My land situation seemed fine and I didn't notice the lack of a 4th map, but there is only so much you can infer from 7 rounds of play. It's the first card I look at siding out in a lot of matchups so starting at 3 was kind of a non-issue for me although I like 4 to start since it keeps the artifact count up.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed Supreme Will, but I don't know about 4x at the expense of TfK. My first instinct is to try out a 3/3 split and see where that takes me.
2x Snapcaster seemed fine. I guess you look at what it's taking the place of. Compared to lists I usually run let's say that is Trinket Mage. This list is not running mainboard Chalice and just naturally finds Ballista since that is at 3x so Snapcaster is just better. I kind of wish 1 of the Snaps was an Obstructionist though. The flying is sometimes relevant.
3x Dismember was critical in my wins. Maybe 3x is too many, but I dunno...felt fine. The 4 life doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things when that Hierarch or Devoted Druid needs to die immediately. I was happy with them. My gripe was not having things in the sideboard to replace them with in dead matchups. Dispel and Negate seem narrow when I think of a broad meta, but I sure wish I had them in the board on Saturday. 7 targeted removal in the 75 just nullified CoCO + Zoo but was useless against Scapeshift. I guess that's just a U Tron problem. It's hard to plan for everything. 4x Chalice in the board was a similar problem. When you want them you REALLY want them and when you don't you wish they were anything else. I'm really down on them atm.
Overall, I like the shell and definitely appreciate it being shared with us. I think my favorite aspect is the multiple Ballista and River of Tears. Everything I would try and change is just tweaking numbers to see how it feels. I'll start with 3/3 Supreme/Thirst split, dropping a land to 24 (and 60 cards overall), going back to 4x Map and dropping either 1x Remand or Dismember. Probably toy around with 1x Nimble Obstructionist in the main.
Was also at SCG Milwaukee and it was great meeting another U Tron player (Mister_Lamp) to share some bad beats stories. The other U Tron player from my LGS was also there.
I played the Classic today with the UB variant of Colorless Eldrazi and after 15 paper matches I'm too tired to write a full report buuuuuuut...
Topkyle @ SCG Milwaukee Open w/ Bloody_Rabbit01 (exact list):
Round 1- Ironworks Combo (W 2-0) 1-0 overall
Round 2- Bring to Light Scapeshift (L 1-2) 1-1 overall
Round 3- Bring to Light Scapeshift (L 1-2) 1-2 overall
Round 4- Titanshift (W 2-1) 2-2 overall
Round 5- WG Vizier Company (W 2-1) 3-2 overall
Round 6- Naya Zoo (W 2-0) 4-2 overall
Round 7- Humans (L 1-2) 4-3 overall -- DROP
My takeaway is that U Tron is powerful, but it's just not a good deck for a super-wide meta. This list performed amazingly in the matchups it was prepped for. Vizier CoCo and Naya Zoo were super easy. I would not have expected that with the normal lists. I did not expect to hit Scapeshift decks three rounds in a row and it had a tilting effect when my post-sideboard games were neutered. The BTL lists especially were chaining Negates and Dispels against me and I have way too many slots dedicated to removal. This list felt more competitive versus Humans, but this matchup can't be made positive. I was constantly scrambling for answers as he applied pressure and kept me off O. Stone. I almost wish I had 4x Engineered Explosives but that's not realistic.
After seeing the top 32 I would absolutely bring something close to this list to the next Open or GP if I was to go and chalk my losses up to a strange run of matchups or some questionable play decisions. 100% Walking Ballista was my best card on the day btw and I am with Bloody_Rabbit that it needs to be played in multiples. Chalice was the worst card on the day and just rotted as a 4-of in my SB for almost every matchup.
We've always been a dog to aggro, but that specific list should do alright. Burn is the one aggro matchup where Dismember just hurts though as they're more than happy to trade a Goblin Guide for 4 of your life. At least that list runs multiple River of Tears to help you out. You're gonna want to bring in 4x Chalice (on 1 is good, but on 2 is generally better. Shuts off Helix, Boros Charm, Skullcrack but most importantly Destructive Revelry) and 4x Spatial Contortion (be careful popping this off on a Swiftspear if they have mana open). I think some Maps come out because you won't have time to use them before you're dead.
