yah I run a fetch/pain mana base. essence wardens put in some work. especially important in an aggressive or burn meta. been happy running 2-3 in the main
Hey all! I'm running an abzan list (mainly cause i have most of the cards) with thoughtseizes in the side. read back 20 pages and only found a few lists including yours syreal that use it or duress. anyone have thoughts on it? the advantages/disadvantages? which matchups are you bringing it in? what are you taking out? when are you casting it turn 3? this is the list I run, I have 3 mainboard wardens for aggro and to try and mitigate the damage I take from fetches and the like. don't mind the sideboard.
Thought-knot seer exiles so you cant use surgical extraction any targets - it does however take combocards.
I play a similar list (but without the chalice) - what do you put them on 2 and 3? against them. Doesnt seem to do much on 0 and 1 where they are good against other decks. Also not sure if i want to keep them in if i have any other card in my sideboard agaisnt them.
I only play 1 spellskite MB but it hasnt really helped much. Dont think 3 does much unless you get multiples out?
I dont run eldrazi mimic - but i kinda see how it could be useful as a SB card to add against combo without disruption. Not sure if i have the space in my SB for that, but i do dislike valakut variants - so i might dedicate some slots for it. What other matchups are they useful?
I play 4-of ghost quarters and 2 surgical SB too - havnt really found them to be that useful - it does break potential scapeshift wins if you draw surgical but usually you dont, and i dont really see myself mulling too one of them, or should I?. Also if i somehow manage to break their combo by saccing lands im too far behind and die to their Titans (primeval and inferno)
Gemstone caverns - i dont run, do they really help you? I usually lose game 1 and they should really accelerate you if you are on the play game 2 (which i also lose)
ahh yes my mistake haven't played to much, little rusty. as for the chalice they always come out if I'm not playing an aggro deck or the decks listed above like ad naseum, same with the spellskites.
the mimics are great for the non interactive decks since we can just go all out aggro and start hitting hard with mimic into reshaper/thought-knot/smasher. again bant lists started to veer away from that strategy so I don't know what other colorless tech we have for those decks.
I agree with the surgical extraction, in my limited testing I found it to be to reactional and a little slow but other than warping wail to counter sorceries I don't know what other tech we can use.
the gemstone caverns are just my flex land spot I have been using this as a gamble to pump out chalice or early creatures on the draw, nothing special.
I mainly playtest against my friends (naya burn, mardu burn, soul sisters, jund, affinity) so don't have much experience with combo except when I hit my lgs where a lot of people run it. would love some suggestions since id like to start taking this deck to more local tournaments.
I use to play bant eldrazi and people use to run mimics in the side to speed up and hopefully race combo decks, not sure if that's where we want to be but ive been using them so far. also i run a full playset of ghost quarters and combined with thought-knot gives some targets for surgical extraction to be of some use. I'm thinking about uping the pithing needle count or trying phyrexian revoker but with school coming up haven't had the time to playtest as much.
Wurmcoil Engine is a card I dropped all together as he was in that weird spot that required Tron and didn't work well with Temple's. So, to shore up the loss of Deathtouch and Lifelink I really liked adding Basilisk Collar to the mix, extremely brutal if equipped to an Endbringer, of which is a really good card vs. both Jund and Abzan.
Ratchet Bomb super good vs. Abzan especially if they are Lingering. It is ok vs. Jund as the biggest target is mainly Tarmagoyf and we should already match up well vs. Goyfs with Dismember and early fatties of our own.
Spatial Contortion is not so good vs. Jund, but really good vs. Abzan as they run a bunch of small duders.
Pithing Needle is really good against Jund, only problem is what to target with it as they have multiple good options but game 2 and 3 best option is probably going to be Fulminator Mage, Abzan not so much as about the only real good target would be Viscera Ser and to some lesser extent Spike Feeder, if they are on that game plan.
very nice writeup. haven't had a lot of experience with jund in my local meta. how aggressively do you mulligan this match and what types of hands are you looking for?
as far as splashing other colors you start to walk a fine line. like Todd explains in the article edrazitron lies in between bant and gr versions with differing lines of play and it's own mu advantages.
I think colorless is powerful and distinct enough to be able to stay colorless and if you want to splash green for tutoring/digging it's best to also add red for the early sweepers to accompany that stategy which just puts you in that gr list.
Sacrifice a matter reshaper and pay 2UU seems like a good deal. Tap down their lands at instant speed like a Mistbind Clique to time walk them or tap down dudes to clear blockers/attackers out of the way
I will certainly test it
majors has an early list on scg. I definitely like trying out this new toy. seems like a fun card whether or not it's successful or not
I think i will tune the sb to improve the affinity mu, it is one of our worst i guess! (And affinity represent a decent part of the field...)
I have a lot of affinity in my meta too. I been using 4 eldrazi skyspawner in the main and use 3 birds/2 nobles. the flyers definitely help in the match up without hindering our other match ups too much.
Im not sold on 2 spellskite md, what do you guys think could best take their place?
