While there's a bit of discussion going on about BW E&T, I'll share something I wrote recently. I've also posted this on Reddit.
Although my writing in the past has generally focused on tournament reports, I figured it'd be a lot more useful to write something that pertains to general experience with BW E&T and my thoughts on how to play the deck.
BW Eldrazi & Taxes - Heuristics, Approaches, & Anecdotes
While specific decklists and sideboard guides are always helpful, I think it's valuable to spend some time thinking about how to approach games and matchups. This is my attempt at articulating those thoughts. Hopefully you find this worth reading!
- jokerstyle00
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headminerve posted a message on Modern HumansDamping Sphere becomes a good card for you then, you can run 2 copies in your SB. Lavinia could be a suggestion, but those decks run sweepers post-SB, which is a problem. Sphere still dies to Explosives and O-Stone.Posted in: Aggro & Tempo -
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WickedApp posted a message on [Primer] Soul SistersFetchlands are ok I use 4 in my W/B SS deck but I am only looking for swamps as an after thought. Your deck is looking for a swamp T2-3 & T4-5 your looking for 2 swamps. I think your list looks fine now. Remember that you can Path your own stuff to get the extra or the right mana (especially if it gets bolted or is chump blocking).Posted in: Aggro & Tempo -
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WickedApp posted a message on [Primer] Soul Sisters@JokerPosted in: Aggro & Tempo
I think 23 lands. You can always take lands out if you start flooding, and they can be SB out as well. I would run -2 concealed courtyard, + 2 Shambling Vents + 1 Plains, +1 Ghost Quarter, -1 Field Of Ruin, and +1 (either mistveil plains or Vault of the Archangel) I am a fan of both cards.
-1 Ranger, -1 spectral procession.
SB -2 Authority, +2 Aven mindcensor for tron/ Amulet titan.
Kambal would be nice but not sure what to cut for that. -1 ranger, -1 edilon?
Your list will lose life as much as gain life which is not a real problem, just try not to be greedy with the fetchlands. I find the T4-5 plays I like to have lands come in untapped. -
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FlyingDelver posted a message on The RockPosted in: MidrangeQuote from LekTek »Would it be possible to add Amulet Titan to the sideboard guide?Quote from jokerstyle00 »Agreed, it feels like an unwinnable matchup.
I have a new project running, which is to convert the primers to my new webpage: https://www.greatnessatanycost.com/
There you can find the Amulet Titan SB Guide! -
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mirrislegend posted a message on GWx Vizier CompanyYou probably want a more combo focused version to beat Big Mana.Posted in: Combo
Druid Evolution crushes those decks
That version also has a much harder time vs BGx and Burn than this deck does.
Everything seems to struggle vs Phoenix, but Kitchen Finks certainly helps. Chumps TitI well. -
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StreexIT posted a message on Modern SpiritsI think the question you've got to ask yourself is what am I getting from splashing that colour.Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
As far as I see, red gives you reach with bolts and Eidolon (sideboard card in my opinion: it's weird because you'd want it mainboard against phoenix, control and whirl prison, but the meta is also made of dredge, burn, humans, so you would rather not run the risk of drawing it in G1 where it's useless. Not to mention you have to fetch and lose life becasue you might need the double red for eidolon... you can see the implications of its presence mainboard ), and some decent card selection/advantage with Light up the Stage. This last card isn't easy to handle , it demands you to know which card of your sideboard are you able to cast if revealed and how bad it is not to be able to do so, to plan your land drops and sequence it correctly to maximize its effect, prioritizing it over the cards you've got in your hand or vice versa. You have to understand what's your position in the game and what type of effects are you looking for.
Sideboard options with red are Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Alpine Moon, they have both impressed me and I've been looking for more of these types of effects. Alpine moon specifically deals with big mana and Valakut, it curves out perfectly, it's non mana intensive, it allows you to keep playing your game without screwing you colours like Blood Moon does.
I've also tested Blood Sun, which is very interesting because it cycles itself and shuts down animable lands, field of ruins (not to be underestimated, leaving them with colourless mana can hurt) and azcanta. It's a very ok card against control and midrange, some matchups the jeskai version is not as well positioned against as Esper is. Midrange in particular is a very bad one because goyfs are boltproof almost always, oozes also slip quickly out of control, and so does raging ravine.
