Hey guys, sorry vacations got in the way and i completly forgot to put the results i talked about before.
Also hope everything is okay with you and your loved ones Fluff! We'll get through this eventually!
About the FNM i had previously mentioned:
Round 1 - Won 2-0 against 8 Rack
I think this is a wonderfull matchup given the cycling effects we have in the deck, always drawing us cards, and the presence of Prismatic Ending and Skyclave Apparition just dealing with their cards permanently.
Always fun having a midrange matchup. I have discussed this match up previously and overall felt very good in it. The value is just better in our deck so in my experiance we usually come out on top.
Teferi Time Raveler and Emeria really shine in this match up as we could expect in a control game. My loss was very unfortuante as i had an active Emeria with absolutly no creatures in the game, had a hand with 3 Prismatic Ending and 2 Supreme Verdict, only 2 lands left in the deck and 2 Mortarpod in play. I think if i tried i couldn't replicate how unlucky my draws were.
Hadn't played this matchup before and was honestly quite suprised by it's resilience. The Ozolith, Throne of Geth to avoid Exile based effects and Animation Module were actually cards that gave me trouble, specially when Urza's Saga just gets everything they need. But the removal was just too much and picking the right targets proved crucial for a win.
I think this FNM had a great variety of decks and being able to deal with aggro, midrange and control with more or less ease is a testament to it's power.
I tailored this deck for this agressive meta and it really shows in the games. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Dragon's Rage Channeler are very powerful cards, but with 3 Path to Exile, 2 Mortarpod and 3 Prismatic Ending, with the addition of our 2 mana creatures, usually they are threats we can deal well in the early game. Survive the early game and the game is very much favored.
Teferi isn't better than any of the cards in the deck and doesn't disrupt them as much, so they are the first to go. Given that i already feel very confident in our chances of winning the long game, 1 less titan to trim out the curve and put more inpactfull cards seems like a good choice. Sanctifier en-Vec is a wonderful card, having pretection against all the cards they have (asside from Prismatic Ending if they are running it) and exiling Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger as well as their other cards to stop them from achieving Delirium.
Very explosive deck with the ability to put several Hollow One as soon as turn 1! Usually they don't do it, but turn 1 Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, with turn 2 The Underworld Cookbook and a discard/ draw spell can be very strong, enabling Hollow One and Vengevine.
Given the suite of exile based removal we have in the deck, it's also not a bad match up as long as they don't have the god hands that dump Hollow One and Vengevine on turn 1 and 2.
All the sideboard cards are great disruption for the graveyard recursion plan they have, and saving removal for their big hitters makes this play like any other explosuve aggro deck we are used to.
Round 3 drew 1-1 against Hammertime
My opponent was new with the deck and took a long time making decisions so the games went very long and unfortunatly couldn't close game 3, although the win was almost certain.
Game 1 lost because i was stuck on 2 lands for the entire game, without drawing either a Path to Exile or Solitude and with 2 Skyclave Apparition in hand. He eventually ovwerpowers my defences by swinging with 2 constructs. I block one with Kaldra Compleat and one with Stoneforge Mystic, and he answers by putting 2 Colossus Hammer and a Shadowspear on the big Construct that was being blockes by Stoneforge at instant speed because of Sigarda's Aid.
Game 2 I keep a one lander, but had 2 Prismatic Ending, 1 Solitude, 1 Wall of Omens and 1 Sanctum Prelate in hand. I knew even if it took 2 turns to draw the second land i was safe from most of his early game. Got 2 lands on the next turns and the game was very doomed for my opponent when i played Sanctum Prelate on 1 and dealt with his Urza's Saga. He couldn't play Sigarda's Aid or his equipments and eventually he conceded.
Game 3 went very long and was a grindy one. He had Sigarda's Aid and was swinging with his Inkmoth Nexus every turn but never put any equipment on it, just baiting the removal. I didn't fall for it and went to 5 infect with no chance of death as i always had a Path to exile, Solitude and Seal of Cleansing ready to go. Puresteel Paladin and Esper Sentinel were actually quite good for him as they drew quite a bit of cards that made him stay in the game just enough to hold on for a draw.
I will post the other 4 matches tomorrow as I'm a bit short on time but i hope this results and short explanations benefit you and spark some interesting discussions in the thread!
