Did some testing last night in between rounds. Inkmoth nexus is a perfect win con. Thought about replacing a blooming marsh with a verdant catacombs for recursion/deck thinning when you don't have GQ. I ended up drawing a lot of land, might consider cutting another marsh altogether. Drew poorly against burn, fine vs infect, and won more against a reanimator griselbrand fury of the hoard turn 2ish deck. All in all, it's pretty good. Definitely some nuances to it.
I see a lot of the things we previously discussed are showing up. I also like 1-2 Inventors' fair in the main; they pad your life total so much and tutor well. I mentioned splashing blue for tezzeret the seeker to tutor out bridge/crucible/trinisphere like the old extended decks of yore. I don't like caress. It seems so clunky and do nothing. Inkmoth could be a 2 of maybe. I also like 1 vraska. She blows things up, pseudo protects herself, and builds to a win. For redundancy, I think a 1 of loam would be very effective. I'll be looking for some more cards that fit 0,2,(3,4,5) mana that do something in this deck that is effective. Glad you're bringing some spice to modern Thnkr!
Hey everybody!
It's been a while since I posted, but I went to SCG Baltimore a few weeks back with thnkr both on lantern.
Highlights:
snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by needlessly activating wreckage against r1g1 infect with 2 lands in a row, with the other misplays not as vivid. As the saying goes, we only lose to ourselves.
We tested MD Leylines the week before and were trying to keep it under wraps but though they felt awesome, right now is not the meta. Wait until burn and jund are on top.
Thnkr scrambled for Cranes at the event, but people just gave them to me for nothing. Cranes were great, but this is a testament to multiple people playtesting ideas, rather than one person saying it's good. If you have an idea, test it and try to convince one other person to try. Not everyone, just a few, and be detailed about it.
Played thnkr in the Mirror again. Won. No big deal.
Notes on Tron matchup: this is something that I've tested a lot, and thought I can break it down better. The matchup goes one of two plans.
1. Keep them off tron and mill all their lands. Usually a GQ or surgical is involved, and all you have to do is mill their lands. You try to mill or surgical sphere, and needle O-Stone and map while keeping all their stirrings and lands from being drawn. With bridge out, you can have them at 6 mana and they're just drawing Karn after Ugin after World Breaker after Ulamog with not enough mana to play any. I blind milled a tron piece and surgicaled it many times over the weekend. Crucible helps too.
2. They get tron, but you go after their win cons. This is much harder to do because they cycle through their deck so fast and World Breaker is a game breaker. It is doable, but very precarious.
Deck notes:
My list is below. I'm on the 7 colorless lands camp. 2 fair, 2 ruins, 2 GQ, 1 wreckage. Vs jund Wreckage keeps up with their attrition and is good vs the mirror. Might test without it and see how it goes. I cut the thopter/ sword because cranes and fair cover those bases better and are more versatile. I went for my discard split because thoughtseize grabs anything and fairs and cranes pad your life total pretty well. I prefer 1 mana discard to brutality, but I realize brutality is great in this meta. Mana base is smooth. I don't like too many fast lands because they usually come into play tapped on the crucial hand emptying bridge turn. I also don't like 4 opals because I've drawn too many redundant opals in games. It's also 61 cards to make room for everything main and board. The 3rd skite and 3rd brutality are meta choices.
I find that if you don't have leyline in your opener, then it's an orb later, so leyline it is. I might try 1 orb in the board. I also side them in vs merfolk against hurkyl's recall. Crucible is great for longer games: jund, tron, control, mirror, etc. Trying it out in place of the usual trading post. Results are about the same, except crucible costs less but does a little less and more at the same time. Might try golgari charm in place of a pyroclasm. And I obviously support boarding out discard (you can keep a brutality or 2 if you want) vs jund. I have played and won against jund so many times that I am not fearful of the match. But without thopter sword and infernal tutor, I will go back to testing.
I apologize for the formatting. Great trip Thnkr!!
Sideboard
2 Welding Jar
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Pyroclasm
1 Extirpate
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Quiet Disrepair
1 Seal of Primordium
3 Leyline of Sanctity
I generally don't fear the burn matchup either. It's close, but if your meta has a lot of burn in it, I would put a droplet in the side. Leylines are great, and you can sac excess artifacts to make dudes and gain life. Just make sure skite stays alive. It protects leylines from revelry. If you have a jar and a skite out, redirect to skite and regenerate it.
Thopter sword was fine. My manabase might need a little work, but it was ok. It wins the jund matchup a lot. I top decked a sword in my jund challenge side event and won that game. I would play thopter sword again; it's not a 2/2, definitely a 1/1. It is a huge key in the jund match, but as previously stated, we might need some new tech (meddling Mage or slaughter games) against tron. Recurring slaughter games with shredder or noxious revival to take out ulamog and world breaker plus a Pyxis might be enough, but I need to test that matchup more....
GP Charlotte tournament report. (sorry it took me so long.) I made a few minor changes to the list I won my gp trial with last month. (#5578, also went over some sideboarding there too)
4 Codex Shredder
3 Ghoulcaller’s Bell
4 Lantern Of Insight
3 Pithing Needle
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Spellskite
1 Welding Jar
1 Sword Of The Meek
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Ancient Stirrings
1 Infernal Tutor
3 Inquisition Of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Pyroclasm
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
3 Mox Opal
2 Academy Ruins
1 Duskmantle, House Of Shadow
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Forest
1 Swamp
4 Glimmervoid
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Grove Of The Burnwillows
3 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
Sideboard
1 Spellskite
1 Extirpate
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Inquisition Of Kozilek
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Pyroclasm
1 Ray Of Revelation
1 Seal Of Primordium
3 Leyline Of Sanctity
1 Trading Post
1 Welding Jar
cut Pyrite for pyxis, which let me cut duskmantle for 2nd sea gate. also changed sb inquisition into thoughtseize.
Night before: modern challenge. I lost my notes, but I went 3-0-id. I rember beating jund and hate bears.
I had 2 byes in the main event. Day 1:
R3 Dave - RG Scapeshift with prismatic omen: Both games I milled a valakut and surgical it and then topdecked a ghost quarter to hit his last valakut. Game 2 was interesting because he had valakut and a way to get more mountains, but he ran out of mountains. There was a moment in game 1 when I could have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory: I surgical’d his valakuts during his draw step when I should have done it on my turn when he was tapped out rather than risk him having through the breach + prime time, but that didn’t happen. Moral: don’t autopoilot.
Out -2 inquisition -2 needle, -2 bell, -1 Pyroclasm. In: extirpate, seal, leyline x2, ray, skite, thoughtseize, jar
2-0, 3-0 (games, matches)
R4 Chris - Infect: He murdered me quickly both games. I mulled to 5 game 1, and should have mulliganed game 2. This matchup is extremely difficult. You have a hard time dumping your hand, and they can swing under the bridge and kill you. And kill your SB skites with twisted image. Does anyone have any tech for this? Night of souls’ betrayal? We played a few more games after and I did not win any.
Out: -2 surgical, -2 bell, -1 needle, -1 pyxis In: seal, skite, pyroclasm, jar, thoughtseize, claim, grudge?