Jeskai in general is a bit faster than UW, but I wouldn't call it an aggro version... I'd rather call it a tempo version with reach. I've seen some lists running lots of burn spells, I think they are a liability: Timely Reinforcements or any effect of that kind (lighting helix in jeskai control aswell) is going to hit your plan too hard. I like having a minor burn plan, I don't feel comfortable relying too much on them. The damage has still to be dealt via creatures, and creatures are still the backbone of the deck, because they provide interactions and more damage on the long run.
This splash misses a piece and a flexible removal at the moment, something in the form of grim lavamancer, it requires 4+ drawing engines because it's easy to run out of gas and Light up the Stage is a 3of at most in my opinion. I'll stay away from MtGO for a while, but I'd test 3LutS and 2 Obsessions in addition to one or two Boros Charms, if I had the opportunity; my purpose would be to shoot their face or protect the card advantage engine from being removed.
I'm not giving this version too much credit at the moment, dredge and Phoenix both made Bolt weaker in the meta ( interesting to see Scapeshift running flame slash now to deal with thing in the ice and drakes), it really feels sub optimal every time you face one of these deck or a tarmogoyf. There will be better times to splash red.
Esper is the most defensive version but it's peculiar because it's able to turn from controlling to racing very fast thanks to Lingering Souls. Fatal Push and Souls are the reasons to splash black, these are two huge upgrades to the UW colours, they really make the difference. Splashing black means efficient removals to deal with aggro and a good curve topper, Souls, to race back or keep the pressure going against slower decks.
It is a bit weaker against Amulet and Eldrazi, because you're losing the 4x PtE and Nebelgast Herald/Deputy, depending which tempo plan you like most in UW. Other than that, I think is much more versatile and it's way better at taking one or the other role, depending on who's your opponent.
Sideboard choices are pretty much the same as UW, Countersquall is amazing, but I've haven't found anything else appealing... Unmoored Ego is one turn too slow, tried to make it work but I ended up cutting it every time.
Esper is so solid in the first 60s that you won't need anything fancy in the remaining fifteen, this is my conclusion. Also, I'm loving Collective Brutality because it means extra removals or extra disruption , versatile cards perfectly fill your flexible slots.
I'm not sure what type of card might realistically being printed to improve this version ( having a form of reach would be awesome), it suffers Aura Hexproof, big mana and stuff like dredge because it's not fast enough or because you have no mainboard answers to their plan, and phoenix just because they dig their deck so much that you get overwhelmed by the number of their threats. To be honest, this is the problem these decks are causing to the format, something every fair deck is having a hard time to deal with, when they draw 40 cards by the time you have drawn 20, there's not much you can do. Nonetheless, I think Esper has a 50-50 matchup against them, my report sheet says so far 7 wins and 7 losses against UR, and 5 wins and 3 losses against the mono red phoenix version. Some of these losses have been caused by blood moon, because yeah, why wouldn't you want to screw your opponent's mana in addition to drawing twice their cards and reanimating fliers for free?
I ve heard of Chalice of the Void in UW side, this explains pretty much the situation at the moment.
Let's wait for war of the spark and hope for some creative spirit to be released, I most welcome experiments like Pestilent Spirit.
In the mean time, I'll write down some new paragraphs so we can update the primer.
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Ken Carson posted a message on Which decks are terrible matchups for Amulet Titan?Living End plays 2-4 maindeck Fulminator Mages, and Beast Within, plus have additional hate in the sideboard. Probably the single greatest game of Magic I have ever played was piloting Living End against a very good Bloom Titan pilot in a win and in at an SCG tournament. He made some amazing plays like discarding a Prime Time to handsize on Turn 1 instead of playing a land. I was able to squeak out a close win, but to this day I don’t think I’ve ever played a more intense game.Posted in: Modern -
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BlazingRagnarok posted a message on Which decks are terrible matchups for Amulet Titan?Death and Taxes variants also have strong Amulet matchups due to land destruction. Flickerwisp on a bounceland is just plain ugly.Posted in: Modern -
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FoodChainGoblins posted a message on Which decks are terrible matchups for Amulet Titan?Posted in: ModernQuote from jokerstyle00 »Curious about what decks can thrash Amulet, as there are an annoying number of them, Tron, and other big mana decks lately. I don't have Ad Nauseam or Grixis Shadow, curious about whether there are other bad matchups. I do own Ponza/GR Land Destruction and Red Prison.