Yhea unfortunately cards are still super exapnsive, specially format staples like Stoneforge Mystic and fetchlands.
However Mono white Emeria is still a great build, with a smoother mana base and retains most of the power of the UW version baring some cards that are better in this version like Teferi, Time Raveler, Court Hussar and Supreme Verdict, but that can be substituted for others.
I think even without Stoneforge package, Mortarpod is still a great card, specially in this meta with a lot of 1 thoughness creatures like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Dragon's Rage Channeler. If you're using Thraben Inspector, i think Ranger-Captain of Eos is always a great card to consider as it can fetch silver bullet creatures or the Inspector, and it also has a great active that works wonders against control, combo and the Cascade decks! Giver of Runes, Kami of False God, Burrenton Forge-Tender and Hex Parasite are just some of the cards that work well in this build in the side. I think Prismatic Ending is a wonderful card, but given that you´re playing a mono colered version it loses a bit of it's shine... Still great for the aggro matchups but loses to much value perhaps.
For the sideboard, most cards we have in our lists are white so i think you can also take ideas from there! I would love to see the results you get with the deck as i haven't played the mono white version in a very long time!
Good luck for your games!
Unfortunatly i haven't played against this new iteration of Hardened Scales Affinity so just like the scapeshift guide, it would be a theoretical guide and not one based on my experiance.
Regarding the Izzet Blitz guide, i would like to rectify some points given the feedback i received, so if you could just switch it with this updated version it would be amazing!
We usually have blockers on the ground that buy us a lot of time to develop our game. The biggest problem comes in the form of the fliers. When using 1 for 1 removal, try to prioritize flying creatures, only using it on ground creatures if it's absoultly needed and only after they pump it enough with a couple of spells to make them lose some value out of it.
If they swing with only one creature and you have a creature with at least 2 thoughness, you should probbaly block it as they will have to pump their creature to actually kill ours, making them waste a spell pumping only one creature when in future turns they could be pumping several. It also leaves them with less mana to work in the second main phase which can be relevant.
Stoneforge Mystic is quite important to get Batterskull assuming we are running the Stoneforge package. Even when stabilized with an empty board, we are still going to probably be low on life, so that's the recovery we need to put the game to rest and our life total way out of their range.
Always remember that without creatures, they cannot threaten us. Be mindfull of Expressive Iteration. This card can single handidly change a game as for 2cmc they see 3 cards and get 2 of them. Even when they are on top deck mode, assume there is a line where they can kill you out of nowehere if you're low enough and be ready for it.
2 cards i absolutly love in this match up in my mainboard are Skyclave Apparition, which can eat one of their creatures and trade with another (or at least make them use a spell to pump their creature); and Prismatic Ending which cleanly deals with whatever 1 drop they put, which will save you quite a bit of life in the long term.
When sideboarding out, Don't be afraid on trimming Sun Titan (some or all of them) and an Emeria, the Sky Ruin to lower or curve a bit if you need the sideboard slots.
One of the cards that i liked particularly in this match up was actually Skyclave Apparition, as their usual play is deploying a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, brainstorming and then leaving a Force of Negation to deal with anyhting we throw next turn. But if they tap out for Jace, Skyclave Apparition just eats it, simple. Have played against 3 Jeskai decks in this tournment wich i'll talk later too, but Jace was always of extreme importance to their plan, and being able to answer it so swiftly i found to be a big upside. Teferi, Time Raveler was of course amazing when he managed to stay on board, and the value of Emeria Titan in the late game showed once more. On the other hand, i wasn't particularly impressed with the land destruction tactic as from what i swa they were running at least 8 basics and mostly played with blue so though i didn't draw Crucible of Worlds, just with normal Field of ruin and Ghost Quarter activations it didn't look like i was going anywhere with it, specially when they had planeswalkers on the table. For me, early agression and having creatures on board was key to never give them a good chance to resolve a planewalker. Sanctum Prelate on 4 was also good to end the game as it took him out of supreme verdict, jace and Cryptic Command options to deal with my board or look for answers. Mortarpod was good to fill the grave, and ocasioanlly saving a creature from a path to exile, but it always felt awkward when putting it as a 2 drop and it not being able to apply any pressure. It's a trade we make and in the late game to fuel Emeria is amazing, but for that early agression that i spoke of, it obviously didn't provide much. Still think it's good but have to look at my sideboard again to see if there are better fits.
