
Game 2 I keep my hand with Relic, Welding Jar, and fast mana. He deploys 2 Ingot Chewer on a Bridge and Relic. Pop the Relic and save the Bridge. He attempts to go for Violent Outburst which I respond with Whir for Canonist. Following turn draw Sword for my Foundry in play and take over. Win 2-0
Round 3 vs Mardu. Game 1 he strips my hand apart with hand disruption and is on the Bob beats. I finally get Tezz and Bridge up and begin to assemble the combo. He gets multiple topdeck answers in the form of Kolaghan's Command and looping Bolt with Soulfire Grand Master. Too much pressure that I just couldn't draw out of. Game 2 he resolves a turn 2 Stony and rides it out to victory. By the time I drew Pulse he had his Lili up to 5.
The game was just one-sided. He even had the Wear//Tear for my Bridge and Grid. Lose 0-2
Round 4 vs Abzan. Felt like I might as well get more practice in so play out the match. Game 1 he fumbled on mana and I just played the three card combo and won. Game 2 he plays turn 2 Stony into turn 3 RiP. Couldn't get past all of the hate. Game 3 was very similar to game 2 except this time I drew Padeem and Decay and hid behind the Bridge until Tezz could just ult safely. Won 2-1
Overall record: 2-2. I think my biggest issue of the night was drawing too many lands in match-ups I didn't need them in and not drawing enough combo pieces in the others. Still need to do some tuning with the deck. Will be playing again on Friday with the same list so will post my results then.
I can understand why you wouldn't be a fan of stranding 1-drop removal, but Chalice of the Void offers so much more.
On 1 it also prevents early aggressive strategies from aggro decks. No more bolts and spikes from burn, no more mana dorks from CoCo decks and elves. It also suppresses control and combo decks by preventing the use of Thought Scour, Serum Visions, and Sleight of Hand. Speaking of early cantrips, Storm, a match-up that Tezz list have struggled to beat, can now be beaten by dropping chalice on 1 and 2. Sure we can't sword combo anymore, but when their entire deck is incapable of doing anything we can just ride it out with Tezz's minus 1. That ability by the way is much weaker when your opponent is holding a hand full of 1-drop removal that now has a target. With chalice you can minus safely into path or push.
Now I'll admit that I rarely Whir for 0 for the chalice. The only time it comes up is against Living End in response to the cascade trigger, but when it happens it feels pretty great. Against affinity if I already deploy my opal I have no problem dropping a chalice on 0. It has such an impact on so many games I just can't resist playing the card.
I just have to say that just give the card a chance.
- I did use a few of the list posted here as a core before making changes.
- My meta has a fair amount of burn, death's shadow, and other aggro decks (revolt zoo, elves to name a few). Chalice of the Void really pulls its weight in those matchups as a quick chalice into bridge leads to an early concede. It also helps against the jund and abzan players as I can blank their hand disruptions. I really only regret drawing it against the Eldrazi player.
- I tried the Serum Visions and Inquisition of Kozilek and it just never felt like the right card to be casting when I had them. They were truly turn one plays and from that point forward rather medium draws in my opinion.
- The 3 Whirs is mostly so that I don't end up with a hand of multiples of them and Tezz. Lost enough games to having too many expensive cmc cards that I would rather lock the game out and slowly draw a copy. In a previous build I had either Talisman of Dominance or Dimir Signet to help empty my hand and have extra mana for future turns, but without those cards I just don't have a clean way to empty my hand AND have a lot of mana. With that in mind the 4th Whir may be better than the Time Sieve as I am starting to think it may be a bit win-more.
- The Steam Vents is mostly so that I have a fetchable red source. With 5 fetchlands, 4 Spire of Industry and the Vents I can reliably cast the sideboard Grid and sunburst for Engineered Explosives. Hopefully I never end up in a spot where I need to hard cast the Ape!
I can't make it to my next LGS Modern Night, but I play twice a week so I will post my results as I go.1 Breeding Pool
4 Darkslick Shores
1 Flooded Strand
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Spire of Industry
1 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
Quick Mana
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Mox Opal
4 Pentad Prism
3 Whir of Invention
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Time Sieve
2 Sword of the Meek
3 Thopter Foundry
Lock Pieces
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Ensnaring Bridge
Protection
3 Collective Brutality
2 Welding Jar
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Flaying Tendrils
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1 Damnation
1 Herald of Anguish
Quick breakdown. The list is designed to Chalice of the Void turn 1 as consistently as possible, with following turns being to empty our hand and begin constructing the Ensnaring Bridge. Play your cards right and you can see an early turn 3 (or the rare turn 2) Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. Anywho lemme know what you think!