I tend to beat Burn if they get creature heavy hands as I have enough sideboard hate to keep the board clean. It's the stupid Bolt, Bolt, Bolt, Boros Charm etc. hands that beat me because I am prioritizing removal in my opening hand.
The non-creature clause is killing me but being able to hold up 3 mana, counter and still Thirst on end step sounds so delicious. I'm skeptical it makes a real impact for the reasons we have all been talking about (Aggro and now BBE being problematic so a Negate-type card is meh) but I am absolutely going to give it a real shot on release.
Related to this, if you see my last list you should see Spell Snare in the place of Negate, so I don’t know what are you referring at. I even considered going up to 2, but there is little to none space. Ah, Explosives are very needed, because they deal with things we cannot always keep at bay - like Boogles, multiple Humans on the field, Lantern, Infect or simply hordes of Goblins/Elves. They do a nice job at fighting most aggressive strategies. I really like my list at the moment.
Looks like I was going off of your older list and the Negates have been replaced by a Spell Snare and a Field of Ruin. Glad we had the same idea at least and you were just ahead of me. I'm not married to the Talisman and I could probably be fine just running 24 lands and the 3rd Repeal. The Field of Ruin in the side could just be slotted in as a 25th land against control.
Gifts Ungiven is a card I will definitely miss and it has pulled wins out of nowhere at FNM, but if I am going long for 7, 8, 9 rounds or whatever I just wanted to streamline my decision making and it's the most skill-intensive card in the deck. I am fine lowering my win % slightly against control though. I refuse to go something dumb like Affinity -> Humans -> Burn and then be out of contention so I want the anti-aggro safety valves in place.
@ BloodyRabbit_01: I do like your list and after testing out the Eldrazi-heavy Japanese lists, NuBlkAu/shoktroopa lists and yours I think it has the best aggro matchup with its extra access to black mana and 3 maindeck Dismember & Walking Ballista. The Japanese lists seem to just crush Control/Combo with the 4 TKS and Ulamog cast triggers, but the early game is very rough for me and it's where I often lose. I expect more aggro at SCG Milwaukee so I am leaning towards your list with some personal preference changes.
I am with most of the others on keeping the deck to 60 cards so I had to trim one card. I decided to drop 1x River of Tears to bring the land count back to 24 and added 1x Talisman of Dominance in its place. I prefer this over a 25th land because it adds to the artifact count for Thirst for Knowledge and allows for the explosive turn 3 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. The dropped card was 1x Repeal. Just felt like it was the most expendable card, but I also considered dropping 1x Oblivion Stone or 1x Ugin.
Speaking of adding the Talisman to up the artifact count, after testing I do love having more than the 1x Supreme Will that most people run, but 4 just seems overkill and I definitely miss having the full 4x Thirst. I am down to a 3/3 split. I might stay there, but it could go to 2/4 Will/Thirst by Saturday.
Sideboard seems pretty good. Keeping all the Chalices in the sideboard seems fine. What are your specific targets for Negate? Just control matchups and G Tron? I wonder if I'd rather have some mix of Spell Pierce/Dispel/Spell Snare in that slot. I find "testing" sideboards is pretty impossible so I'm just wondering how happy you have been with this configuration.
Any other advice on your specific list? Any maybeboard type stuff you have been looking at? Some stuff I am considering but don't think I will have time to try out before this weekend - Swapping 1x Snapcaster Mage for 1x Torrential Gearhulk... going back to 4x Expedition Map in the Main and dropping 1x Dismember for consistency in game 1... dropping 1x Engineered Explosives from the sideboard for something spicy (2x O-Stone, 2x Ugin, 2x Dismember, 4x Spatial in the 75; is 2x EE really needed)?
Oh my meta is jund and tron infested at the moment. There's the occasional ponza,burn and boogles too. Good to know that I can run the deck without it. Right now I have a pair of spatial contortions jammed in.
What do you guys think of filigree familiar as a main or side board inclusion. Gives you a blocker, some gain, and it replaces itself when it dies. I'm trying to see if running it alongside solemn simulacrum can work out.