You have the right idea. Mainboard Blood Moons are tough, although I haven't run the new version with 3 Coalition Relic. I will name some decks that are rough matchups for Amulet, even if they are not played much. I hope this is received well because honestly someone could just say, "outside of Phoenix and Dredge, I'm not going to see other matchups," which can be fairly true.
Knightfall, Bant Spirits, most decks with Company like Druid/Vizier and Elves. Grishoalbrand. There are more decks, but since I just woke up from a nap (and haven't played Amulet for quite a while), I'll leave it at that.
Big mana decks are a positive matchup in my experience, if only by a little bit. With Summer Bloom, I know for sure that Tron was super easy. I think I was 13-1 or something like that vs. Tron during that time. The banning put the matchup closer to 50/50. I think I was 4-2 since. Titanshift and Breach are slightly slower, but make up for it with ultra consistency. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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Back from hiatus and playing MTG again, and I am VERY excited to see we have some new converts to Ele-Combo/Shotgun.
Honestly, I don't run white in my build. I just use Apostle's Blessing. 2 life isn't as big a a deal as being able to stick to a more stable manabase, plus most of the time (at least from my experience), you only really need one of your dudes to have protection after they're pumped up. If anyone's interested in my build, I can repost it.
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7 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
3 Windswept Heath
3 Windbrisk Heights
2 Godless Shrine
1 Vault of the Archangel
Creatures
2 Tidehollow Sculler
Spells
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Path to Exile
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Intangible Virtue
3 Honor of the Pure
3 Zealous Persecution
2 Thoughtseize
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Auriok Champion
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Dismember
2 Stony Silence
2 Mirran Crusader
2 Hero of Bladehold
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
I'm aware I should get more fetches and more Godless Shrines, but I'm currently limited by budget and by what I own...groceries on a college budget take precedence, unfortunately. Gotta eat.
I did start by using a Modern Event Deck 2014 and by building from there; even with a jacked up price nowadays, it's still a heap of great value.
As for my actual games, the first Delver deck was an odd combo variation that was attempting to either cripple me with Blood Moon and/or cast this massive GW Wurm whose name currently escapes me. I took the Wurm first game using Tidehollow Sculler and he wasn't able to draw into any red sources to get rid of it, strangely enough. The second game went a little more bumpily, but I eventually just overwhelmed him with tokens.
Elves was a decently challenging match, but I was eventually able to get anthems both games, and after siding in second game, I took him down using a pumped up Mirran Crusader.
Grixis Delver was probably my most challenging matchup, but even so, it went relatively well. First game, we spent the first three or four turns trading off tokens and Delvers; he oddly wasn't able to flip until turn 3, which worked in my favor. Second game, he got rid of my first Relic but I drew a second one immediately afterwards. He also had to use the majority of his K. Commands and Bolts in order to remove my spirits, which worked in my favor. Eventually it came down to topdecking Elspeth my second game for a perfect 7 damage to round out the match.
As for personal thoughts, I severely underestimated the usefulness of Zealous Persecution. That thing saved my butt numerous times against Delver. On other notes, I really like the disruption I can use with Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize; there were several times during both Delver games where both players decided to counter it, so I got my two for one either way. The Grixis Delver player especially didn't want me to see his hand it seems.
Anyways, that was my first event using this deck, and I got to say, I really enjoyed playing BW Tokens. Yes, it may not be as ridiculously unfair or combo-y as some other decks, but I like how it can still win using its own strategies.
So those are my two cents!