Very grindy game and won already on turns when i thought i was going to draw it.
Second match won 2-0 against Rakdos Midrange with Lurrus of the Dream-Den.
Game one he starts by using Inquisition of Kozilek to take a look at my hand and sees 2 Skyclave Apparition, 1 Prismatic Ending and 1 Path to Exile. He takes path, and proceeds for the next 4 turns to just use the Dash ability on Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer without me able to do anyhting against it. I was both lucky and unlucky here as i was stuck on 2 lands and Ragavan was always exiling a land, so he didn't play anyhting from my deck, but i also didn't have the lands to play. Eventually i maange to start putting defences with Mortarpod, and Court Hussar and he didn't have much else when he killed all my creatures, tried to dash with Ragavan and i evoke Solitude and leave him out of threaths. What i got from this match is that Ragavan is really sacry with the Dash ability and we should be mindfull of that and not just rely on Prismatic Ending or sorcery based removal.
Game 2 had Sanctifier on turn 2 which dealt with his building of delirium and acted as a wall for Ragavan. He eventually exiles it with Prismatic Ending but i had already developed my board and the value from ragavan dropped quite significantly. from there it was just playing it out, making my creatures stronger with Sword of Fire and Ice and just killing everything he had always with backup removal in hand.
Third match was a draw 1-1 against Jeskai Stoneblade (withou Ragavan, but with Jace).
Kaldra is a big problem. in the eraly game it's really easy to deal with the token, but in the late game when they can just eqquip it to nayhting on the board and still have counter magic up, it really leaves us betwenn a rock and a hard place.
Just like the previous Jeskai match up, my early agression allowed me to stay in a good postion to win the first game, dealing with Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic. Prismatic Ending was good to deal with Stoneforge and the germs, but it didn't really shine this game. Mortarpod helped pinging jace to death so it was better than the previous Jeskai match up where it really hadn't done much,
Sideboarded out: 1 Supreme Verdict, 1 Path to Exile, 1 Solitude
Sideboarded in: 1 Sanctum Prelate, 1 Ashiok, Dream Render and 1 Remorseful Cleric.
I was kind of at a loss on what to sideboard here. I didn't want to bringCrucible of Worlds and Ghost Quarter because of my preveious experiance that i had reported, and because this was going to be a more agressive match up where i would need my removal or i would just die. I think there is very much space to improve with this sideboarding and i would like to hear everyone's thoughts.
Game 2 i lost because i had 10 plains in total but no Emeria and it was just very sad...
Game 3 went on and on, but htis time i had Emeria active with no creatures on the grave. He managed to exile 1 Wall of Omens, 1 Sun Titan 1 Skyclave apparition, 1 Stoneforge Mystic and 1 Sword of Fire and Ice, i didn't draw Mortarpod to fill my grave and we just on and on until eventually i was going to win with Kaldra Compleat but it was already too late. I also made a missplay that might have costed me the game, by casting Solitude on his turn when he had mana to counter it, when i could have casted it on my turn and exiled his Stoneforge Mystic which would leave him more defenceless in the late game so i think i could have won the game with more tight play, but that's just how it went.
Fourth match won 2-0 against Izzet Blitz.
Just like i had already disccued in previous posts, i put blockers up for the ground creatures and tried to save my instant speed removal for the fliers, specially Storming Entity. Solitude was actually a great card as it's evoke really came in handy to exile a swiftspear that was going to attack for 6 and that kinda left my opponent without many threaths and without spells. From there it was really easy. Skyclave Apparition was as usual a great card for the ground creatures and Prismatic Ending didn't show up but it would have been amazing.
Game 2 was almost over before it started. Turn 2 Sanctifier en-Vec and turn 3 Sanctum Prelate just shut their deck down. They tried to make Sprite Dragon when they could, but a Solitude evoked just shut eveything they had and they swiftly conceded.
Fifth match lost 1-2 against Jeskai Stoneblade with Ragavan and Jace this time.
Just like other Jeskai matches, this ws a long one and just like the previous Stoneblade matchup, i was a bit lost in what to put in and out.
This played mostly like the previous match as Ragavan really didn't do much. Teferi Time Raveler resolving on game one i think preety much gave me the game.
Didn't think Remorseful Cleric would have been the most amazing card as they weren't using Murktide Regent and Dragon's Rage Channeler for what i saw, and i wanted the extra removal do deal with their threats.
