Jace was online T3 maybe ~1/3 of the time, T4 if not. 4 cards apart from the loot isn't tough to reach.
In a 22 land deck serum visions feels necessary over thought scour. If I ran thought scour I would want at least 24 lands if not 25. The selection is also nice in a build that runs discard + counterspells, as they're often dead at different times. The main thing I miss with snapcaster is the instant speed of thought scour.
I've thought about scarab feast but haven't actually tested it. I like that kalitas doubles as a win condition.
Hey everyone! Long time lurker, first time posting. Just got back from GP Portland where I placed 32nd with grixis control. Overall went 11-2-2 which I am happy with given it was my first GP. I made a couple of mistakes that could have swung another match or two my way. I used to play a more Burkhart-style list but have been on a Gods_Shadow version of the deck for a while now. I think Burkhart's version gets hit harder by all of the graveyard hate floating around and I value the hand disruption in this build. Here was the list I ran this weekend:
A few tweaks I made from what Gods_Shadow has been running: Main deck Kalitas: With the rise in UR Phoenix I thought the number of decks I sided in Kalitas had reached the point where I wanted one main. I was very pleased with the addition, as it was responsible for my G1 wins against both Hollow One and UR Phoenix.
Consume the Meek: The card is bonkers against Bant Spirits, which I expected to see in large numbers. Instant speed and avoids Spell Queller. The main risk is a CoCo in response finding Mausoleum Wanderer. I was happy with 2 in the side. I did not miss Damnation, although I think running 1 Anger of the Gods would be defensible as well.
Surgical/Extirpate split: I was very high on extirpate when I ran the Burkhart version of the deck. When Field of Ruin is your answer to Tron, it leaves you with the necessary Swamp to cast Extirpate which minimizes the 1-mana downside. Its ability to prevent fetchlands from returning Bloodghasts around Surgical Extraction is great, as is the ability to prevent Tron from protecting its graveyard with Relic. Now that I'm running Fulminators I changed to a 1/2 split. Still not sure if that's correct, but split second did come up against UR Phoenix when they tried to Dispel it.
Fatal Push: Gods_Shadow hasn't been running any fatal push lately, but with UR Phoenix becoming more popular my terminates were starting to feel stretched thin between TiTi, drake, and reveler out of that deck. Cut the 3rd JVP for it and the change felt good against the mix of decks I faced.
I didn't take any notes during the GP so I'll just make an abbreviated tournament report with the highlights I can remember
Round 1: BR Hollow One (W 2-1, overall 1-0)
A timely KCommand killing Hollow One + Flameblade Adept allowed me to land a Kalitas. After that G1 was basically GG. G2 a T1 burning inquiry destroyed my hand by leaving me with mismatched lands + spells and I was never able to recover. G3 I extracted his flamewakes and then rode a Kalitas for the win.
Round 2: Bant Spirits (L 1-2, overall 1-1)
G1 I was on the draw and they had a brutal start. T1 vial led to T3 Drogskol + Phantasmal Image. They played around any chance for Nimble to block and I never drew LoTV which was my only other main deck answer to multiple Drogkols. G2 I drew a ton of spot removal & hand disruption and was able to grind them out. G3 was my first big mistake - I kept way too slow of a starting 7, and they led wanderer into thalia and I wasn't able to catch up.
Round 3: Merfolk (W 2-1, overall 2-1)
I don't remember anything particularly out of the ordinary here. I got blown out by a Deprive G2. G3 I inquisitioned a silvergill and his hand ended up pretty anemic after that.
Round 4: UW Control (W 2-1, overall 3-1)
G1 I was able to strip their hand of threats while they stumbled on mana early. T2 inquisition into T3 Fall into T4 Snap->Fall. I ended up facing UWx Control 4 times this weekend and I was very happy to have as much hand disruption as I did. G2 they hit a T2 Azcanta to which I wasn't able to find a timely answer. G3 fulminator was an all-star. I was able to keep them at a 3+ land disadvantage starting ~turn 6 and they weren't able to land any big threats.