2-2, 3-1
R5 Ali Aintrazi – Stock Lantern: He said he has not played the mirror; my response was that it was pretty fun. There are so many things to think about and jockey for position on in this matchup. Both games were pretty one sided. My deck and draws matched but better than his. I establish an early lantern lock, we fight a little over his mill rocks, and I overwhelm him. He saw the thopter/sword, so he had to keep bridges in. Game two was the same. I had the game locked up, except I made a mistake. He needled my trading post, and then I activated it to sac a mox and draw and play a land. We did not catch it until a turn cycle later. We call a judge, we both get warnings. I apologize to Ali. I destroy his needle a turn later and he scoops. Then the judge asks to see my deck, and returns a few minutes later with another warning from me because one of my foil bells was a little bent and he said that he was able to cut to that card 75 times while he was gone. I received another warning. Winning this match left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt awful about making my mistake (even though looking at the board would most likely have not changed the outcome of the game) and my other warning. None of these were malicious and I try to play the best game as possible. Ali was such a great player to play against, and again, I apologize for that mistake.
(post board, the discard and bridges are very dead as the game progresses)
Out: -3 thoughtseize, -3 inquisition, -3 bridge, -pyroclasm. In: extirpate, 3 leyline, seal, skite, jar, needle, claim, grudge, post
4-2, 4-1
R6 Jacob – sultai goyf visions control: I win game 1 at 1 life because he tapped out and I played a bridge. Game 2 I inquisition him, see a season’s past, and scoop a few turns later. There is no way I can fight through that with what I had. As an aside, there are many times, especially jund, when you thoughtseize them game 2 and they have the anti-your-deck hand. I concede most of the time to that because I would rather not eat up all the time for game 3. Game 3 I lose to not having a second bridge in my top 20-25 cards. I had multiple looks with stirrings and lantern + mill rocks, but did not get there. Sometimes you run bad.
Out: -1 pyroclasm, -1 surgical, -3 inquisition, -1 bell. In: +3 leyline, cage, jar, skite, post, extirpate
5-4, 4-2
R7 Jesse- merfolk: He gets me game 1 because I have no bridge again. Game 2 and 3 I get bridge down and win with thopter sword G2 and grid G3. I think you are favored in this match. I sided in leylines because hurkyls’ recall is game over, and when I opened on one game 2 my opponent made a face. After the match, he said his affinity matchup is so bad that it is not worth it to dedicate 3 SB slots to it. (foreshadowing for LA…).
Out: -1 pyxis, -jar, -3 thoughtseize, -1 bell, -1 surgical. In: +2 leyline, post, skite, extirpate, pyroclasm, claim, needle.
7-5, 5-2
R8 Logan RG tron: I haven’t played this matchup yet with all the new upgrades form Oath. I get smashed game 1. Game 2 I use lantern twice to shuffle his deck, but he reveals the top card with no lantern in play and gets 2 warning for looking at extra cards. (foreshadowing for later) I use lantern to shuffle my deck, but he starts to shuffle his and he gets his 3rd warning for the game, therefore game loss. I have a chance to win game 3! But I do not. I mull to 5 and lose a would be close game had I not drawn 5 lands in a row. I was disheartened by the loss. Tron is such a rough matchup because all of their threats are haymakers.
Out: -2 inquisition, -1 bridge, -1 decay, -pyroclasm, -1 bell. In: needle, jar, skite, grudge, post, extirpate, thoughtseize
8-7, 5-3
R9 David – jeskai thing in the ice: We discuss the outcomes of a draw. He says sudden death (damage) and I say if that person is winning. We don’t agree so we just move on. I win a long game 1 at 1 life and ask him twice to play faster. He fetched turn 1 and said, “I wonder what I am going to get” and then took a minute before a land was in play. WTF? This is round 9 of win and day 2 at a GP. You should be at the top of your game. G2 he plays meddling mage naming lantern and I don’t draw a bridge against his clique and mage. G3 was long-ish. There was a moment when I shuffle his deck with lantern as he draws a card from a hindering light, and then points at his deck. I say draw (no more lantern) and he says he said lantern and flips the top card. I call a judge (based on last round). Different judge now rules that this is just him revealing the card he drew (no penalty for showing your opponent your cards). I ask the judge to watch my opponent for slow play. I restore my lantern lock the next turn. I then see the judge on my side watching me, rather than watching my opponent. Great. There is a moment when I trading post discarding sword to gain 4 life up to 10 and he has this surprised look of “OH!” meaning he was going to burn me out, but now can’t. I have the game locked up and am burning him down with grid as we enter extra turns. He blows up my grid with tear, and then I bring it back with shredder. But I can’t get him in time. I say to him, “I would like to continue in the tournament.” The judge says I can ask my opponent to concede to me. I politely ask him, “would you like to concede to me?” and also say that I had the game locked up, but the judge says to disregard the game state. My opponent mumbles something and says no. When the judge leaves, my opponent says that he wouldn’t concede because I called a judge for that card reveal earlier, and then said something about only conceding to good (not skill, but inside good) people. I said I would have conceded to him if the roles were reversed and I walked away angry and crushed. I would and have conceded to people under the same circumstances when asked. You have to be such a vile person for me to not concede to you, and I don’t think I am or was in that match. Thnkr (and Zac if he remembers me) can attest to my character. Anyway, I got slow played and hated on in my win and day 2.
I decided to do the modern challenge on Sunday with my 5CC deck and went 3-1. I'm going to play that for a while. I've been playing lantern for a year plus and I need a break. I will definitely come back to it.
@ number002
You actually have good match ups against most of the field. The deck is already mentally taxing, and jund has a bunch of cards against you. BUT, they have to draw them, hence prioritizing the lantern combo. To paraphrase Zac Elsik, "Most of the deck's losses are to the pilot's misplays or bad luck." There are many chances to kill yourself, just don't take them. Harder to do in practice, but familiarity with the deck and the modern metagame gives you so much of an edge.
Hey Everyone!
It’s been a while since I posted or even played this deck, but there was a GPT for Charlotte on Saturday and I needed the byes. I’ve been playing this deck for a while and here’s what I played:
4 Codex Shredder
3 Ghoulcaller’s Bell
4 Lantern Of Insight
3 Pithing Needle
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Spellskite
1 Welding Jar
1 Sword Of The Meek
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Ancient Stirrings
1 Infernal Tutor
3 Inquisition Of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Pyroclasm
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
3 Mox Opal
2 Academy Ruins
1 Duskmantle, House Of Shadow
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Forest
1 Swamp
4 Glimmervoid
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Grove Of The Burnwillows
3 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
Sideboard
1 Spellskite
1 Extirpate
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Inquisition Of Kozilek
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Pyroclasm
1 Ray Of Revelation
1 Seal Of Primordium
3 Leyline Of Sanctity
1 Trading Post
1 Welding Jar
The List:
Yes it is 61. That’s what I like. There is so much opportunity and value added by a 61st card without cutting into consistency. I saw a list that I liked posted by crexalbo (#5286) and made a bunch of changes. I believe the color requirements of thopter foundry keep you from playing more than 1 without cutting into your much needed utility lands. There was discussion in the past about foundry before sword was unbanned, but it was just shy of being a card we would want. Now that we have sword, I believe it has merit, because it does pad your life total and the 1 sword is not as dead as 2 swords. In other words, a 1/1 foundry/sword split is very manageable and impactful without screwing up your entire deck. The other questionable cards in my mind are the Pyroclasm, Pyrite spellbomb, and Duskmantle, and maybe fit 1 sun droplet into the board somehow. The list is very tight, but infernal tutor does a ton of work and is recurable with shredder. Grid is amazing.