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I'm back in the US and I was playing at my local store with this list:
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Steam Vents
4 Blood Crypt
5 Mountain
1 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (10)
4 Nivmagus Elemental
4 Kiln Fiend
2 Flamekin Harbinger
4 Apostle's Blessing
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Assault Strobe
4 Slaughter Pact
4 Ground Rift
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Distortion Strike
3 Tainted Strike
2 Gut Shot
3 Dismember
2 Rending Volley
2 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Spell Pierce
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Dragon's Claw
I went 2-0 against what appeared to be a budget Artifact-themed build, 2-0 against Bloom Titan, and 2-1 against Monoblue Tron. Besides the one loss against Tron, all my games ended in three turns or less.
I'm very satisfied with the current iteration of this deck; I rarely have to mulligan, and when I do, I can still go off fairly easily. In addition, it just feels extremely smooth to play, and it's intensely satisfying to end multiple games by turn 3 despite my opponents' best efforts. I was honestly surprised I did so well against Monoblue Tron though; that deck is usually an uphill battle for me.
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*EDIT*
Got crushed, due to having an unstable land base. Even with the Spirit Guides, 16 lands is just too few. In addition, Tainted Strike wasn't popping up at the right times for me and I played against two terrible matchups: BW Tokens and Mononblue Tron. Stupid Chalice Of The Void.
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I actually started writing a primer for a Blue-Red version of this deck before I stumbled onto this thread.
This is a mostly budget version that clocks in around $150, and it's pretty fun to play.
I've piloted my version into two Modern events so far and I did reasonably well, at least with the first event. Went 2-1 last Friday and 1-2 today. Here's my list.
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
5 Mountain
Creatures (10)
4 Nivmagus Elemental
4 Kiln Fiend
2 Flamekin Harbinger
2 Artful Dodge
2 Gut Shot
4 Assault Strobe
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Ground Rift
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Apostle's Blessing
3 Dismember
3 Rending Volley
2 Pyroclasm
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Spell Pierce
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Dragon's Claw
Last Friday, I played Affinity, Griselbrand Shoal, and Jund in that order. I annihilated Affinity thanks to the guy having terrible luck with mulligans, and I was able to outrace Griselbrand Shoal 2/3 of our games. The main problem is Jund, thanks to their abundant removal, discard, and cards like Tarmogoyf and Liliana of the Veil. I either sacrificed, discarded or lost Kiln Fiend and Nivmagus Elemental games two and three, although I was able to outrace them on game one.
Tonight was unfortunate in that I almost beat out monoblue Tron except they got Karn, Liberated out game three. Game one I hit em with a turn two kill (perfect god hand, good grief), and game two I mulliganed down to 5, hence losing out to their Platinum Angel. Game three, I almost sealed the deal with a Lightning Bolt but they countered it at the last moment. Match two was a lot better; I played against a guy using a Bitterblossom based token deck. He didn't realize until after he played Bitterblossom that I was playing Elemental Combo, and he burned himself to death after I hit him for 18 over two turns. Game two was the same; he even still played Bitterblossom, which really surprised me. Match three was Affinity's revenge though. In some cruel twist of fate I ended up playing the shop owner and he wiped me out first game with a pumped up Inkmoth Nexus and then game two with a pumped up Etched Champion.
What I've noticed (and this is probably blatantly obvious but I'll say it anyways) is that we don't seem to have any answers to evasive creatures besides praying we get a Lightning Bolt, and that we really have no resistance to removal or discard. Blue helps with some cheap counterspells though. Having played the primer's Black-Red version and the original list created by the SCG Blue Team, though, blue-red seems to be a lot more stable than red-black. Sure we get to have Tainted Strike, Death's Shadow, and even Inquisition of Kozilek, but like one of the above posters said, we don't have a long-term game plan. In the games I've played this in addition to the aforementioned events, more than 75 percent of the time, if the game dragged on past turn 4 or 5, I fizzled out. That being said, I've been able to last longer and get more reliable output from the deck by running blue over black, thanks to the addition of Serum Visions and Artful Dodge. Makes me wonder if we should try siding in cards like Fling or Rite of Consumption (if we happen to run black) to get some emergency direct damage in.
I don't know, this is just my two cents and experiences so far with the archetype. What are everyone's thoughts?
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