I think TBR is still the better card for the purpose of pushing damage through. I'd probably also rather look towards Slip Through Space before Distortion Strike due the cantrip ability.
I agree, being aggressive G1 seems like the best plan, and then G2 if needed we board into a specific control suite depending on the matchup. GDS can be a pretty fast deck, and the core is powerful enough that I don't think we want to dilute it too much with situational cards in a meta as open as the current.
Search for Azcanta seems too slow for us, I think it's better in Grixis/UW Control. I suppose he's using it in control matchups, as a way to gain virtual card advantage and getting better quality draws. I'd rather stick to landing a card like Liliana on the battlefield in GDS.
I've been on the 3 Push/1 Bolt split for a while now, been serving me good in my meta. I don't see a point in turning the decks removal suite into gospel, since it's probably the most meta-dependent part of the deck and should be considered flexible outside of a good baseline for an open field.
Testing is incredibly important at this stage. I've only done a handful of games and feel it is preferable to Serum Visions, but variance is a real thing, so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions yet.
The thing I feel really makes Opt shine in our deck is how often we cap out at three lands in the midgame, where a Snap+SV feels really awkward but holding up mana and going Snap+Opt EOT just works so much better. That said, even if Opt is every bit as good as it has been feeling to me - and even if variance isn't a factor here - I'd still expect a split to be correct. I don't see us cutting SV completely.
Why doesn't opt work with MD LotV? I don't see much of a difference between Opt and Serum Visions here.
Part of it is losing the instant speed like Goffman10 said, but also that Serum Visions lets you set up the following draw step/steps. Opt gives you a card, but then has no more effect on the game apart from being in the graveyard. A Serum Visions into a Lily plus while both players are hellbent usually gives you an edge, the scry means your next draw is likely to be better than the opponents. Opt in this situation is pretty useless.
However, the upside I think is worth it. The tension with LotV is less of an issue in matchups where she is strong, so I'd rather board her in for those instead of running her main. I'd rather run a faster mainboard with Temur Battle Rage, and board into a slower version than the other way round.
Opt doesn't jive too well with maindeck LotV, so I'll most likely be moving mine back to the SB. I've been testing out just basically substituting my Serum Visions for Opts and I feel the card is enough of an improvement to warrant no MB Lily. Just being able to keep up mana for Stubborn Denial and then EOT Opt or Snap+Opt feels great, and so far I'm actually quite impressed with it in our deck.
Edit: Do note that this is just quick testing, and a general feeling I've got after playing a few games with the card. It might well just be variance skewing the results for me.
EldraziTron being Tier 1 might actually be something that forces the different midrange decks into Shadow builds more than anything else. Take Abzan for example, it's a challenging matchup for us, but it basically auto-folds to ElTronzi. I'm not sure a ban hitting our deck would achieve much more than forcing players into more aggressive decks to combat Tron, while midrange and control are suffering.
Of note is that ElTronzi have been adapting to us by running Hangarback Walkers in the board, making post board games more challenging than before.
Izzet Staticaster has won me multiple games against affinity. EOT flash it in and kill something, then untap with it in play. A few draw steps later they scoop if they haven't hit an Etched Champion. Other than that it beats Lingering Souls without breaking a sweat, and against classic Abzan I've actually managed to finish of a Siege Rhino/Tasigur stalemate with it.
I won't be removing it from the sideboard anytime soon.
I'm hesitant to remove bolts, simply because the amount of CoCo decks are very real while it also serves as a kind of mirror breaker if an opponent on Shadow becomes just a touch too greedy.
Rise // Fall seems a bit too costly for this deck, but I haven't playtested with it yet, so I might be wrong.
The thing I feel really makes Opt shine in our deck is how often we cap out at three lands in the midgame, where a Snap+SV feels really awkward but holding up mana and going Snap+Opt EOT just works so much better. That said, even if Opt is every bit as good as it has been feeling to me - and even if variance isn't a factor here - I'd still expect a split to be correct. I don't see us cutting SV completely.
Part of it is losing the instant speed like Goffman10 said, but also that Serum Visions lets you set up the following draw step/steps. Opt gives you a card, but then has no more effect on the game apart from being in the graveyard. A Serum Visions into a Lily plus while both players are hellbent usually gives you an edge, the scry means your next draw is likely to be better than the opponents. Opt in this situation is pretty useless.
However, the upside I think is worth it. The tension with LotV is less of an issue in matchups where she is strong, so I'd rather board her in for those instead of running her main. I'd rather run a faster mainboard with Temur Battle Rage, and board into a slower version than the other way round.
Edit: Do note that this is just quick testing, and a general feeling I've got after playing a few games with the card. It might well just be variance skewing the results for me.
Of note is that ElTronzi have been adapting to us by running Hangarback Walkers in the board, making post board games more challenging than before.
I won't be removing it from the sideboard anytime soon.
Rise // Fall seems a bit too costly for this deck, but I haven't playtested with it yet, so I might be wrong.