How about this dude? Sure, his middle ability is useles, but he provides hand-fixing on T3, and starts the clock... Not seriously considering him, but wouldnt mind opening a pack and seeing him there.
It would be nice to have another 3 drop PW, but I don't think he makes the cut. Gideon of the Trials is strictly better, and Nahiri is removal and a better wincon on top of filtering cards.
I've always been a fan of prison-style strategies, and I agree that it is an uphill battle in Modern. I got my start in EDH, where pure stax is viable, so I really had to shift my thinking for this format. What I've loved about Sun and Moon so far is taking it in an almost midrange direction, but instead of aggro-control, it's aggro-prison. As I've been refining my list, I find myself leaning off of the pure prison strategy and more on finding ways to speed up my clock. Sure, sometimes Blood Moon and/or Chalice are free wins in Modern, but more often they are just stumbling block. I like having a slew of PWs and the Kiki-Resto combo to close out the game. I currently run Goblin Rabblemaster in the sideboard for match-ups that require a better clock - like Tron - and I wouldn't be surprised if I end out testing him in the main deck at some point.
Maybe in the sideboard in a tron-heavy meta? I'm really turned off my the 1 cmc, and I think what we really need against tron is a lock to backup our moons, not more moons.
Yeah... If something goes from Tron, I would vote for that. I feel like my tron matchup is improving slightly. Part of that is just getting more familiar with the deck, but I've also been running more pressure in the form of Kiki-Resto in the main and Goblin Rabblemaster in the side.
Maybe in the sideboard in a tron-heavy meta? I'm really turned off my the 1 cmc, and I think what we really need against tron is a lock to backup our moons, not more moons.
What are people's thoughts on leyline of sanctity? Obviously it was good when it protected our pws, but now I'm not so sure. Could we cut it entirely from the sb?
i hear you Blazing - but if we're just talking a one-of, i could easily pull my one-of Journey to Nowhere or a Moon to squeeze it in i would think. And yes, Affinity beat me at the SCG regionals; i would've loved have GP in the 60 for that match.
Another sb question - i'm currently running two Shattering Spree but recently stumbled upon Fiery Confluence. Any thoughts on either? Spree certainly has the better spot removal action, but the flexibility of Fiery is appetizing.
Hate to burst your bubble, but Fiery Confluence isn't Modern legal. It's only been printed in a Commander set.
Are you just trying to fit Ghostly Prison in the sideboard, or are you considering finding room for it in the main? The card feels really good in this meta. I've been running it in Restore Balance, another prison-style strategy, and it's worked quite well.
Hello all! I have recently become interested in the archetype ever since I took apart living end and wondered what to do with all the play sets of cascade that I had. I have been sifting through a couple of lists and watching some streams of the deck (specifically Jeff Hoogland). I came here to ask the inclusion of Leylines of Sanctity’s mainboard in place of Simian Spirit Guides. My meta contains a fair amount of fair decks, like Junk, jund, and Ponza, and fast creature-less combo, like Storm and Ad Nauseum. I’m debating this choice purely because of the meta and wanted a second opinion. My list right now is the list Jeff Hoogland played on March 19, 2018, since I am fairly new and have not had a lot of time to play test this archetype.
I'm still not sure how I feel about mainboard Leylines (currently I'm running them MB but not sure if that's any better than SB). However I would NEVER cut SSG from the MB. By design, we can't do anything except play borderposts before we get to 3 mana. And without a little bit of acceleration in the form of SSG, we really hold ourselves back in this format. I would cut Monastery Siege, 1 Jace, and maybe 1 Thassa to fit those monkeys back into your mainboard.
Hi all, I just recently picked up RW planeswalker prison online and I'm really loving it. I've always been a fan of prison strategies and this one is really clicking with me right now. However, it feels like the meta is not friendly to this deck at the moment. The top 3 decks seem to be humans, Gx tron, and Jeskai, and of those, only humans feels like an ok matchup. Do I just need more practice, or is this a bad meta for Nahiri Prison?
Hey everyone! Just jumping in to say that, after a long hiatus from Magic, I'm finally dusting off the ol' Restore Balance deck and playing modern again! Some of you may remember ages ago I was trying to come up with some data for mainboard leylines vs. sideboard leylines. Unfortunately, I never finished that. I did 50 matches with MB, started playing SB games, then life got in the way. At this point, I think the meta has changed too much for the data to be useful. Currently, I'm testing 2 JtMS vs 2 new Karn. I see both have been discussed a lot, so I won't necro those conversations until I have some more games under my belt.