It's not a bad card and I had 2 in my sideboard for a while when Burn was running rampant. It's like Kitchen Finks and Solemn had a dog baby. I wouldn't maindeck it though. It's a dead card against too many decks. Not being part of the fetch toolbox like Chalice hurts a bit too and that's why i went off of them, plus I'm loving Nimble Obstructionist in that 3-drop slot and there's not a ton of room in the SB. If you don't have access to Chalice I would say going 4 Spatial Contortion might be worth it in the sideboard. Dismember also helps a ton vs Affinity/Jund but feels sketchy against Burn. Proactively killing threats like Steel Overseer is usually more important than having blockers imo.
I also like Chalice in weird matchups like Ad Nauseum/Living End/Restore Balance. Putting it on 0 screws them off some mana and Pact of Negation. Having a few Dispel might be worth sideboard slots if these are in your meta and you don't have Chalice.
Yeah I don't own a crucible anymore so I didn't play one and dont miss it.
What's with the one of snow covered island? I assume it's for gifts but what advantage are you really getting? When do you want to get 2 islands in hand and 2 of anything else in the graveyard?
Yeah it's a rare situation but there is no reason not to at least run 1 if you have it. Like Pesca97 said, there are some UU cards or if you run Snapcaster Mage you're gonna need at least UU in order to utilize him properly. I have grabbed Island/Snow-Covered Island/Crucible of Worlds at end step at least once to have UU on the next turn. Maybe it increases your win % by 0.01% over a bajillion games, but they're cheap. If you don't have them it's not a big deal and if you don't plan on running crucible then I really wouldn't bother. Personally, I run a 3/3 split with Islands.
Crucible is not necessary to be competitive. I love having one mainboard, but that's a meta call as I run into some form of land hate every single Friday.
As a side note: SCG Milwaukee starts April 7th. I live about 5 minutes from the convention center so I am super excited to play an event I will actually be well rested for. I am 100% decided on U Tron, but I have yet to narrow down a list.
I went 2-2 with a list close to one of Ray's that had 2 chalices main board (link). Lost to Affinity and grixis death shadow, won against affinity and some weird (bad) valakut/through the breach deck. Some random thoughts:
I thought Commit // memory was just ok. Putting stuff second from the top is nice but 4 mana is a lot. Every time I had the ability to play the second half of the card I opted not to because it would let my Opp draw 7 as well. Still needs testing.
Torrential Gearhulk is pretty good when you have something to hit in the graveyard and a 5/6 body is always nice. It really sucks having repeal/condescend in the yard with Gearhulk in hand.
I hadn't played affinity in literal months at my shop so I took out the hurkyl's recalls, naturally I played it twice. The match I lost I don't think the recalls would have saved me any way, he had really fast starts both games. The match I won the player was really new with the deck and made some bad choices. That might just be one matchup I don't pack hate for and try to dodge. Anyone have tips for playing against it?
I didn't cast Gifts Ungiven all night, which is fine because I don't really know what to do with it. I threw it in to try it out on the fly. Also, anyone have tips for it?
I ran that same list @ an 18-person paper modern event, going 3-1 (Loss- Amulet Titan, Wins- Traverse Shadow, Jund, G Tron). I don't like packing hate for Affinity. Hurkyl's Recall just feels too narrow to run as more than a 1-of in the sideboard and they can just re-barf out their hand so it just buys a turn. It's hard to know when to get max value from it (usually when Cranial Plating comes down) and when you just need to rip it off early to survive. I disagree on 3 Spatial Contortion being too much. I sometimes run 4...unlike Hurkyl's it doesn't have blow-out potential but it's much less narrow and answers all sorts of stuff in our bad matchups. Goblin Guides (be careful about using it on Monastery Swiftspear), Steel Overseer, Arbor Elf etc. Against Affinity I side in all my Spatials and save Repeal for Arcbound Ravager. Unfortunately our deck can't do much about an Affinity nut draw, but every deck has a menace. I prefer to dodge.
