I really like no Serum Visions or Think Twice in amaleks list, the way the format is right now you need to have the right answers in the right turns (which is why I also love the 2 copies of thoughtseize), and drawing cantrips instead costs you a lot of games. Not playing the colonnade playset feels weird though.
Snap is not enough. It's easy to think with a best case scenario mindset where you have a Snapcaster from flashing back a removal spell on a past turn and then you Counterspell a future play. It's never going to work like that, first and foremost because your opponents will know you're playing that card. If you've randomly a snapcaster on board, they're not just going to play into your counterspell; instead they'll use any of the to that point dead removal spells to kill it. And then you're stuck with another 3-mana counter, at which point you're better off running something like Disallow.
Damping Sphere, on the other hand, I'm really looking forward to. I think it's going to have a pretty big impact on Modern for the following reasons:
1) Nearly every deck can play it, which means you're less likely to play against Tron on average. It's not the same playing a couple of rounds against Ponza versus playing every single round against Damping Sphere decks.
2) Turn 2 is not the same as turn 3 against Tron. If you manage to curve into it regardless of play/draw and they don't have a Nature's Claim, you're winning a lot of time to build up to your hard counters or Field of Ruins.
3) It fits nicely with your strategy in the sense that it taxes opponents trying to beat Cryptic by playing multiple spells in the same turn. It does cost you if your deck relies on being mana-efficient with its removal like Grixis, but its fantastic in Supreme Verdict, low Snapcasster-count shells.
4) It's flexible enough that you'll also want it against Storm and even Xerox decks like Death's Shadow.
I feel there has to be a better way to punish those decks than a 4-drop that dies to bolt and a colorless land (which is usually awful in blue decks with terminate as their premium removal). The deck is already tailored to beat those to begin with, so I'd just stick with a solid sideboard finisher (Jace AoT, Scarab God, Keranos, etc)
I don't think I'll ever have the guts to side out path vs. E-Tron. Could you explain it to me, please? I know attacking their mana is important, but an unanswered Endbringer can run away with the game, and you have 8+ ways to punish them vs 2 basics. Pathing early is almost definitely a mistake, and even though siding some out is a hedge against Chalice, I'm not super sure it's correct. Would love to argue the point.
Here's the list Burkhart played on stream earlier this week, in case you missed it.
The deck follows the same philosophy as the ancestral vision iteration of the deck. You're a Jund-esque deck trying to trade even on resources and up on mana to reach a lategame where you can pick up the slack with Search for Azcanta, Cryptic and K-Command. You trade the mana efficiency of Ancestral Vision for the card selection of Search for Azcanta, even though it's more easily disruptable. Corey mentioned he didn't want to play Delve cards because he didn't want to tax his graveyard when he's trying to flip Search. Thus, the 2 Push 4 Bolt split is there to help close out games with Burn damage.
In the fun-off section you have Tribute to Hunger. He mentioned the games go on for so long the life gain is relevant, which in my experience it turns out to be... true. It just hurts, since the card is kind of the epitome of inefficiency.
He actually switched up the sideboard before he started playing a league, so I don't have much to say about it. The Death's Shadow in the sideboard do seem sound however, since as a control deck you want to be able to diversify your threats post-sideboard. If not Death's Shadow, I'd play something like Vendilion Clique instead.
Even though the format is not "aggro" in the sense that it had during the dredge/infect era, every deck is doing something super brutal each turn, be it tutoring up Tron lands, plays 7/7s for 1, casting Gifts Ungiven, etc... while you're taking a free turn to suspend ancestral.(In a format like Legacy for example, having access to free permission spells means you're fine spending your entire turn casting a ponder).
I’ve played Esper since modern became a format, from gifts to teachings to even a Delver Midrange list when UW Tron was all the rage. But I feel like the meta has gotten to a point where it’s consistently fast enough to cheese control decks out of the format. I can’t imagine a meta moving forward that’s favorable to Draw-Go is all I meant.
Deaths shadow across the table feels just like a legacy opponent, not unbeatable (but neither is Grixis Delver in legacy - my partner and I have jammed it before, it’s as atrocious as you’d think... maybe 25/75 but still!). Storm is currently a t3 goldfish, t4 through disruption with no ban this go round. WotC keeps printing cheap dudes with tempo advantage written all over them (not good for us).
I’m out on this one for the foreseeable future, find me when we have an equivalent engine to CounterTop! Lol
My opinion exactly. The "competitve diverisity", which I feel is just a contradiction in terms, hurts you more than it helps you. I'd honestly rather play a narrow field where metagaming actually means something.
I'd never cut Thought Scour. Scour+Snapcaster+Kolaghan's command is what makes the deck roll. If that's bad in your meta, you're probably better off playing Jeskai to begin with.