Looking forward to restoring balance in modern again!
For me, the problem with Ensnaring Bridge is that it shuts down our own wincons (Gargadon, Emrakul, Colossus). That being said, I could see Bridge as a strong choice in a Jace-focused list.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. You're right about diversifying wincons, which is why my list still has the big reanimation bombs: Paradox Engine is the most efficient way to win, but sometimes you gotta win with a reanimated Jin-Gitaxis...
I highly recommend giving Mind's Desire a go. I don't play it here, but I've had fun with it in other decks.
Buried Ruin is a good idea. Currently, I have no way to recur artifacts and being a land means it's easy to find room for.
Yes, I think a more combo-oriented Dralnu list has a lot of potential. Honestly, the only reason I don't make my list more combo-focused is personal preference. I'd rather play a control game with a combo as a finisher than a deck purely devoted to a combo. That being said, you're right that Paradox Engine is very effective. The only theory crafting I've done to that end is trying to figure out the right number of mana rocks. I know I don't want to go any lower, but there may be room for one more for efficiency's sake.
If you play mostly multiplayer, I'd say [c]Mind Twist[c] can probably go. I don't like targeted discard in a multiplayer format unless you're a deck purely devoted to discard, like Nath.
Definitely find room for more colored artifacts, if you can. That is one issue I often run into: I have enough mana numbers-wise to go off with the engine, but if only one or even two are making colored mana, it's not nearly as effective.
On the topic of BBE I was thinking of playing two just as a valuable finisher that can either Restore or progress my board state while being a nice clock. I know its not the best thing we could need but even cascading into a As Fortold or a lock piece seems quite nice. My best case scenario seems to be BBE cascade into a Gideon or Monastery Siege and then beat them to death. Also with Jace being introduced if we increase the amount of walkers are there better options then Ghostly Prison for this doesn't help very much when they are just punching our Wincons to death. My list is below with A testing split of BBE and Jace. https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/restoring-modern/?cb=1518538115
I'm just not convinced BBE is worth running. With how many CMC 3 cards we run, I worry it would be too inconsistent. That, and I'm really opposed to adding more creatures, since that makes our RBs weaker. Of course, anything is worth testing, so I'd be interested to hear how it works for you. I'd love to test Jace, but unfortunately I own 0 copies and can't justify that price tag...
It would be nice to have another 3 drop PW, but I don't think he makes the cut. Gideon of the Trials is strictly better, and Nahiri is removal and a better wincon on top of filtering cards.
Yeah... If something goes from Tron, I would vote for that. I feel like my tron matchup is improving slightly. Part of that is just getting more familiar with the deck, but I've also been running more pressure in the form of Kiki-Resto in the main and Goblin Rabblemaster in the side.
Hate to burst your bubble, but Fiery Confluence isn't Modern legal. It's only been printed in a Commander set.
And that variance doesn't look too bad. Of the top 5, it's just the two control decks I'd worry about. Guess I just have to git gud.
I'm still not sure how I feel about mainboard Leylines (currently I'm running them MB but not sure if that's any better than SB). However I would NEVER cut SSG from the MB. By design, we can't do anything except play borderposts before we get to 3 mana. And without a little bit of acceleration in the form of SSG, we really hold ourselves back in this format. I would cut Monastery Siege, 1 Jace, and maybe 1 Thassa to fit those monkeys back into your mainboard.
Looking forward to restoring balance in modern again!
I highly recommend giving Mind's Desire a go. I don't play it here, but I've had fun with it in other decks.
Buried Ruin is a good idea. Currently, I have no way to recur artifacts and being a land means it's easy to find room for.
If you play mostly multiplayer, I'd say [c]Mind Twist[c] can probably go. I don't like targeted discard in a multiplayer format unless you're a deck purely devoted to discard, like Nath.
Definitely find room for more colored artifacts, if you can. That is one issue I often run into: I have enough mana numbers-wise to go off with the engine, but if only one or even two are making colored mana, it's not nearly as effective.
I'm just not convinced BBE is worth running. With how many CMC 3 cards we run, I worry it would be too inconsistent. That, and I'm really opposed to adding more creatures, since that makes our RBs weaker. Of course, anything is worth testing, so I'd be interested to hear how it works for you. I'd love to test Jace, but unfortunately I own 0 copies and can't justify that price tag...