Game 2 and 3 they had Cleansing Wildfire for Emeria and i hadn't brought Crucible of Worlds so i payed the price for that.
Game 2 a combination of Kaldra Compleat with Sword of Feast and Famine giving their germ protection from my Kaldra Compleat won them the game.
Game 3 i was about to win the game as i had mannaged to put them to 4, had a Sun Titan equipped with Mortarpod and a Skyclave Apparition. They had play Narset, Parter of Veils and have 2 lands left. with those 2 lands and 3 cards in hand, they path my titan, which i respond by pinging them, and when i go for attacks, they bolt my skyclave which leaves them at 3 with a batterskull and a Kaldra Compleat in play but with nothring to equip it to. Eventually they find a creatures and manage to swing the game in their favour as i was out of gas.
Very fun game and i'm sure more lines could have been played optimally, but i was also getting tired and control wasn't really in the meta here before MH2 so didn't have much experiance with it for a long time.
I think the next games will for sure go better and i'll put the results here.
Last match won 2-0 against Lantern Control.
A deck running mainboard Skycalve Apparition and Prismatic Ending will always be good against Lantern. Also a turn 3 Kaldra Compleat swinging kinda puts the pressure on them. They manage to put Ensaring Bridge, which i exile with Skycalve Apparition, and then they play another and start playing the control game with Lantern of Insight, Codex Shredder, Ghoulcaller's Bell and Pyxis of Pandemonium. Fortuantly i had Emeria already in play so i manage to do my land drops and proceed to bring Skycalve Apparition back to exile Bridge and win.
I think it was a good showing from the deck but i definitely need more practice against these Jeskai Decks that are becoming more and more popular with the new additions from MH2. Overall 4-1-1, and against Jeskai decks 1-1-1.
Gonna see what i can refine on the sideboard and i'll wait for your feedback as these control decks seem to be troubling all of you for what i've seen in the last posts!
Regarding the Izzet Blitz guide I thank you all for the feedback!
Going in depth about our divergence Stéphane, it made rethink exactly how I approached the matchup and while it's true I do value my creatures more because of the blink effect of Charming Prince and the possibility of equipping my creatures with either Shadowspear or Sword of Fire and Ice, in a vaccum I think your approach is indeed more correct and I might have let these synergies cloud my judgment a bit. The fact I had won preety much every game I've played against the deck might have also let me to believe it was an optimal line, but fter putting some thought into it I think I prefer your line and I thank you for making me ponder over this subject, specially now that my list doesn't run charming prince.
Plichow, im sad to hear about the 0-4 but in my opinion, Emeria being a reactive deck, it takes some time to adjust to new metas, and specially beginning with a new version of the deck, it will take some more time to take optimal lines, but nothing that should discourage you and with the support of everyone hopefully the adaptation phase will be a brief one!
In the main did the changes i had mentiones, putting in 2 Mortarpod and 3 Prismatic Ending, taking 3Charming Prince and 2 Elite Spellbinder.
In this more agressive meta and with midrange decks using such cheap spells and having such powerfull 1 drops, i don't think it justifies using Elite Spellbinder, being the first to be cut as it was also my flex slot. Charming Prince is a card i quite like and it served me really well, but from all the cards in the deck, it was what made more sense to take out. I'm still keeping 3 Solitude as I think the card is quite powerfull and it deals with big creatures i had mentioned before, splitting it 3/3 with Path to Exile, and seeing if i like this split.
In the side i have made quite some changes as i felt i wasn't using some of my cards and sometimes i tended to sidebord in a lot of stuff in already winning matchups when i really didn't need it. Having Prismatic Ending in the main really freed up my slots and this is what i have come up with. Sideboards are always very meta dependant and local meta dependant so this is what i came up with for now, seeing what shined and what doesn't.
I'll let you know how the cards fare when i get to play them!
Also went to FNM a couple of days ago and unfortuantly this time went 0-3. Despite the record the games were quite close and i don't think i made many mistakes, but sometimes it's just not enough. Going into the games.
Lost 0-1 to Amulet Titan in the first round.