Gifts Ungiven was a card I was scared to use for the longest time because it's difficult to use outside of a deck like Storm where it's almost always obvious what the correct choices are to trap an opponent. In U Tron it takes more intimate knowledge about your deck, your outs, future turns etc. The last situation I can remember was against Traverse Shadow. I was staring down a huge Death's Shadow and Tarmogoyf and just needed to buy time. Sundering Titan in hand but playing it would not leave enough blockers to stay alive. I was able to Gift out Engineered Explosives, Platinum Angel, Wurmcoil Engine and Walking Ballista meaning he had to topdeck some form of artifact destruction to kill me next turn no matter what combination of cards he gave me. He gave me the Ballista and Explosives. Explosives blew up his Shadow and Ballista chumped a Goyf. He dropped another Shadow. Next turn I was able to drop a Trinket Mage to block and tutored up Expedition Map, used it to find Buried Ruin, return Explosives to deal with the new Shadow. Eventually I found the opening I needed to drop Titan and lock him out of the game.
Long anecdotal story and he still had outs on the topdeck, but Gifts can single-handedly pull you out of near-death situations once you become comfortable with it. Add in a Crucible of Worlds package and I just can't see not using it anymore. I've watched Shok blatantly half-ass Gifts choices after a few beers and still get massive value out of it.
played a comp league with U tron just now, my first in a bit, cause i wanted to try RayFuturePro's list that posted a few 5-0s recently (with a few modifications to my liking, i cant put Solemn simulacrum in a list) ... but yeah, went 5-0 myself!
played vs:
humans, merfolk, titanshift, URcontrol, hollowone roulette
card notes:
torrential gearhulk felt good everytime i saw it (1/1 snapcaster split) first time actually trying it, lol. supreme will also felt good everytime i had it. buried ruin won me a game or two (the fact that it immediately puts a card, ballista in this case, into your hand, vs on draw) in the gemstone caverns slot
did not cast Committ/memory once, so i'm not sure about that one...
also, nimble obstructionist vs TKS as a postboard tempo threat , not sure which i like more.
Being able to take down both Humans and Merfolk in the same league is pretty impressive. I consider both of those in my absolute worst matchups category. Definitely curious to see a list that's able to do that with any consistency. I use to side-in 2x TKS, especially in paper because my meta is full of filthy combo decks like Ad Nauseum, but the bird has really been impressive. Versatility is awesome. Stifling fetches/titans, end-stepping him in to kill a walker and a flash 3power blocker...all feel pretty good. My issue is not having a good grasp on when to side him in. I tend to do it against any deck that's chock full of fetches and walkers. Should I be using him more as a beater when they take out removal?
Specific hate card that actually no one ends up playing or blood moon for 1 less mana and affordable for any deck?
Not concerned at all TBH. Aggro decks are our worst matchup and if they take a turn off to play that then we are in great shape because they're just giving us extra turns. Same goes for midrange really. The hot midrange deck is Jund and I don't see them even playing it with Bloodbraid getting hosed by it. I guess other control decks could drop it and try and protect it but some lists are already on 2-4 Field of Ruin that is harder to deal with since we can't use Repeal or counter them.
I don't even counter Blood Moons anymore unless I'm just using a Remand to draw a card or my only blue source in play is non-basic. I'll just let them waste the turn playing it, end step draw/filter some cards and then Repeal it when I have tron in place. I think the same thing will happen with Damping Sphere.
The lack of Chalice is very surprising since I feel like it helps in the Burn matchup, but it looks like he went with Sun Droplet and a Talisman of Progress for an additional counter on EE (something I see Shok do every once in a while). Sun Droplet seems so underwhelming...has anybody tried that out lately?
Tried out Jace, The Mind Sculptor the other night and it felt really bad like I thought it would. Didn't have any synergy with out primary card draw thirst for knowledge and on top that we don't really play the bodies needed to put in front him like a nice goyf
Yeah I ran him in a few friendlies and a few small paper events as a 1-of. Don't think I ever got 4mana of value out of him before he ate the dust. By the time I could cast him with protection I had faster wincons to fetch out or sitting in hand. He's a scary card when he gets going but I am shelving him in U Tron.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed Supreme Will, but I don't know about 4x at the expense of TfK. My first instinct is to try out a 3/3 split and see where that takes me.