And now, a word on trading post: I know it is a pet card of mind, but it does a ton of work in your grindy-er matchups specifically jund.
The Tournament:
There were 12 of us, so somehow that meant 5 rounds with a cut to top 4. After some scouting round 1 I wrote down what everyone was playing, so there were no surprises and it informed my mulligan decisions better. I played against Jund, Lantern, Burn, Jund, Jund, Jund, and Jund. Hmmmmm…..
Round 1: Jund, Mike
This player made a lot of mistakes. I pyroclasm’d his Scavenging Ooze and Grim Lavamancer, but he doesn’t eat my Spellskite to keep ooze on the table. He even looked at it before he put it in the yard! There were a lot of other little mistakes, like the timing of when he played certain spells, but that was the glaring one. 2-0, 1-0
Round 2: Lantern Mirror
After thnkr and I caught up before the tournament started, we got to play the mirror. Everyone around us was like, “Get ready for the most boring match ever,” but we were revved up to do this. The mirror was a blast to play. There are so many cards that need to be taken care of. I established the lock early in game 1, needle his pyxis, and he concedes, and game 2 I leyline and draw well. I also grudged his only artifact on turn 2 and he lost his glimmervoid. I get the lantern combo going, and I keep him off of colored mana for a few turns before he concedes. I also chose some of these list numbers for the mirror, because of all the different names and just things he has to deal with. He has to keep a few bridges in to deal with foundry, etc, etc. I kept my lanterns in knowing he would side them out, but I didn’t have a anything else I would have brought in either. Super fun match with plenty of banter. We had 24 minutes left on the clock when we were done. I utterly destroy thnkr’s undefeated mirror record. 2-0, 2-0
Round 3: burn, (thnkr’s son) Ezra
Game 1 was grindy and eventually I win at 1 life after having to eat a few artifacts with foundry to counter his burn (great example of foundry) and I beat him down under my bridge with thopters. He burned me out game 2. Game 3 I mull to 5. There was a moment when he could have grudged my bridge and killed me, but he did not and I drew a skite a few turns later to counter it. I then draw foundry and sword and bounce back up and kill him. I had top control most of this game. 2-1, 3-0
Round 4: Jund, Mike Baller (<- really his last name.)
My buddy Mike is really good with jund and I have like a 35% lifetime constructed win percentage against him. His list is varied with his artifact destruction, and I did not draw well either game and get crushed. Also, the Spellskite vs Kolaghan’s command thing comes up. Since command is a modal spell and not electrolyze, if they 2 damage Spellskite and shatter a bridge, Skite can still redirect. 0-2, 3-1
Round 5: Jund, David
Game 1 I IOK him T2 and take his Kolaghan’s command and pithing needle his 2 mires in hand, but he lucksacks and draw 3 shocks in a row. The game goes quickly. So quick that he abrupt decays my bridge with 2 goyfs out, and I concede before I even look at the welding jar in play. (thnkr shakes his head in disbelief next to me and asks why. I say that I am an idiot, and we all move on) Game 2 I get him with grid, and game 3 he gets a really good draw and gets me. I make top 4 because my breakers are my last 2 opponents and thnkr. 1-2, 3-2
T4: (2 lantern v jund matches. I ask the judge if he took a nap, and if not, he can take one now.) Jund, Mike Baller, again.
I drew well both games and I got him. The really interesting part in game 2 was that we both knew he had 1 grudge left in his deck that can blow up the bridge and win him the game. He had 12 cards left and I only had 4 mill rocks, so I could not mill him closer to his out, and it would give me time to find a skite/jar. When he had 8 cards left in his library, I mill 4, untap mill 4, he loses to draw step. In the background, thnkr is trying to beat David so he can concede to me in the finals, alas, it does not happen.
I ask David if he wants the store credit and I get the byes. He replays my snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in his head, and after careful consideration and his uncertainty of attending the GP, I get the byes! I wish I had a little more to offer on descriptions, but I worked all night before the tournament, and only slept for 4 hours before it started.
Notes specifically on the jund match up:
Jund is our hardest matchup. But in reality it is closer to 50/50. It is a tight attrition battle, so any mulligans or even faithless looting can decrease your chances. Bob is important because it gives them extra chances to draw their outs and draw more resources. But, even though it may feel like they end of the world when they play a bob, it's not. Oh it's bad, but definitely recoverable. Grid also helps against bobs. When making mulligan decisions, prioritize the lantern combo. It allows you to preemptively mill their artifact hate, and dig you to a bridge. The more 3’s they are running, the easier to surgical. Thopter sword is also something they have to respect, so they may even side in curse of death’s hold against you which is a do nothing card that kills their bobs and lavamancers. There is some question of whether or not to board in cage vs 1 grudge, but if I see 2 I would definitely bring it in. -1 IOK, -3 Thoughtseize, -2 Bell, -1 pyroclasm; + 1 trading post (excellent top deck), +1 Skite, +1 Jar, +3 Leylines, +1 extirpate. I board down to 2 IOK’s because they are dead topdecks in the late game.
I appreciate any comments, questions, or suggestions to my list or report.
Hey everyone! I had a great (but unlucky) time at the gp with shadowgripper and Thnkr. Glad those last minute jars worked out! Played the rg tron matchup today, and it's always dicey. I can't seem to get the needle at the right time, which is why I added a thoughtseize to the board. I know that you don't really care about them getting tron and just need to needle their threats, but with the rise of tron and lantern, we need to adjust the sideboard a little more.
What are some sideboard plans? They haven't really been discussed
I would also appreciate new players to this deck to read the thread before posting. If you are serious about the deck, please respect the thread and do a search before suggesting artificers intuition again. I read it before I posted, and it was invaluable to my thought process.
I know it was touched on, but what about Stoic Rebuttal in the sb? Especially against tron or control? Most of the time we can get away with a card in hand in these matchups. You can also recur it with Codex shredder. Tron usually just has heymakers we need to stop without bridge, and we can't needle everything. Thoughts?
@ zerodown: "By looking at it I get a little skeptical with 10 1-ofs and 9 colorless lands(I run 4 only), but you must be doing something right obviosuly"
I like 1 of's. It fits my play style. Also the GQ can get your basics in conjunction with citadel. And in my new version, opal gets turned on easier with baubles. I'm still unsure about drownyard, and might go back to 3 GQ instead of 2. Or try fetches. Baubles seem to be making my deck better: Midgame, empty hand, need some gas to fight what's left of their hand, which led me to salvagers. Salvagers might be too cute, but post is the real deal.
Skite takes care of late grudge mill. Thoughts?