As you can see for the record, this was a quite grindy game, and it owuld have been a 1-1 if i had 2 extra minutes on the clock. Urza's Saga is a quite powerfull Magic card, who would say Before we needed to worry about Primeval Titan and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove. Now there are the Karnstructs that if left unchecked, they can quickly become at least 3/3 with one full cycle of an Urza's Saga, and bigger if they get more artifacts like the ones they use in mainboard, or Clues from Tirelesss Tracker form the side or just another Karnstruct coming in. Teferi, Time Raveler spiked in value for having the ability to bounce both the Construct aswell as the Saga, and bought me a lot of time.I dealt with 2 Titans and 2 Dryads, but unfortunatly, another Dryad and and Azusa, Lost but Seeking, in combination with a bounce land and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle just pinged me to death (didn't draw any Field of Ruin or Ghost Quarter so no interaction with land)
Second game went very much like the first one, but with Prismatic Ending to deal more effectively with Amulet of Vigor an eventually a Damping Sphere that actually put a strain on his mana, leaving him with only one Green Mana, that unfortunatly didn't last long as he drew Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth. The game carried on and i only drew Stoneforge Mystic almost at the end of the game, wich allowed me to put a Kaldra Compleat in and starting beating in, but time was already ending and my opponent just playing slowly didn't allow me to win game 2.
Oeverall i'm preety happy with the way i played, and i think the beiggest factor contributing to this defeat was not seeing Stoneforge Mystic for almost the entire 2 games. Kaldra Compleat can kill them quickly and can be used on defense against a Titan quite efficiently because of the First Strike and Exile effect. Still don't like this match up, but i think we have a good chance.
Lost 1-2 against Izzet Blitz in round 2.
Eventually i would have to lose against it just according to probability. Played the game exactly as intended, exactly how i described on other posts and with the same sideboard. The crucial difference: Didn't see Stoneforge Mystic nor Batterskull for the 3 games, and on game 3 had finally stabilized with a Supreme Verdict, was at 5 life, they were empty handed, and draw Lightning Bolt, crack a Fiery Islet and draw a Monastery Swiftspear that swings for lethal. I think this game they just had it and i didn't. Just part og the game.
Lost round 3 against Mardu Midrange (bascially Rakdos midrange, splashing white for Prismtaic Ending)
This was a very interesting game to see the power of the new cards in MH2. Dragon's Rage Channeler with it's surveil ability is actually a very big threat in such a spell heavy deck. The ability to dig for whatever they want, while also fueliing delirium is scary. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is also a bit scary, and the dash abilty thre me in for a loop as i forgot it existed and didn't expect the hasty attack. Fortunatly he exiled a Sun Titan and couldn't cast it, and i eventually ovwerpowered him to win game 1.
Oeverall the games were close and in my opinion it came down to drawing a bit poorly and specially not drawing Stoneforge Mystic in most games.
It still gave me more knowledge about the new meta and made me make some adjustments to the deck like bringing Mortarpod back into my build and bringing Prismatic Ending into the main. I think this card is a powerhouse. I brought it amost always from the side and i felt like having it was always good in whatever matchup i was playing. It just deals with preety much everyhting very clenly in most matchups and with the abundance of high impact 1 drops, this is a game changer. Dragon's Rage Channeler and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer are powerhouses that are here to stay and their card advantage/ card selection is just too good to be left unchecked. Mortapod was a good card before, but for me it had fallen a bit out of favor. Not anymore and it's better than ever. I still want Path to Exile and Solitude for the big cards like Primeval Titan, Stormwing Entity and Urza,Lord High Artificer si went with 3/3/3 split on the removal, as i also run 4 Skyclave Apparition and with mortarpod putting the 1 drops in check, i think it's not a bad split.
I think Stéphane's version of the deck that he posted a while ago is quite good against this meta with all the removal he has in his more controlling shell. I'm gonna make some changes to this version to better adapt to the new meta and i'll post some more results when i have them!
I think Stéphane already gave you a preety in deapth explanation on the UW Control matchup so i don't have much to add as you seemed to manage the other match ups quite well!
Hoping to see more good results in the future so good luck!
About the Aura of Silence vs Seal of Cleansing debate it was me indeed that asked about it. I see your reasoning behind it, being the same reason for the split in the wraths plus the upside of the innate tax that comes with Aura. It had never happened to me so i didn't actually thought of it as a problem, only looking at efficiency. With the prevalance of Urza's Saga, and the ability to grab Pithing Needle i think it's legitimate to see the split as a good idea, however, being 3cmc and Seal of Cleansing being only 2cmc, i think right now it's a very considerable difference because it can deal with Urza's Saga before it reches it's third, or even second chapter if you are on the play, which can completly change the course of the game, making them lose a land, the constructs and the fetchble artifact for only 2cmc.