2x Snapcaster seemed fine. I guess you look at what it's taking the place of. Compared to lists I usually run let's say that is Trinket Mage. This list is not running mainboard Chalice and just naturally finds Ballista since that is at 3x so Snapcaster is just better. I kind of wish 1 of the Snaps was an Obstructionist though. The flying is sometimes relevant.
3x Dismember was critical in my wins. Maybe 3x is too many, but I dunno...felt fine. The 4 life doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things when that Hierarch or Devoted Druid needs to die immediately. I was happy with them. My gripe was not having things in the sideboard to replace them with in dead matchups. Dispel and Negate seem narrow when I think of a broad meta, but I sure wish I had them in the board on Saturday. 7 targeted removal in the 75 just nullified CoCO + Zoo but was useless against Scapeshift. I guess that's just a U Tron problem. It's hard to plan for everything. 4x Chalice in the board was a similar problem. When you want them you REALLY want them and when you don't you wish they were anything else. I'm really down on them atm.
Overall, I like the shell and definitely appreciate it being shared with us. I think my favorite aspect is the multiple Ballista and River of Tears. Everything I would try and change is just tweaking numbers to see how it feels. I'll start with 3/3 Supreme/Thirst split, dropping a land to 24 (and 60 cards overall), going back to 4x Map and dropping either 1x Remand or Dismember. Probably toy around with 1x Nimble Obstructionist in the main.
I played the Classic today with the UB variant of Colorless Eldrazi and after 15 paper matches I'm too tired to write a full report buuuuuuut...
Topkyle @ SCG Milwaukee Open w/ Bloody_Rabbit01 (exact list):
Round 1- Ironworks Combo (W 2-0) 1-0 overall
Round 2- Bring to Light Scapeshift (L 1-2) 1-1 overall
Round 3- Bring to Light Scapeshift (L 1-2) 1-2 overall
Round 4- Titanshift (W 2-1) 2-2 overall
Round 5- WG Vizier Company (W 2-1) 3-2 overall
Round 6- Naya Zoo (W 2-0) 4-2 overall
Round 7- Humans (L 1-2) 4-3 overall -- DROP
My takeaway is that U Tron is powerful, but it's just not a good deck for a super-wide meta. This list performed amazingly in the matchups it was prepped for. Vizier CoCo and Naya Zoo were super easy. I would not have expected that with the normal lists. I did not expect to hit Scapeshift decks three rounds in a row and it had a tilting effect when my post-sideboard games were neutered. The BTL lists especially were chaining Negates and Dispels against me and I have way too many slots dedicated to removal. This list felt more competitive versus Humans, but this matchup can't be made positive. I was constantly scrambling for answers as he applied pressure and kept me off O. Stone. I almost wish I had 4x Engineered Explosives but that's not realistic.
After seeing the top 32 I would absolutely bring something close to this list to the next Open or GP if I was to go and chalk my losses up to a strange run of matchups or some questionable play decisions. 100% Walking Ballista was my best card on the day btw and I am with Bloody_Rabbit that it needs to be played in multiples. Chalice was the worst card on the day and just rotted as a 4-of in my SB for almost every matchup.
I tend to beat Burn if they get creature heavy hands as I have enough sideboard hate to keep the board clean. It's the stupid Bolt, Bolt, Bolt, Boros Charm etc. hands that beat me because I am prioritizing removal in my opening hand.
Looks like I was going off of your older list and the Negates have been replaced by a Spell Snare and a Field of Ruin. Glad we had the same idea at least and you were just ahead of me. I'm not married to the Talisman and I could probably be fine just running 24 lands and the 3rd Repeal. The Field of Ruin in the side could just be slotted in as a 25th land against control.
Gifts Ungiven is a card I will definitely miss and it has pulled wins out of nowhere at FNM, but if I am going long for 7, 8, 9 rounds or whatever I just wanted to streamline my decision making and it's the most skill-intensive card in the deck. I am fine lowering my win % slightly against control though. I refuse to go something dumb like Affinity -> Humans -> Burn and then be out of contention so I want the anti-aggro safety valves in place.