Heeeey you guys! I got 2nd in the SCG IQ yesterday. 27 people. 5 rounds, cut to T8. It was grueling and wonderful at the same time. Grueling because of the time and struggles; wonderful because of people having to read my cards, not know what my deck did, say my deck was garbage, and then have to sit there and lose. It was even called “Scrap” at one time which I liked. (Secret CRAP)
Preface: (list posted in such a way to convey different areas of the deck)
MikeMaz’s Fateseal Scrap
4 Lantern of Insight
4 Codex Shredder
2 Ghoulcaller's Bell
1 Pyxis of Pandemonium
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Mox Opal
2 Academy Ruins
4 Glimmervoid
2 City of Brass
3 Darksteel Citadel
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Nephalia Drownyard
Sideboard:
1 Welding Jar
1 Dispatch
1 Extirpate
1 Nature's Claim
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Boros Charm
1 Pyroclasm
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Spellskite
2 Sun Droplet
1 Beast Within
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Slaughter Games
The differences from my previous list is moving Tezz into the main and adding Trading Post. Tezz is an obvious move because he ends the game so quickly and he can be discarded to faithless (+1 Droplet in board). But for Trading Post, I am going to strongly defend myself due to its high cost. Post has so many abilities, and you can use/want them at different times. I have pitched to gain 4 life, to offset burn or infernal (demonic) tutor; made goats to sac to post, block, draw out removal; sac’d artifacts to draw cards (citadel loop with goats!); get back artifacts at the end of the turn; and protect multiple bridges from pulse by sacing the targeted one. The abilities all cost 1, which is extremely doable. Faithless helps as well when you can’t cast/need something else. I also discussed Jace Beleren, and found that post was better. It is also a planeswalker that can’t be attacked.
I would also like to take the time to discuss the Spellskite VS discard. I haven’t really seen this debated here yet. Most people that run the discard package are running about 6 discard spells. I run 3 with 3 Spellskite. I feel that Spellskite is INSANE! It is a proactive or delayed discard (however you want to view it). It saves bridge, owns twin and bogles, blocks, and can be recurred with ruins/post. I only sided in the 4th against those matchups, but 3 is the perfect number. I obviously have been very impressed by it. This is definitely something that everyone should test to make super sure they don’t want it. even with only moxes and Glimmervoids as blue sources, I’m sure almost all would pay 2 life to protect a bridge. I mostly paid the life because I had other things to do with the mana.
Other minor changes include adding a Pyxis in place of a bell for testing purposes. I also cut Trinket Mages and Liliana of the Veil and therefore changed the manabase a little. I took out the island, added a mountain and GQ because I was mulliganing due to land issues, and swapped cities for confluence because they work better with sb droplet. I have been discussing offline with another guy (hey Sjaak!) and Courser came up, so I wanted to test it. I am unsure about Liliana, but ultimately felt that she didn’t do enough and was hard to cast. She might make it into the board.
Report:
Background on Sideboarding: I usually don’t have a super plan with specific matches. I just shuffle my 15 in and take 13-15 out. I like the utility of cards (obviously based on so many 1 of’s), so I often end up having a larger deck than I started with. I understand if people are critical on this aspect, but it works for me. Do what works for you. I also didn’t take SB notes until later.
R1: John on UR Storm. G1: I start to establish lock him up, but he has nearly a full grip with a grapeshot. He plays an early ascension, but I topdeck Nihil Spellbomb or get it with tutor, and exile his GY. I start recuing it with ruins/post. I also topdeck a pyxis the the turn before he tries to go off. At that point, I have 2 spellskites which he was super afraid of for some reason. He then goes off and grapeshots a skite for 4 and me for 3, so I save the skite and take 5. I also pyxis a past in flames on top of his deck his combo turn. He concedes a few turns later. G2: He fetches a fountain t2 and I am slightly scared (it could be anything, even a boat!) and he plays meddling mage naming skite (he also boarded in wear/tear). I then drop lantern and shredder and start trying to lock him out. I also boarded out 3 bridges. I am struggling and I think I’m going to die to this mage. Turn 4/5, he plays tormenting voice and draws 3 cards instead of 2. I call him on it, and he realizes what he did. He then concedes without calling a judge, claiming stress. I don’t fight him on it.
R2: Ryan with Azban. G1: I try to get the combo going and he keeps dropping dudes. I play bridge but don’t have a skite or duress for backup. He pulses it and the game ends. He did draw very well against me. G2: Long game back and forth. There was Tasigur and other shenanigans. I get the lock going through a Tasigur’d leyline of sanctity. I mill him out many, many turns later after bridge with skite backup. I knew he was holding a decay, but he didn’t have an opportune time to play it. G3: I messed up my t2 play. I had opal and citadel t1. T2 I was supposed to GQ the citadel (like a fetch!) and get a forest to stirrings a 1cc art to turn on opal and then faithless, but I fetched for mountain like an idiot. I dispatch his goyf and then we go into extra turns and draw. I remind myself after to slow down.
R3: Mike with Azban. G1: I lock him up pretty quick and his hand was not helpful. G2: We have more back and forth and then he lands lili with some small pressure. I have no hand for her to eat. I end up blasting her when she is at 6, and play a skite which she eats. I finally find pithing needle to lock her out and proceed to win. -1 loot, blast, bell, pyrite, thoughtseize, duress, surgical +1 needle, ray, beast within, dispatch, jar, claim, extirpate, courser.
R4: Good Guy Kevin with Grixis control with MD Blood moon. I finally have a relaxing match against someone I know, and fun is had by all, if you average it out. I took all of his fun this match. G1: I start getting the lock going and then drop a tezz to beat him down with an indestructible citadel. Really short 7 minute game. G2: He plays T3 Blood Moon. I play courser off of Forest and mox (citadel is still an artifact under moon) and he proceeds to eat snapcasters and bolts while getting recur’d by shredder all the while gaining me life and lands. He is locked under his moon with only a basic island for blue. I mill his basic swamp and any other basics that can help him. He concedes. I was holding ray the entire time without any need to kill moon. -2 bridge, -1 bell, -1 looting, - thoughtseize; +claim, extirpate, jar, courser, ray, beast within.
R5: Josh with Grixis twin. So far 3-0-1 matches (7-1-1 games) therefore ID. As a side note, my matches were usually done with 15 min to spare except for R2. 3 games may be squeaking by on time, so it is important you develop a pattern to your play so you don’t miss things/mills.
T8R1: Josh with Grixis twin with multiple Kolaghan’s command. (that card is awesome). Game 1 and 2 look super bad for me, but then his hand is exhausted and I drop a bridge he can’t answer. I mill him out both games. In I think game 2, he has the twin combo out, but can’t get thru bridge. –pyx, -2 loot, -1 blast, -2 stirrings, -1 bell, - pyrite; + extirpate, claim, beast within, courser, jar, skite, dispatch, ray, needle.
T8R2: Marius with UR twin. 2 long drawn out games. I mill him out both games. I extirpate his spliner twins game 2 and then mill his solutions with my 1 shredder. Post gained me life. He also forgot to attack me with a clique. I end G2 at 3, but I had post so I could have gained life if needed.
Finals: Mike with jund. (I lent him the deck). G1: I had 2 faithless looting in my opener and drew a 3rd, and the card disadvantage was too much. G2: I mull to 4 and he drew the hotness with his Bobs. I won $75 store credit and $25 cash from Mike (10% lender fee) and the affirmation that I am a good magic player. I really needed that (5-1-2 matches, 11-2-1 games). And then I went and bought 17 foil codex shredders on starcity, because I know the list will get posted. It is also a strong candidate for the daily digest. I will try to write an article if it does.