Round 5: Storm (W 2-0, overall 4-1)
G1 flashed in a T2 snap to get early pressure. A mix of TS/inquisition/Fall kept them from reaching a critical mass of spells. Never got close to storming off. G2 I kept baral/electromancer off the table which forced them to go for a small (~4 storm) empty the warrens. Staticaster backed up by countersquall sealed the match.
Round 6: G Tron (W 2-1, overall 5-1)
G1 got destroyed by T3 Karn. G2 was able to fulminator a mine and extract the rest. G3 I never was able to extract his tron lands, but was able to keep them off tron by recurring fulminator multiple times.
Round 7: G Tron (D 1-1, overall 5-1-1)
G1 took FOREVER. It was a super bizarre game where I had the upper hand for the vast majority but it took forever to find a threat to finish him off. I ultimated LoTV TWICE in this game which was a first for me. G3 I was rushing to try and finish the match which led to a costly mistake. I extracted Wurmcoil instead of Karn when I had the chance (only 1 Karn left in the deck, multiple Wurms). BUT I had Kalitas in hand, so Wurm would've been the easier threat to answer if it resolved. Next turn he ripped his last Karn to destroy my Wandering fumarole and I wasn't able to finish him off by the end of turns.
Round 8: Esper Control (W 2-1, overall 6-1-1)
Nothing really notable. Esper felt like a worse version of UW.
Round 9: KCI (W 2-0, overall 7-1-1)
Another match where I was very glad to be running the discard-heavy version of Grixis Control. I thoughtseized at least 3 KCIs throughout the match, and discarded another with Fall. They did manage to land KCI one time, but I was able to destroy it with KCommand before he landed a retreiver.
Round 10: UW Control (D 1-1, overall 7-1-2)
Similar to my draw against tron, G1 took ~30 minutes before I was able to finish him off. G2 he found a window to resolve teferi and things snowballed from there. G3 I certainly would have lost if we had enough time, but I took the draw to increase my chance for prizes (good thing too, as I took 32nd as the only player with 35 pts).
Round 11: Jund Death's Shadow (W 2-1, overall 8-1-2)
I don't really remember G1 or G2. G3 I mulled to 6 and scried TS to the top. T1 he inquisitioned me and took my IoK. His game plan was reliant on having taken my hand disruption, and he was pretty salty when I TS'd his tarmogoyf T1 anyway.
Round 12: Jund (L 0-2, overall 8-2-2)
Bloodbraid did a lot of work. He cast 3 in a row G2 and I just didn't have enough answers. I think the Jund matchup is close to 50-50, but it certainly is draw-dependent.
Round 13: UR Phoenix (W 2-1, overall 9-2-2)
Spot removal slowed them down enough in G1 for me to land Kalitas, which finished the game in short order. G2 I got blown out by a T3 Blood Moon. G3 I extracted his arclight phoenixes and was able to answer his other threats with counterspells & spot removal. They were on a 3/3/1 split of TiTi/Drake/Reveler (at least after boarding when I was able to see his deck)
Round 14: Bant Spirits (W 2-1, overall 10-2-2)
G1 he thought I was on Death's Shadow and he took a little more conservative line than he should have. G2 my only T1 interaction was IoK and he had 2 Geists in hand. He went T1 noble -> T2 geist and I couldn't find an answer fast enough. G3 I kept wanderers off the battlefield with spot removal then blew him out with a T5 Consume the Meek. Coasted from there.
Round 15: UW Control (W 2-0, overall 11-2-2)
Another super long G1. We both ended with <10 cards left in library. G2 I landed an early Tasigur and finished him off relatively quickly.
Overall, I faced a bit of everything but the mix wasn't really representative. 4 UWx control was certainly more than I expected going into the weekend. I think we have the edge in the matchup if you focus on the few of their spells that really matter. I generally sideboard out at least 1 cryptic for this reason - winning the battle over those cards is vital and mana efficiency is key to that.