I like Ancestral Vision - maybe it's not the best build, but I think it's still pretty powerful. The pure draw-go approach with Pull From Tomorrow is interesting, but I think you're trying to do something Jeskai/UW does strictly better than you (not like that's an argument not to play it, though).
My problem with the list from last year is that the deck is trying to trade on mana in a world where the decks either are more mana-efficient than you (Grixis Death's Shadow, Burn...) or are too impactful and are better dealt with using targeted discard (Thought-Knot Seer, Primeval Titan, Collected Company...). So I like cutting the Spell Snares (which was one of the best cards in the deck, but not at its best right now) and adding some number of discards spells - I'm trying 1 Inquisition 1 Thoughtseize, meant only to deal with threats my hand is bad against and I usually take them out on the draw.
You can think of this as a "best of both worlds" approach to the deck, where you're have the power to deal with decks that attack you from weird angles, but you're also capable of trading on mana with decks where it's relevant, like the deck did in the past.
I don't like the Lilianas in Corey's list, maybe I'm playing them wrong, but every time you discard a Cryptic Command a kitten dies (ask Tasipurr).
Hi guys, I'm new to the deck. I really like it, I think it's pretty similar to my favorite deck - Grixis Control. That being said, I was hoping you could give me some tips against Grixis Death's Shadow. The primer says it's slightly favorable, but in my experience it's been abysmal. It feels like your entire deck dies to fatal push and the removal sometimes just doesn't line up. Liliana is obviously fantastic, but their disruption feels too strong sometimes. Thanks a lot!
Yeah, those decks should never board in Moon against any non-Tron/valakut deck. It does become tricker when your opponent's gameplan pushes you to use your mana (Storm, UR Moon garbage, Ponza, etc...).
Damping Sphere, on the other hand, I'm really looking forward to. I think it's going to have a pretty big impact on Modern for the following reasons:
1) Nearly every deck can play it, which means you're less likely to play against Tron on average. It's not the same playing a couple of rounds against Ponza versus playing every single round against Damping Sphere decks.
2) Turn 2 is not the same as turn 3 against Tron. If you manage to curve into it regardless of play/draw and they don't have a Nature's Claim, you're winning a lot of time to build up to your hard counters or Field of Ruins.
3) It fits nicely with your strategy in the sense that it taxes opponents trying to beat Cryptic by playing multiple spells in the same turn. It does cost you if your deck relies on being mana-efficient with its removal like Grixis, but its fantastic in Supreme Verdict, low Snapcasster-count shells.
4) It's flexible enough that you'll also want it against Storm and even Xerox decks like Death's Shadow.
Here's the list Burkhart played on stream earlier this week, in case you missed it.
The deck follows the same philosophy as the ancestral vision iteration of the deck. You're a Jund-esque deck trying to trade even on resources and up on mana to reach a lategame where you can pick up the slack with Search for Azcanta, Cryptic and K-Command. You trade the mana efficiency of Ancestral Vision for the card selection of Search for Azcanta, even though it's more easily disruptable. Corey mentioned he didn't want to play Delve cards because he didn't want to tax his graveyard when he's trying to flip Search. Thus, the 2 Push 4 Bolt split is there to help close out games with Burn damage.
In the fun-off section you have Tribute to Hunger. He mentioned the games go on for so long the life gain is relevant, which in my experience it turns out to be... true. It just hurts, since the card is kind of the epitome of inefficiency.
He actually switched up the sideboard before he started playing a league, so I don't have much to say about it. The Death's Shadow in the sideboard do seem sound however, since as a control deck you want to be able to diversify your threats post-sideboard. If not Death's Shadow, I'd play something like Vendilion Clique instead.
My opinion exactly. The "competitve diverisity", which I feel is just a contradiction in terms, hurts you more than it helps you. I'd honestly rather play a narrow field where metagaming actually means something.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucS_l6RqyEY
My problem with the list from last year is that the deck is trying to trade on mana in a world where the decks either are more mana-efficient than you (Grixis Death's Shadow, Burn...) or are too impactful and are better dealt with using targeted discard (Thought-Knot Seer, Primeval Titan, Collected Company...). So I like cutting the Spell Snares (which was one of the best cards in the deck, but not at its best right now) and adding some number of discards spells - I'm trying 1 Inquisition 1 Thoughtseize, meant only to deal with threats my hand is bad against and I usually take them out on the draw.
You can think of this as a "best of both worlds" approach to the deck, where you're have the power to deal with decks that attack you from weird angles, but you're also capable of trading on mana with decks where it's relevant, like the deck did in the past.
I don't like the Lilianas in Corey's list, maybe I'm playing them wrong, but every time you discard a Cryptic Command a kitten dies (ask Tasipurr).
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/opting-for-a-different-grixis-control/
I...don't like it that much! But who knows, it may be sweet.