Other notes: surgical didn’t do much, I might cut it. Courser slightly overperformed; I’m going to keep him for now. I am unsure of Slaughter Games due to casting cost and not really needing extraction effects. I might try 1 Leyline of Sanctity or Witchbane orb or Liliana. The Boros Charm is also suspect due to needing it in your hand. I might try Slobad. I feel that pyxis and nihil spellbomb are enough for exiling, and it hasn’t come up much the last 2 tournaments. I missed the island only once, but I drew a rainbow source a turn later.
I am still searching for a draw engine and I think I finally found it this morning. I woke up and my first thought was “Auriok Salvagers!” These go well with baubles and recurring lock pieces and hide behind skite well, so I am going to try -2 faithless, -1 surgical +2 bauble, +1 salvagers (possibly -1 GQ +1 Bauble). I want to keep a faithless just in case. I am also aware now that I am running 3 4cc things in this deck, but the baubles should help. It also might make the jund matchup better. I strongly suggest other Xerox oriented fellows try it out. Another thing I want to try out is the gifts board package of reanimating an Elesh or Iona. I also don’t know how to fix the jund matchup. It is super difficult. Azban is waaay easier.
I finally finished reading this entire thread, and it was very helpful. I recommend others skim it. Thank you all for your help, hopefully more to come.
It's been a while since I posted, but I went to SCG Baltimore a few weeks back with thnkr both on lantern.
Highlights:
snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by needlessly activating wreckage against r1g1 infect with 2 lands in a row, with the other misplays not as vivid. As the saying goes, we only lose to ourselves.
We tested MD Leylines the week before and were trying to keep it under wraps but though they felt awesome, right now is not the meta. Wait until burn and jund are on top.
Thnkr scrambled for Cranes at the event, but people just gave them to me for nothing. Cranes were great, but this is a testament to multiple people playtesting ideas, rather than one person saying it's good. If you have an idea, test it and try to convince one other person to try. Not everyone, just a few, and be detailed about it.
Played thnkr in the Mirror again. Won. No big deal.
Notes on Tron matchup: this is something that I've tested a lot, and thought I can break it down better. The matchup goes one of two plans.
1. Keep them off tron and mill all their lands. Usually a GQ or surgical is involved, and all you have to do is mill their lands. You try to mill or surgical sphere, and needle O-Stone and map while keeping all their stirrings and lands from being drawn. With bridge out, you can have them at 6 mana and they're just drawing Karn after Ugin after World Breaker after Ulamog with not enough mana to play any. I blind milled a tron piece and surgicaled it many times over the weekend. Crucible helps too.
2. They get tron, but you go after their win cons. This is much harder to do because they cycle through their deck so fast and World Breaker is a game breaker. It is doable, but very precarious.
Deck notes:
My list is below. I'm on the 7 colorless lands camp. 2 fair, 2 ruins, 2 GQ, 1 wreckage. Vs jund Wreckage keeps up with their attrition and is good vs the mirror. Might test without it and see how it goes. I cut the thopter/ sword because cranes and fair cover those bases better and are more versatile. I went for my discard split because thoughtseize grabs anything and fairs and cranes pad your life total pretty well. I prefer 1 mana discard to brutality, but I realize brutality is great in this meta. Mana base is smooth. I don't like too many fast lands because they usually come into play tapped on the crucial hand emptying bridge turn. I also don't like 4 opals because I've drawn too many redundant opals in games. It's also 61 cards to make room for everything main and board. The 3rd skite and 3rd brutality are meta choices.
I find that if you don't have leyline in your opener, then it's an orb later, so leyline it is. I might try 1 orb in the board. I also side them in vs merfolk against hurkyl's recall. Crucible is great for longer games: jund, tron, control, mirror, etc. Trying it out in place of the usual trading post. Results are about the same, except crucible costs less but does a little less and more at the same time. Might try golgari charm in place of a pyroclasm. And I obviously support boarding out discard (you can keep a brutality or 2 if you want) vs jund. I have played and won against jund so many times that I am not fearful of the match. But without thopter sword and infernal tutor, I will go back to testing.
I apologize for the formatting. Great trip Thnkr!!
MikeMaz's deck
Creatures
2 Glint-Nest Crane
3 Spellskite
Instants
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Surgical Extraction
Sorceries
4 Ancient Stirrings
3 Collective Brutality
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
Artifacts
4 Codex Shredder
4 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Ghoulcaller's Bell
4 Lantern of Insight
3 Mox Opal
3 Pithing Needle
1 Pyxis of Pandemonium
Lands
2 Academy Ruins
1 Aether Hub
1 Mana Confluence
2 Blooming Marsh
1 Darkslick Shores
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Glimmervoid
2 Inventors' Fair
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Forest
Sideboard
2 Welding Jar
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Pyroclasm
1 Extirpate
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Quiet Disrepair
1 Seal of Primordium
3 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Codex Shredder
3 Ghoulcaller’s Bell
4 Lantern Of Insight
3 Pithing Needle
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Spellskite
1 Welding Jar
1 Sword Of The Meek
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Ancient Stirrings
1 Infernal Tutor
3 Inquisition Of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Pyroclasm
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
3 Mox Opal
2 Academy Ruins
1 Duskmantle, House Of Shadow
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Forest
1 Swamp
4 Glimmervoid
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Grove Of The Burnwillows
3 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
Sideboard
1 Spellskite
1 Extirpate
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Inquisition Of Kozilek
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Pyroclasm
1 Ray Of Revelation
1 Seal Of Primordium
3 Leyline Of Sanctity
1 Trading Post
1 Welding Jar
cut Pyrite for pyxis, which let me cut duskmantle for 2nd sea gate. also changed sb inquisition into thoughtseize.
Night before: modern challenge. I lost my notes, but I went 3-0-id. I rember beating jund and hate bears.
I had 2 byes in the main event. Day 1:
R3 Dave - RG Scapeshift with prismatic omen: Both games I milled a valakut and surgical it and then topdecked a ghost quarter to hit his last valakut. Game 2 was interesting because he had valakut and a way to get more mountains, but he ran out of mountains. There was a moment in game 1 when I could have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory: I surgical’d his valakuts during his draw step when I should have done it on my turn when he was tapped out rather than risk him having through the breach + prime time, but that didn’t happen. Moral: don’t autopoilot.
Out -2 inquisition -2 needle, -2 bell, -1 Pyroclasm. In: extirpate, seal, leyline x2, ray, skite, thoughtseize, jar
2-0, 3-0 (games, matches)
R4 Chris - Infect: He murdered me quickly both games. I mulled to 5 game 1, and should have mulliganed game 2. This matchup is extremely difficult. You have a hard time dumping your hand, and they can swing under the bridge and kill you. And kill your SB skites with twisted image. Does anyone have any tech for this? Night of souls’ betrayal? We played a few more games after and I did not win any.
Out: -2 surgical, -2 bell, -1 needle, -1 pyxis In: seal, skite, pyroclasm, jar, thoughtseize, claim, grudge?