In a 22 land deck serum visions feels necessary over thought scour. If I ran thought scour I would want at least 24 lands if not 25. The selection is also nice in a build that runs discard + counterspells, as they're often dead at different times. The main thing I miss with snapcaster is the instant speed of thought scour.
I've thought about scarab feast but haven't actually tested it. I like that kalitas doubles as a win condition.
2 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
3 Nimble Obstructionist
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Land
1 Mountain
3 Island
2 Swamp
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Blood Crypt
2 Steam Vents
1 Watery Grave
3 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
1 Wandering Fumarole
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Field of Ruin
2 Terminate
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Logic Knot
3 Kolaghan's Command
4 Cryptic Command
1 Fatal Push
Sorcery
4 Serum Visions
2 Rise // Fall
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
Planeswalker
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Countersquall
2 Consume the Meek
2 Extirpate
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Dispel
2 Collective Brutality
A few tweaks I made from what Gods_Shadow has been running:
Main deck Kalitas: With the rise in UR Phoenix I thought the number of decks I sided in Kalitas had reached the point where I wanted one main. I was very pleased with the addition, as it was responsible for my G1 wins against both Hollow One and UR Phoenix.
Consume the Meek: The card is bonkers against Bant Spirits, which I expected to see in large numbers. Instant speed and avoids Spell Queller. The main risk is a CoCo in response finding Mausoleum Wanderer. I was happy with 2 in the side. I did not miss Damnation, although I think running 1 Anger of the Gods would be defensible as well.
Surgical/Extirpate split: I was very high on extirpate when I ran the Burkhart version of the deck. When Field of Ruin is your answer to Tron, it leaves you with the necessary Swamp to cast Extirpate which minimizes the 1-mana downside. Its ability to prevent fetchlands from returning Bloodghasts around Surgical Extraction is great, as is the ability to prevent Tron from protecting its graveyard with Relic. Now that I'm running Fulminators I changed to a 1/2 split. Still not sure if that's correct, but split second did come up against UR Phoenix when they tried to Dispel it.
Fatal Push: Gods_Shadow hasn't been running any fatal push lately, but with UR Phoenix becoming more popular my terminates were starting to feel stretched thin between TiTi, drake, and reveler out of that deck. Cut the 3rd JVP for it and the change felt good against the mix of decks I faced.
I didn't take any notes during the GP so I'll just make an abbreviated tournament report with the highlights I can remember
Round 1: BR Hollow One (W 2-1, overall 1-0)
A timely KCommand killing Hollow One + Flameblade Adept allowed me to land a Kalitas. After that G1 was basically GG. G2 a T1 burning inquiry destroyed my hand by leaving me with mismatched lands + spells and I was never able to recover. G3 I extracted his flamewakes and then rode a Kalitas for the win.
Round 2: Bant Spirits (L 1-2, overall 1-1)
G1 I was on the draw and they had a brutal start. T1 vial led to T3 Drogskol + Phantasmal Image. They played around any chance for Nimble to block and I never drew LoTV which was my only other main deck answer to multiple Drogkols. G2 I drew a ton of spot removal & hand disruption and was able to grind them out. G3 was my first big mistake - I kept way too slow of a starting 7, and they led wanderer into thalia and I wasn't able to catch up.
Round 3: Merfolk (W 2-1, overall 2-1)
I don't remember anything particularly out of the ordinary here. I got blown out by a Deprive G2. G3 I inquisitioned a silvergill and his hand ended up pretty anemic after that.
Round 4: UW Control (W 2-1, overall 3-1)
G1 I was able to strip their hand of threats while they stumbled on mana early. T2 inquisition into T3 Fall into T4 Snap->Fall. I ended up facing UWx Control 4 times this weekend and I was very happy to have as much hand disruption as I did. G2 they hit a T2 Azcanta to which I wasn't able to find a timely answer. G3 fulminator was an all-star. I was able to keep them at a 3+ land disadvantage starting ~turn 6 and they weren't able to land any big threats.
