So how do people approach big mana matchups? Tron's a little more clear cut, but my LGS has two Amulet Titan players and I always seem to get matched up with at least one of them. Any things in particular to keep in mind against an Amulet Titan player?
I have found this matchup to be very easy. Fast Chalice on 1 is great; on 0 is also powerful. TKS wrecks them as does Ghost Quarter. Ratchet fine to bring in post-board to deal with stray Amulets but mostly to power through Hornet Queen tokens if it comes to that; otherwise, the mainboard is well-equipped.
Thanks for the info! Random question, without hand info, which is better, Chalice on 0 or 1?
So how do people approach big mana matchups? Tron's a little more clear cut, but my LGS has two Amulet Titan players and I always seem to get matched up with at least one of them. Any things in particular to keep in mind against an Amulet Titan player?
Got demolished by Tron and Amulet Titan tonight at FNM, then got the bye to add insult to injury. Matchup lottery hated me tonight.
I managed to steal one game from Tron but Amulet feels unwinnable, even after I discarded their pieces, blew up their lands, and killed Sakura-Tribe Scout/Azusa.
On a random note, to play devil's advocate, how does a GBx player beat Prison? I finally finished building the Rock and got crushed by a buddy who runs Red Prison as well. On a side note however, he got out a turn one Chandra second game which was too fast for me to deal with, also had to mull to 6 both games.
I do plan on going back to Prison at some point, just excited to be playing a deck with black in it again.
We love GBx decks SO much, we would be happy to help you beat us! Here are some tips!
-ALWAYS take the draw!
-ALWAYS fetch non-basics!
-game 1, T1 Thoughtseize, ALWAYS take Rabblemaster. Don't bother taking Moon, Bridge or Chalice!
-side out ALL Ass Trophies and Goyfs! They're dead cards. You don't need them.
-when ulting Lilli, ALWAYS leave them with Bridge and 4 lands!
Hope this helps! Good luck, and I hope to play against you soon!
Actual advice, not trolling, smh. Didn't realize I'd trigger people lol.
On a serious note, I figured that learning how to take on Prison with GBx would help me learn both decks while also knowing what to do in the matchup if I played either, didn't realize it was a taboo to ask.
On a random note, to play devil's advocate, how does a GBx player beat Prison? I finally finished building the Rock and got crushed by a buddy who runs Red Prison as well. On a side note however, he got out a turn one Chandra second game which was too fast for me to deal with, also had to mull to 6 both games.
I do plan on going back to Prison at some point, just excited to be playing a deck with black in it again.
I am new to the deck and have a few questions. Mainly about why certain cards aren't being played.
Why do none of the current decks play bolt spells like Magma Jet, Rift Bolt or Lightning Helix in R/W variants? Sweepers I see, but they will hurt you yourself as well if you have goblins in play. I also feel like Abrade,if played, is the preferred choice over bolts but its also more likely to be a dead card than bolts.
Also I don't see Trinisphere in any sideboards. I would have thought it would be a strong SB option against alot of decks. Izzet Phoenix, Burn, GDS, Scales, Storm, Bogles, Infect for example would struggle against 3 ball.
The last card I never see in sideboards is Scab-Clan Berserker. Eidolon is the prefered choice. I would think SCB would be a better fit as we get 3 mana quick. The damage ability is the same in most cases but it's a bigger body. What am I missing?
I can't answer the bolt question entirely since I only play the Mono-Red version, but one reason is efficiency. Yes, sweepers can hit our own guys too, but generally speaking we want to be able to wipe the board/have the option to, especially since a large number of decks are now creature-based ones that go-wide or have creatures that keep coming back from the graveyard. Also Lightning Bolt and Magma Jet are less optimal since we want to be able to play a Chalice on 1 and/or 2 without having to worry about turning off our own spells. Abrade is also more versatile and isn't hit by Chalice on 1.
Trinisphere I feel is a personal preference thing, but I can't say for sure why it's not a popular choice.
Scab-Clan has several issues that people have mentioned in earlier posts:
1) It has to deal combat damage to be turned on, which conflicts with one of our central lock pieces, Ensnaring Bridge. Unlike Eidolon, which is guaranteed to start hurting as soon as it comes down, Scab-Clan has to deal combat damage and stay alive, which is difficult to do in such a creature-heavy meta. It just requires too much extra effort to play around for being largely the same effect, or even worse in matchups like Spirits or Humans.