I like Eldrazi Skyspawner. It comes down on turn 2 a LOT and can enable T3 Smasher more frequently. The added bonus of having a 2/1 flier and an extra scion when Drowner comes down has been noticed a lot. I don't like things like Duskwatch Recruiter because he is another whiff on Anchient Stirrings.
yah spells kites have been okay for me too. I've been trying Stubborn Denial in the main as some do like Todd Stevens old list minus the goyfs and have been quite impressed.
with this deck it's just a straight up 1 mana negate that saved me so many times and stole games that just surprises the opponent game 1.
thanks for the writeup. was curious you don't mention world breaker in your notes, was that because you never drew him or was he not very impactful? seems interesting in the main.
welcome to the thread !! a personal favorite of mine Deranged Hermit
Hey all! I'm running an abzan list (mainly cause i have most of the cards) with thoughtseizes in the side. read back 20 pages and only found a few lists including yours syreal that use it or duress. anyone have thoughts on it? the advantages/disadvantages? which matchups are you bringing it in? what are you taking out? when are you casting it turn 3? this is the list I run, I have 3 mainboard wardens for aggro and to try and mitigate the damage I take from fetches and the like. don't mind the sideboard.
4 Heritage Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
3 Essence Warden
1 Spellskite
4 Dwynen's Elite
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Shaman of the Pack
2 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4 Collected Company
1 Chord of Calling
3 Lead the Stampede
3 Forest
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Stain the Mind
1 Path to Exile
1 Spellskite
1 Chord of Calling
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
1 Elvish Champion
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Scavenging Ooze
ahh yes my mistake haven't played to much, little rusty. as for the chalice they always come out if I'm not playing an aggro deck or the decks listed above like ad naseum, same with the spellskites.
the mimics are great for the non interactive decks since we can just go all out aggro and start hitting hard with mimic into reshaper/thought-knot/smasher. again bant lists started to veer away from that strategy so I don't know what other colorless tech we have for those decks.
I agree with the surgical extraction, in my limited testing I found it to be to reactional and a little slow but other than warping wail to counter sorceries I don't know what other tech we can use.
the gemstone caverns are just my flex land spot I have been using this as a gamble to pump out chalice or early creatures on the draw, nothing special.
I mainly playtest against my friends (naya burn, mardu burn, soul sisters, jund, affinity) so don't have much experience with combo except when I hit my lgs where a lot of people run it. would love some suggestions since id like to start taking this deck to more local tournaments.
funny, I was just about to post something similar as 30-40% of my meta are those types of decks. this is the list I run.
1x Eldrazi Mimic
3x Spellskite
4x Matter Reshaper
4x Thought-Knot Seer
4x Reality Smasher
4x Endbringer
2x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Artifact (8)
4x Expedition Map
4x Chalice of the Void
3x Dismember
3x Warping Wail
Land (24)
2x Gemstone Caverns
4x Eldrazi Temple
4x Ghost Quarter
4x Urza's Mine
4x Urza's Power Plant
4x Urza's Tower
2x Wastes
2x Eldrazi Mimic
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Pithing Needle
3x Ratchet Bomb
3x Relic of Progenitus
2x All is Dust
I use to play bant eldrazi and people use to run mimics in the side to speed up and hopefully race combo decks, not sure if that's where we want to be but ive been using them so far. also i run a full playset of ghost quarters and combined with thought-knot gives some targets for surgical extraction to be of some use. I'm thinking about uping the pithing needle count or trying phyrexian revoker but with school coming up haven't had the time to playtest as much.
was during the eye of ugin days but still a cool read if you didn't catch it.
very nice writeup. haven't had a lot of experience with jund in my local meta. how aggressively do you mulligan this match and what types of hands are you looking for?
as far as splashing other colors you start to walk a fine line. like Todd explains in the article edrazitron lies in between bant and gr versions with differing lines of play and it's own mu advantages.
I think colorless is powerful and distinct enough to be able to stay colorless and if you want to splash green for tutoring/digging it's best to also add red for the early sweepers to accompany that stategy which just puts you in that gr list.
majors has an early list on scg. I definitely like trying out this new toy. seems like a fun card whether or not it's successful or not
http://www.starcitygames.com/article/33272_Tons-Of-Eldritch-Moon-Modern-Deck-Updates.html
4 Elder Deep-Fiend
3 Eldrazi Displacer
4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Breeding Pool
3 Brushland
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Sanctum of Ugin
1 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
1 Yavimaya Coast
3 Stubborn Denial
4 Ancient Stirrings
I have a lot of affinity in my meta too. I been using 4 eldrazi skyspawner in the main and use 3 birds/2 nobles. the flyers definitely help in the match up without hindering our other match ups too much.
yah spells kites have been okay for me too. I've been trying Stubborn Denial in the main as some do like Todd Stevens old list minus the goyfs and have been quite impressed.
with this deck it's just a straight up 1 mana negate that saved me so many times and stole games that just surprises the opponent game 1.