Round 5: Storm (W 2-0, overall 4-1)
G1 flashed in a T2 snap to get early pressure. A mix of TS/inquisition/Fall kept them from reaching a critical mass of spells. Never got close to storming off. G2 I kept baral/electromancer off the table which forced them to go for a small (~4 storm) empty the warrens. Staticaster backed up by countersquall sealed the match.
Round 6: G Tron (W 2-1, overall 5-1)
G1 got destroyed by T3 Karn. G2 was able to fulminator a mine and extract the rest. G3 I never was able to extract his tron lands, but was able to keep them off tron by recurring fulminator multiple times.
Round 7: G Tron (D 1-1, overall 5-1-1)
G1 took FOREVER. It was a super bizarre game where I had the upper hand for the vast majority but it took forever to find a threat to finish him off. I ultimated LoTV TWICE in this game which was a first for me. G3 I was rushing to try and finish the match which led to a costly mistake. I extracted Wurmcoil instead of Karn when I had the chance (only 1 Karn left in the deck, multiple Wurms). BUT I had Kalitas in hand, so Wurm would've been the easier threat to answer if it resolved. Next turn he ripped his last Karn to destroy my Wandering fumarole and I wasn't able to finish him off by the end of turns.
Round 8: Esper Control (W 2-1, overall 6-1-1)
Nothing really notable. Esper felt like a worse version of UW.
Round 9: KCI (W 2-0, overall 7-1-1)
Another match where I was very glad to be running the discard-heavy version of Grixis Control. I thoughtseized at least 3 KCIs throughout the match, and discarded another with Fall. They did manage to land KCI one time, but I was able to destroy it with KCommand before he landed a retreiver.
Round 10: UW Control (D 1-1, overall 7-1-2)
Similar to my draw against tron, G1 took ~30 minutes before I was able to finish him off. G2 he found a window to resolve teferi and things snowballed from there. G3 I certainly would have lost if we had enough time, but I took the draw to increase my chance for prizes (good thing too, as I took 32nd as the only player with 35 pts).
Round 11: Jund Death's Shadow (W 2-1, overall 8-1-2)
I don't really remember G1 or G2. G3 I mulled to 6 and scried TS to the top. T1 he inquisitioned me and took my IoK. His game plan was reliant on having taken my hand disruption, and he was pretty salty when I TS'd his tarmogoyf T1 anyway.
Round 12: Jund (L 0-2, overall 8-2-2)
Bloodbraid did a lot of work. He cast 3 in a row G2 and I just didn't have enough answers. I think the Jund matchup is close to 50-50, but it certainly is draw-dependent.
Round 13: UR Phoenix (W 2-1, overall 9-2-2)
Spot removal slowed them down enough in G1 for me to land Kalitas, which finished the game in short order. G2 I got blown out by a T3 Blood Moon. G3 I extracted his arclight phoenixes and was able to answer his other threats with counterspells & spot removal. They were on a 3/3/1 split of TiTi/Drake/Reveler (at least after boarding when I was able to see his deck)
Round 14: Bant Spirits (W 2-1, overall 10-2-2)
G1 he thought I was on Death's Shadow and he took a little more conservative line than he should have. G2 my only T1 interaction was IoK and he had 2 Geists in hand. He went T1 noble -> T2 geist and I couldn't find an answer fast enough. G3 I kept wanderers off the battlefield with spot removal then blew him out with a T5 Consume the Meek. Coasted from there.
Round 15: UW Control (W 2-0, overall 11-2-2)
Another super long G1. We both ended with <10 cards left in library. G2 I landed an early Tasigur and finished him off relatively quickly.
Overall, I faced a bit of everything but the mix wasn't really representative. 4 UWx control was certainly more than I expected going into the weekend. I think we have the edge in the matchup if you focus on the few of their spells that really matter. I generally sideboard out at least 1 cryptic for this reason - winning the battle over those cards is vital and mana efficiency is key to that.