2-2, 3-1
R5 Ali Aintrazi – Stock Lantern: He said he has not played the mirror; my response was that it was pretty fun. There are so many things to think about and jockey for position on in this matchup. Both games were pretty one sided. My deck and draws matched but better than his. I establish an early lantern lock, we fight a little over his mill rocks, and I overwhelm him. He saw the thopter/sword, so he had to keep bridges in. Game two was the same. I had the game locked up, except I made a mistake. He needled my trading post, and then I activated it to sac a mox and draw and play a land. We did not catch it until a turn cycle later. We call a judge, we both get warnings. I apologize to Ali. I destroy his needle a turn later and he scoops. Then the judge asks to see my deck, and returns a few minutes later with another warning from me because one of my foil bells was a little bent and he said that he was able to cut to that card 75 times while he was gone. I received another warning. Winning this match left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt awful about making my mistake (even though looking at the board would most likely have not changed the outcome of the game) and my other warning. None of these were malicious and I try to play the best game as possible. Ali was such a great player to play against, and again, I apologize for that mistake.
(post board, the discard and bridges are very dead as the game progresses)
Out: -3 thoughtseize, -3 inquisition, -3 bridge, -pyroclasm. In: extirpate, 3 leyline, seal, skite, jar, needle, claim, grudge, post
4-2, 4-1
R6 Jacob – sultai goyf visions control: I win game 1 at 1 life because he tapped out and I played a bridge. Game 2 I inquisition him, see a season’s past, and scoop a few turns later. There is no way I can fight through that with what I had. As an aside, there are many times, especially jund, when you thoughtseize them game 2 and they have the anti-your-deck hand. I concede most of the time to that because I would rather not eat up all the time for game 3. Game 3 I lose to not having a second bridge in my top 20-25 cards. I had multiple looks with stirrings and lantern + mill rocks, but did not get there. Sometimes you run bad.
Out: -1 pyroclasm, -1 surgical, -3 inquisition, -1 bell. In: +3 leyline, cage, jar, skite, post, extirpate
5-4, 4-2
R7 Jesse- merfolk: He gets me game 1 because I have no bridge again. Game 2 and 3 I get bridge down and win with thopter sword G2 and grid G3. I think you are favored in this match. I sided in leylines because hurkyls’ recall is game over, and when I opened on one game 2 my opponent made a face. After the match, he said his affinity matchup is so bad that it is not worth it to dedicate 3 SB slots to it. (foreshadowing for LA…).
Out: -1 pyxis, -jar, -3 thoughtseize, -1 bell, -1 surgical. In: +2 leyline, post, skite, extirpate, pyroclasm, claim, needle.
7-5, 5-2
R8 Logan RG tron: I haven’t played this matchup yet with all the new upgrades form Oath. I get smashed game 1. Game 2 I use lantern twice to shuffle his deck, but he reveals the top card with no lantern in play and gets 2 warning for looking at extra cards. (foreshadowing for later) I use lantern to shuffle my deck, but he starts to shuffle his and he gets his 3rd warning for the game, therefore game loss. I have a chance to win game 3! But I do not. I mull to 5 and lose a would be close game had I not drawn 5 lands in a row. I was disheartened by the loss. Tron is such a rough matchup because all of their threats are haymakers.
Out: -2 inquisition, -1 bridge, -1 decay, -pyroclasm, -1 bell. In: needle, jar, skite, grudge, post, extirpate, thoughtseize
8-7, 5-3
R9 David – jeskai thing in the ice: We discuss the outcomes of a draw. He says sudden death (damage) and I say if that person is winning. We don’t agree so we just move on. I win a long game 1 at 1 life and ask him twice to play faster. He fetched turn 1 and said, “I wonder what I am going to get” and then took a minute before a land was in play. WTF? This is round 9 of win and day 2 at a GP. You should be at the top of your game. G2 he plays meddling mage naming lantern and I don’t draw a bridge against his clique and mage. G3 was long-ish. There was a moment when I shuffle his deck with lantern as he draws a card from a hindering light, and then points at his deck. I say draw (no more lantern) and he says he said lantern and flips the top card. I call a judge (based on last round). Different judge now rules that this is just him revealing the card he drew (no penalty for showing your opponent your cards). I ask the judge to watch my opponent for slow play. I restore my lantern lock the next turn. I then see the judge on my side watching me, rather than watching my opponent. Great. There is a moment when I trading post discarding sword to gain 4 life up to 10 and he has this surprised look of “OH!” meaning he was going to burn me out, but now can’t. I have the game locked up and am burning him down with grid as we enter extra turns. He blows up my grid with tear, and then I bring it back with shredder. But I can’t get him in time. I say to him, “I would like to continue in the tournament.” The judge says I can ask my opponent to concede to me. I politely ask him, “would you like to concede to me?” and also say that I had the game locked up, but the judge says to disregard the game state. My opponent mumbles something and says no. When the judge leaves, my opponent says that he wouldn’t concede because I called a judge for that card reveal earlier, and then said something about only conceding to good (not skill, but inside good) people. I said I would have conceded to him if the roles were reversed and I walked away angry and crushed. I would and have conceded to people under the same circumstances when asked. You have to be such a vile person for me to not concede to you, and I don’t think I am or was in that match. Thnkr (and Zac if he remembers me) can attest to my character. Anyway, I got slow played and hated on in my win and day 2.
I decided to do the modern challenge on Sunday with my 5CC deck and went 3-1. I'm going to play that for a while. I've been playing lantern for a year plus and I need a break. I will definitely come back to it.
You actually have good match ups against most of the field. The deck is already mentally taxing, and jund has a bunch of cards against you. BUT, they have to draw them, hence prioritizing the lantern combo. To paraphrase Zac Elsik, "Most of the deck's losses are to the pilot's misplays or bad luck." There are many chances to kill yourself, just don't take them. Harder to do in practice, but familiarity with the deck and the modern metagame gives you so much of an edge.
It’s been a while since I posted or even played this deck, but there was a GPT for Charlotte on Saturday and I needed the byes. I’ve been playing this deck for a while and here’s what I played:
4 Codex Shredder
3 Ghoulcaller’s Bell
4 Lantern Of Insight
3 Pithing Needle
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Spellskite
1 Welding Jar
1 Sword Of The Meek
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Ancient Stirrings
1 Infernal Tutor
3 Inquisition Of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Pyroclasm
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
3 Mox Opal
2 Academy Ruins
1 Duskmantle, House Of Shadow
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Forest
1 Swamp
4 Glimmervoid
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Grove Of The Burnwillows
3 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
Sideboard
1 Spellskite
1 Extirpate
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Inquisition Of Kozilek
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Pyroclasm
1 Ray Of Revelation
1 Seal Of Primordium
3 Leyline Of Sanctity
1 Trading Post
1 Welding Jar
The List:
Yes it is 61. That’s what I like. There is so much opportunity and value added by a 61st card without cutting into consistency. I saw a list that I liked posted by crexalbo (#5286) and made a bunch of changes. I believe the color requirements of thopter foundry keep you from playing more than 1 without cutting into your much needed utility lands. There was discussion in the past about foundry before sword was unbanned, but it was just shy of being a card we would want. Now that we have sword, I believe it has merit, because it does pad your life total and the 1 sword is not as dead as 2 swords. In other words, a 1/1 foundry/sword split is very manageable and impactful without screwing up your entire deck. The other questionable cards in my mind are the Pyroclasm, Pyrite spellbomb, and Duskmantle, and maybe fit 1 sun droplet into the board somehow. The list is very tight, but infernal tutor does a ton of work and is recurable with shredder. Grid is amazing.