2) It costs three mana compared to Eidolon's 2, and it still dies to bolt; furthermore the three mana creature slot is already occupied by Rabblemaster and Warboss, as well also being held by two of our primary lock pieces, Blood Moon and Bridge.
In my case I do own a full set of Mutas, but I don't have enough money to splurge on a Minamo. In addition to the nice points about Conclave you posted, I also was worried about having a match where I wouldn't be able to turn on Island walk and would have to grind; I was expecting to face more creature based decks instead of the huge number of combo/big mana decks I went up against.
Went 2-1 at my LGS's Tuesday night Modern event, there were only 6 of us tonight, prolly cause most people are still worn out from the weekend's GP. I won 2-0 against Mono-Red Phoenix, 2-1 against Burn, and lost 0-2 against Red Prison.
Red Prison was a weird matchup, partially because he thought I was favored, but also because I also play Red Prison but was unable to perform well...prolly cause I'm still a noob at the Rock xD. Also him getting out a Chandra, Torch of Defiance on the first turn of the second game kinda was hard to deal with. Couldn't smack her before she ult'd. D:
Mercifully did not have to play my buddy's Amulet Titan, but wish I could've gotten some more games in against a bigger variety of decks. Really enjoying the Rock though, people seemed surprised at how well I did against burn.
Also total noob question, what's people's advice for taking on big mana decks? I've read the primer sections on Tron but I'd like some personal experiences too. There are two or three regular Tron players and two Amulet Titan players at my LGS. I love the Rock but it's a significantly worse matchup than when I was playing Ponza or Red Prison.
Thanks for the info! Random question, without hand info, which is better, Chalice on 0 or 1?
I managed to steal one game from Tron but Amulet feels unwinnable, even after I discarded their pieces, blew up their lands, and killed Sakura-Tribe Scout/Azusa.
^^^ This. My sideboard for Merfolk and Spirits packs soooooooo much land/big mana hate because my LGS has like 3 Tron players and 2 Amulet players.
Actual advice, not trolling, smh. Didn't realize I'd trigger people lol.
On a serious note, I figured that learning how to take on Prison with GBx would help me learn both decks while also knowing what to do in the matchup if I played either, didn't realize it was a taboo to ask.
I do plan on going back to Prison at some point, just excited to be playing a deck with black in it again.
I can't answer the bolt question entirely since I only play the Mono-Red version, but one reason is efficiency. Yes, sweepers can hit our own guys too, but generally speaking we want to be able to wipe the board/have the option to, especially since a large number of decks are now creature-based ones that go-wide or have creatures that keep coming back from the graveyard. Also Lightning Bolt and Magma Jet are less optimal since we want to be able to play a Chalice on 1 and/or 2 without having to worry about turning off our own spells. Abrade is also more versatile and isn't hit by Chalice on 1.
Trinisphere I feel is a personal preference thing, but I can't say for sure why it's not a popular choice.
Scab-Clan has several issues that people have mentioned in earlier posts:
1) It has to deal combat damage to be turned on, which conflicts with one of our central lock pieces, Ensnaring Bridge. Unlike Eidolon, which is guaranteed to start hurting as soon as it comes down, Scab-Clan has to deal combat damage and stay alive, which is difficult to do in such a creature-heavy meta. It just requires too much extra effort to play around for being largely the same effect, or even worse in matchups like Spirits or Humans.
2) It costs three mana compared to Eidolon's 2, and it still dies to bolt; furthermore the three mana creature slot is already occupied by Rabblemaster and Warboss, as well also being held by two of our primary lock pieces, Blood Moon and Bridge.
Red Prison was a weird matchup, partially because he thought I was favored, but also because I also play Red Prison but was unable to perform well...prolly cause I'm still a noob at the Rock xD. Also him getting out a Chandra, Torch of Defiance on the first turn of the second game kinda was hard to deal with. Couldn't smack her before she ult'd. D:
Mercifully did not have to play my buddy's Amulet Titan, but wish I could've gotten some more games in against a bigger variety of decks. Really enjoying the Rock though, people seemed surprised at how well I did against burn.
Also total noob question, what's people's advice for taking on big mana decks? I've read the primer sections on Tron but I'd like some personal experiences too. There are two or three regular Tron players and two Amulet Titan players at my LGS. I love the Rock but it's a significantly worse matchup than when I was playing Ponza or Red Prison.