1 Academy Ruins
2 Field of Ruin
7 Island
2 River of Tears
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
Spells (26)
4 Condescend
1 Cyclonic Rift
3 Dismember
3 Expedition Map
1 Mindslaver
2 Oblivion Stone
3 Remand
2 Repeal
3 Supreme Will
1 Talisman of Dominance
3 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Creatures (8)
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Treasure Mage
3 Walking Ballista
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Negate
4 Spatial Contortion
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Wurmcoil Engine
I am with most of the others on keeping the deck to 60 cards so I had to trim one card. I decided to drop 1x River of Tears to bring the land count back to 24 and added 1x Talisman of Dominance in its place. I prefer this over a 25th land because it adds to the artifact count for Thirst for Knowledge and allows for the explosive turn 3 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. The dropped card was 1x Repeal. Just felt like it was the most expendable card, but I also considered dropping 1x Oblivion Stone or 1x Ugin.
Speaking of adding the Talisman to up the artifact count, after testing I do love having more than the 1x Supreme Will that most people run, but 4 just seems overkill and I definitely miss having the full 4x Thirst. I am down to a 3/3 split. I might stay there, but it could go to 2/4 Will/Thirst by Saturday.
Sideboard seems pretty good. Keeping all the Chalices in the sideboard seems fine. What are your specific targets for Negate? Just control matchups and G Tron? I wonder if I'd rather have some mix of Spell Pierce/Dispel/Spell Snare in that slot. I find "testing" sideboards is pretty impossible so I'm just wondering how happy you have been with this configuration.
Any other advice on your specific list? Any maybeboard type stuff you have been looking at? Some stuff I am considering but don't think I will have time to try out before this weekend - Swapping 1x Snapcaster Mage for 1x Torrential Gearhulk... going back to 4x Expedition Map in the Main and dropping 1x Dismember for consistency in game 1... dropping 1x Engineered Explosives from the sideboard for something spicy (2x O-Stone, 2x Ugin, 2x Dismember, 4x Spatial in the 75; is 2x EE really needed)?
It's not a bad card and I had 2 in my sideboard for a while when Burn was running rampant. It's like Kitchen Finks and Solemn had a dog baby. I wouldn't maindeck it though. It's a dead card against too many decks. Not being part of the fetch toolbox like Chalice hurts a bit too and that's why i went off of them, plus I'm loving Nimble Obstructionist in that 3-drop slot and there's not a ton of room in the SB. If you don't have access to Chalice I would say going 4 Spatial Contortion might be worth it in the sideboard. Dismember also helps a ton vs Affinity/Jund but feels sketchy against Burn. Proactively killing threats like Steel Overseer is usually more important than having blockers imo.
I also like Chalice in weird matchups like Ad Nauseum/Living End/Restore Balance. Putting it on 0 screws them off some mana and Pact of Negation. Having a few Dispel might be worth sideboard slots if these are in your meta and you don't have Chalice.
Yeah it's a rare situation but there is no reason not to at least run 1 if you have it. Like Pesca97 said, there are some UU cards or if you run Snapcaster Mage you're gonna need at least UU in order to utilize him properly. I have grabbed Island/Snow-Covered Island/Crucible of Worlds at end step at least once to have UU on the next turn. Maybe it increases your win % by 0.01% over a bajillion games, but they're cheap. If you don't have them it's not a big deal and if you don't plan on running crucible then I really wouldn't bother. Personally, I run a 3/3 split with Islands.
Crucible is not necessary to be competitive. I love having one mainboard, but that's a meta call as I run into some form of land hate every single Friday.
As a side note: SCG Milwaukee starts April 7th. I live about 5 minutes from the convention center so I am super excited to play an event I will actually be well rested for. I am 100% decided on U Tron, but I have yet to narrow down a list.