And now, a word on trading post: I know it is a pet card of mind, but it does a ton of work in your grindy-er matchups specifically jund.
The Tournament:
There were 12 of us, so somehow that meant 5 rounds with a cut to top 4. After some scouting round 1 I wrote down what everyone was playing, so there were no surprises and it informed my mulligan decisions better. I played against Jund, Lantern, Burn, Jund, Jund, Jund, and Jund. Hmmmmm…..
Round 1: Jund, Mike
This player made a lot of mistakes. I pyroclasm’d his Scavenging Ooze and Grim Lavamancer, but he doesn’t eat my Spellskite to keep ooze on the table. He even looked at it before he put it in the yard! There were a lot of other little mistakes, like the timing of when he played certain spells, but that was the glaring one. 2-0, 1-0
Round 2: Lantern Mirror
After thnkr and I caught up before the tournament started, we got to play the mirror. Everyone around us was like, “Get ready for the most boring match ever,” but we were revved up to do this. The mirror was a blast to play. There are so many cards that need to be taken care of. I established the lock early in game 1, needle his pyxis, and he concedes, and game 2 I leyline and draw well. I also grudged his only artifact on turn 2 and he lost his glimmervoid. I get the lantern combo going, and I keep him off of colored mana for a few turns before he concedes. I also chose some of these list numbers for the mirror, because of all the different names and just things he has to deal with. He has to keep a few bridges in to deal with foundry, etc, etc. I kept my lanterns in knowing he would side them out, but I didn’t have a anything else I would have brought in either. Super fun match with plenty of banter. We had 24 minutes left on the clock when we were done. I utterly destroy thnkr’s undefeated mirror record. 2-0, 2-0
Round 3: burn, (thnkr’s son) Ezra
Game 1 was grindy and eventually I win at 1 life after having to eat a few artifacts with foundry to counter his burn (great example of foundry) and I beat him down under my bridge with thopters. He burned me out game 2. Game 3 I mull to 5. There was a moment when he could have grudged my bridge and killed me, but he did not and I drew a skite a few turns later to counter it. I then draw foundry and sword and bounce back up and kill him. I had top control most of this game. 2-1, 3-0
Round 4: Jund, Mike Baller (<- really his last name.)
My buddy Mike is really good with jund and I have like a 35% lifetime constructed win percentage against him. His list is varied with his artifact destruction, and I did not draw well either game and get crushed. Also, the Spellskite vs Kolaghan’s command thing comes up. Since command is a modal spell and not electrolyze, if they 2 damage Spellskite and shatter a bridge, Skite can still redirect. 0-2, 3-1
Round 5: Jund, David
Game 1 I IOK him T2 and take his Kolaghan’s command and pithing needle his 2 mires in hand, but he lucksacks and draw 3 shocks in a row. The game goes quickly. So quick that he abrupt decays my bridge with 2 goyfs out, and I concede before I even look at the welding jar in play. (thnkr shakes his head in disbelief next to me and asks why. I say that I am an idiot, and we all move on) Game 2 I get him with grid, and game 3 he gets a really good draw and gets me. I make top 4 because my breakers are my last 2 opponents and thnkr. 1-2, 3-2
T4: (2 lantern v jund matches. I ask the judge if he took a nap, and if not, he can take one now.) Jund, Mike Baller, again.
I drew well both games and I got him. The really interesting part in game 2 was that we both knew he had 1 grudge left in his deck that can blow up the bridge and win him the game. He had 12 cards left and I only had 4 mill rocks, so I could not mill him closer to his out, and it would give me time to find a skite/jar. When he had 8 cards left in his library, I mill 4, untap mill 4, he loses to draw step. In the background, thnkr is trying to beat David so he can concede to me in the finals, alas, it does not happen.
I ask David if he wants the store credit and I get the byes. He replays my snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in his head, and after careful consideration and his uncertainty of attending the GP, I get the byes! I wish I had a little more to offer on descriptions, but I worked all night before the tournament, and only slept for 4 hours before it started.
Notes specifically on the jund match up:
Jund is our hardest matchup. But in reality it is closer to 50/50. It is a tight attrition battle, so any mulligans or even faithless looting can decrease your chances. Bob is important because it gives them extra chances to draw their outs and draw more resources. But, even though it may feel like they end of the world when they play a bob, it's not. Oh it's bad, but definitely recoverable. Grid also helps against bobs. When making mulligan decisions, prioritize the lantern combo. It allows you to preemptively mill their artifact hate, and dig you to a bridge. The more 3’s they are running, the easier to surgical. Thopter sword is also something they have to respect, so they may even side in curse of death’s hold against you which is a do nothing card that kills their bobs and lavamancers. There is some question of whether or not to board in cage vs 1 grudge, but if I see 2 I would definitely bring it in. -1 IOK, -3 Thoughtseize, -2 Bell, -1 pyroclasm; + 1 trading post (excellent top deck), +1 Skite, +1 Jar, +3 Leylines, +1 extirpate. I board down to 2 IOK’s because they are dead topdecks in the late game.
I appreciate any comments, questions, or suggestions to my list or report.
What are some sideboard plans? They haven't really been discussed
I would also appreciate new players to this deck to read the thread before posting. If you are serious about the deck, please respect the thread and do a search before suggesting artificers intuition again. I read it before I posted, and it was invaluable to my thought process.
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I like 1 of's. It fits my play style. Also the GQ can get your basics in conjunction with citadel. And in my new version, opal gets turned on easier with baubles. I'm still unsure about drownyard, and might go back to 3 GQ instead of 2. Or try fetches. Baubles seem to be making my deck better: Midgame, empty hand, need some gas to fight what's left of their hand, which led me to salvagers. Salvagers might be too cute, but post is the real deal.
Skite takes care of late grudge mill. Thoughts?
Preface: (list posted in such a way to convey different areas of the deck)
MikeMaz’s Fateseal Scrap
4 Lantern of Insight
4 Codex Shredder
2 Ghoulcaller's Bell
1 Pyxis of Pandemonium
4 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Spellskite
1 Thoughtseize
1 Duress
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Pithing Needle
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Surgical Extraction
3 Galvanic Blast
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Ancient Stirrings
3 Faithless Looting
1 Infernal Tutor
1 Trading Post
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4 Mox Opal
2 Academy Ruins
4 Glimmervoid
2 City of Brass
3 Darksteel Citadel
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Nephalia Drownyard
Sideboard:
1 Welding Jar
1 Dispatch
1 Extirpate
1 Nature's Claim
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Boros Charm
1 Pyroclasm
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Spellskite
2 Sun Droplet
1 Beast Within
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Slaughter Games
The differences from my previous list is moving Tezz into the main and adding Trading Post. Tezz is an obvious move because he ends the game so quickly and he can be discarded to faithless (+1 Droplet in board). But for Trading Post, I am going to strongly defend myself due to its high cost. Post has so many abilities, and you can use/want them at different times. I have pitched to gain 4 life, to offset burn or infernal (demonic) tutor; made goats to sac to post, block, draw out removal; sac’d artifacts to draw cards (citadel loop with goats!); get back artifacts at the end of the turn; and protect multiple bridges from pulse by sacing the targeted one. The abilities all cost 1, which is extremely doable. Faithless helps as well when you can’t cast/need something else. I also discussed Jace Beleren, and found that post was better. It is also a planeswalker that can’t be attacked.