I ran that same list @ an 18-person paper modern event, going 3-1 (Loss- Amulet Titan, Wins- Traverse Shadow, Jund, G Tron). I don't like packing hate for Affinity. Hurkyl's Recall just feels too narrow to run as more than a 1-of in the sideboard and they can just re-barf out their hand so it just buys a turn. It's hard to know when to get max value from it (usually when Cranial Plating comes down) and when you just need to rip it off early to survive. I disagree on 3 Spatial Contortion being too much. I sometimes run 4...unlike Hurkyl's it doesn't have blow-out potential but it's much less narrow and answers all sorts of stuff in our bad matchups. Goblin Guides (be careful about using it on Monastery Swiftspear), Steel Overseer, Arbor Elf etc. Against Affinity I side in all my Spatials and save Repeal for Arcbound Ravager. Unfortunately our deck can't do much about an Affinity nut draw, but every deck has a menace. I prefer to dodge.
Gifts Ungiven was a card I was scared to use for the longest time because it's difficult to use outside of a deck like Storm where it's almost always obvious what the correct choices are to trap an opponent. In U Tron it takes more intimate knowledge about your deck, your outs, future turns etc. The last situation I can remember was against Traverse Shadow. I was staring down a huge Death's Shadow and Tarmogoyf and just needed to buy time. Sundering Titan in hand but playing it would not leave enough blockers to stay alive. I was able to Gift out Engineered Explosives, Platinum Angel, Wurmcoil Engine and Walking Ballista meaning he had to topdeck some form of artifact destruction to kill me next turn no matter what combination of cards he gave me. He gave me the Ballista and Explosives. Explosives blew up his Shadow and Ballista chumped a Goyf. He dropped another Shadow. Next turn I was able to drop a Trinket Mage to block and tutored up Expedition Map, used it to find Buried Ruin, return Explosives to deal with the new Shadow. Eventually I found the opening I needed to drop Titan and lock him out of the game.
Long anecdotal story and he still had outs on the topdeck, but Gifts can single-handedly pull you out of near-death situations once you become comfortable with it. Add in a Crucible of Worlds package and I just can't see not using it anymore. I've watched Shok blatantly half-ass Gifts choices after a few beers and still get massive value out of it.
Being able to take down both Humans and Merfolk in the same league is pretty impressive. I consider both of those in my absolute worst matchups category. Definitely curious to see a list that's able to do that with any consistency. I use to side-in 2x TKS, especially in paper because my meta is full of filthy combo decks like Ad Nauseum, but the bird has really been impressive. Versatility is awesome. Stifling fetches/titans, end-stepping him in to kill a walker and a flash 3power blocker...all feel pretty good. My issue is not having a good grasp on when to side him in. I tend to do it against any deck that's chock full of fetches and walkers. Should I be using him more as a beater when they take out removal?
Not concerned at all TBH. Aggro decks are our worst matchup and if they take a turn off to play that then we are in great shape because they're just giving us extra turns. Same goes for midrange really. The hot midrange deck is Jund and I don't see them even playing it with Bloodbraid getting hosed by it. I guess other control decks could drop it and try and protect it but some lists are already on 2-4 Field of Ruin that is harder to deal with since we can't use Repeal or counter them.
I don't even counter Blood Moons anymore unless I'm just using a Remand to draw a card or my only blue source in play is non-basic. I'll just let them waste the turn playing it, end step draw/filter some cards and then Repeal it when I have tron in place. I think the same thing will happen with Damping Sphere.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/player/RayFuturePro
The lack of Chalice is very surprising since I feel like it helps in the Burn matchup, but it looks like he went with Sun Droplet and a Talisman of Progress for an additional counter on EE (something I see Shok do every once in a while). Sun Droplet seems so underwhelming...has anybody tried that out lately?
Yeah I ran him in a few friendlies and a few small paper events as a 1-of. Don't think I ever got 4mana of value out of him before he ate the dust. By the time I could cast him with protection I had faster wincons to fetch out or sitting in hand. He's a scary card when he gets going but I am shelving him in U Tron.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/competitive-modern-constructed-league-2018-03-13
1 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Treasure Mage
1 Trinket Mage
1 Walking Ballista
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Commit // Memory
4 Condescend
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Gifts Ungiven
3 Remand
2 Repeal
4 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Chalice of the Void
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Expedition Map
1 Mindslaver
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Academy Ruins
1 Buried Ruin
1 Field of Ruin
5 Island
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 River of Tears
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Tolaria West
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Nimble Obstructionist
3 Spatial Contortion
3 Spreading Seas
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Tectonic Edge