I would also like to take the time to discuss the Spellskite VS discard. I haven’t really seen this debated here yet. Most people that run the discard package are running about 6 discard spells. I run 3 with 3 Spellskite. I feel that Spellskite is INSANE! It is a proactive or delayed discard (however you want to view it). It saves bridge, owns twin and bogles, blocks, and can be recurred with ruins/post. I only sided in the 4th against those matchups, but 3 is the perfect number. I obviously have been very impressed by it. This is definitely something that everyone should test to make super sure they don’t want it. even with only moxes and Glimmervoids as blue sources, I’m sure almost all would pay 2 life to protect a bridge. I mostly paid the life because I had other things to do with the mana.
Other minor changes include adding a Pyxis in place of a bell for testing purposes. I also cut Trinket Mages and Liliana of the Veil and therefore changed the manabase a little. I took out the island, added a mountain and GQ because I was mulliganing due to land issues, and swapped cities for confluence because they work better with sb droplet. I have been discussing offline with another guy (hey Sjaak!) and Courser came up, so I wanted to test it. I am unsure about Liliana, but ultimately felt that she didn’t do enough and was hard to cast. She might make it into the board.
Report:
Background on Sideboarding: I usually don’t have a super plan with specific matches. I just shuffle my 15 in and take 13-15 out. I like the utility of cards (obviously based on so many 1 of’s), so I often end up having a larger deck than I started with. I understand if people are critical on this aspect, but it works for me. Do what works for you. I also didn’t take SB notes until later.
R1: John on UR Storm. G1: I start to establish lock him up, but he has nearly a full grip with a grapeshot. He plays an early ascension, but I topdeck Nihil Spellbomb or get it with tutor, and exile his GY. I start recuing it with ruins/post. I also topdeck a pyxis the the turn before he tries to go off. At that point, I have 2 spellskites which he was super afraid of for some reason. He then goes off and grapeshots a skite for 4 and me for 3, so I save the skite and take 5. I also pyxis a past in flames on top of his deck his combo turn. He concedes a few turns later. G2: He fetches a fountain t2 and I am slightly scared (it could be anything, even a boat!) and he plays meddling mage naming skite (he also boarded in wear/tear). I then drop lantern and shredder and start trying to lock him out. I also boarded out 3 bridges. I am struggling and I think I’m going to die to this mage. Turn 4/5, he plays tormenting voice and draws 3 cards instead of 2. I call him on it, and he realizes what he did. He then concedes without calling a judge, claiming stress. I don’t fight him on it.
R2: Ryan with Azban. G1: I try to get the combo going and he keeps dropping dudes. I play bridge but don’t have a skite or duress for backup. He pulses it and the game ends. He did draw very well against me. G2: Long game back and forth. There was Tasigur and other shenanigans. I get the lock going through a Tasigur’d leyline of sanctity. I mill him out many, many turns later after bridge with skite backup. I knew he was holding a decay, but he didn’t have an opportune time to play it. G3: I messed up my t2 play. I had opal and citadel t1. T2 I was supposed to GQ the citadel (like a fetch!) and get a forest to stirrings a 1cc art to turn on opal and then faithless, but I fetched for mountain like an idiot. I dispatch his goyf and then we go into extra turns and draw. I remind myself after to slow down.
R3: Mike with Azban. G1: I lock him up pretty quick and his hand was not helpful. G2: We have more back and forth and then he lands lili with some small pressure. I have no hand for her to eat. I end up blasting her when she is at 6, and play a skite which she eats. I finally find pithing needle to lock her out and proceed to win. -1 loot, blast, bell, pyrite, thoughtseize, duress, surgical +1 needle, ray, beast within, dispatch, jar, claim, extirpate, courser.
R4: Good Guy Kevin with Grixis control with MD Blood moon. I finally have a relaxing match against someone I know, and fun is had by all, if you average it out. I took all of his fun this match. G1: I start getting the lock going and then drop a tezz to beat him down with an indestructible citadel. Really short 7 minute game. G2: He plays T3 Blood Moon. I play courser off of Forest and mox (citadel is still an artifact under moon) and he proceeds to eat snapcasters and bolts while getting recur’d by shredder all the while gaining me life and lands. He is locked under his moon with only a basic island for blue. I mill his basic swamp and any other basics that can help him. He concedes. I was holding ray the entire time without any need to kill moon. -2 bridge, -1 bell, -1 looting, - thoughtseize; +claim, extirpate, jar, courser, ray, beast within.
R5: Josh with Grixis twin. So far 3-0-1 matches (7-1-1 games) therefore ID. As a side note, my matches were usually done with 15 min to spare except for R2. 3 games may be squeaking by on time, so it is important you develop a pattern to your play so you don’t miss things/mills.
T8R1: Josh with Grixis twin with multiple Kolaghan’s command. (that card is awesome). Game 1 and 2 look super bad for me, but then his hand is exhausted and I drop a bridge he can’t answer. I mill him out both games. In I think game 2, he has the twin combo out, but can’t get thru bridge. –pyx, -2 loot, -1 blast, -2 stirrings, -1 bell, - pyrite; + extirpate, claim, beast within, courser, jar, skite, dispatch, ray, needle.
T8R2: Marius with UR twin. 2 long drawn out games. I mill him out both games. I extirpate his spliner twins game 2 and then mill his solutions with my 1 shredder. Post gained me life. He also forgot to attack me with a clique. I end G2 at 3, but I had post so I could have gained life if needed.
Finals: Mike with jund. (I lent him the deck). G1: I had 2 faithless looting in my opener and drew a 3rd, and the card disadvantage was too much. G2: I mull to 4 and he drew the hotness with his Bobs. I won $75 store credit and $25 cash from Mike (10% lender fee) and the affirmation that I am a good magic player. I really needed that (5-1-2 matches, 11-2-1 games). And then I went and bought 17 foil codex shredders on starcity, because I know the list will get posted. It is also a strong candidate for the daily digest. I will try to write an article if it does.
Other notes: surgical didn’t do much, I might cut it. Courser slightly overperformed; I’m going to keep him for now. I am unsure of Slaughter Games due to casting cost and not really needing extraction effects. I might try 1 Leyline of Sanctity or Witchbane orb or Liliana. The Boros Charm is also suspect due to needing it in your hand. I might try Slobad. I feel that pyxis and nihil spellbomb are enough for exiling, and it hasn’t come up much the last 2 tournaments. I missed the island only once, but I drew a rainbow source a turn later.
I am still searching for a draw engine and I think I finally found it this morning. I woke up and my first thought was “Auriok Salvagers!” These go well with baubles and recurring lock pieces and hide behind skite well, so I am going to try -2 faithless, -1 surgical +2 bauble, +1 salvagers (possibly -1 GQ +1 Bauble). I want to keep a faithless just in case. I am also aware now that I am running 3 4cc things in this deck, but the baubles should help. It also might make the jund matchup better. I strongly suggest other Xerox oriented fellows try it out. Another thing I want to try out is the gifts board package of reanimating an Elesh or Iona. I also don’t know how to fix the jund matchup. It is super difficult. Azban is waaay easier.
I finally finished reading this entire thread, and it was very helpful. I recommend others skim it. Thank you all for your help, hopefully more to come.