Hey fluff!
Sorry for not answering sooner but regarding the Izzet Blitz guide i think i'll try to do one that works for all the versions we are currently discussing instead of something completly focused on my build.
We usually have blockers on the ground that buy us a lot of time to develop our game. The biggest problem comes in the form of the fliers. When using 1 for 1 removal, try to prioritize flying creatures, only using it on ground creatures if it's absoultly needed and only after they pump it enough with a couple of spells to make them lose some value out of it.
When they go for attacks, if it's only one creature attacking, almost 100% of the times i won't block because if they actually pump it, they are losing value on those spells, as they could be pumping not 1 but 2 or 3 creatures.
Stoneforge Mystic is quite important to get Batterskull assuming we are running the Stoneforge package. Even when stabilized with an empty board, we are still going to probably be low on life, so that's the recovery we need to put the game to rest and our life total way out of their range.
Always remember that without creatures, they cannot threaten us. Be mindfull of Expressive Iteration. This card can single handidly change a game as for 2cmc they see 3 cards and get 2 of them. Even when they are on top deck mode, assume there is a line where they can kill you out of nowehere if you're low enough and be ready for it.
When sideboarding out, Don't be afraid on trimming Sun Titan (some or all of them) and an Emeria, the Sky Ruin to lower or curve a bit if you need the sideboard slots.
Regarding your question about Elite Spellbinder.
I think it's a flex slot and not nearly on the same powerlevel as the other 3 drops like Skyclave Apparition and Teferi, Time Raveler. Court Hussar i always run at least 2 because of the eternal recurrence sinergies with Sun Titan and Emeria, the Sky Ruin, so that is as low as i'm willing to go on that card.
Having built the rest of the deck i had 2 free slots and decided to try Elite Spellbinder. I have been quite impressed with the card, specially in the non aggro matchups. Being able to look at their hand and jsut make something cost 2 extra is actually quite good against some decks. I rememeber doing it last week against Jund, taking a Liliana of the Veil they were about to cast in the following turn, and they didn't cast her for 4 more turns due to lands constrictions. Being able to snag a combo piece also gives us another edge against one of our worst matchups wich has been historically combo decks where sometimes we just don't have an answer. Lastly, being a 3/1 flyer, it can actually end games quickly sometimes, specially when you equip it with a Sword or a Batterskull.
I'm quite liking the card, but while i would say Skyclave Apparition and Teferi, Time Raveler are 5/5 or close to it, being useful almost everytime, and i would rate this lower, as a 3/5 in general, a 2/5 (or sometimes even 1/5) in very agressive matchups and a 4/5 in those grindier matchups.
I think our deck already fares well against aggro, so i think we can spare the slots to put something more focused on other matchups, but i'm sure some will disagree with me on this topic and i would be happy to hear other opinions on the card as it hasn't been as widely discussed as other cards!
Welcome back Spencerinnd!
I feel like both you and I have a very simmilar approach to the deck as after MH1 i was a running a very simillar list to yours also using 4 Ranger-Captain of Eos and the tutir targets like Thraben Inspector and kami of false hope.
Your new version is also simillar to mine, even running 2 Elite Spellbinder which is a card i've been trying out and i have been enjoying it.
Regarding your question about the equipments in particular, i think 3 is a good number to run (not counting here Mortarpod, as for this discussion in particular, i consider it more of a value 2 drop than an equipment at the power level of the others mentioned). Before MH2 i used to play with 1 Batterskull, 1 Sword of Fire and Ice and 1Sword of Feast and Famine so i think i can give you my thoughts on the card.
I mostly used Sword of Feast and Famine for it's black and green protection, rather than the triggers itself. They can be very useful yes, making our opponent discard a card and allwoing to double our mana in a turn, but during my games, i found that it was usually a bit underwhelming. Sometimes i had the mana but nothing to play, and other times my opponent had no cards to discard. That makes it a dud in certain situations. Sword of Fire and Ice trigger is always relevant. if it connects, it always delas 2 and it draws us a card. Thats also the reason i don't particualarly like the other swords: they are just too situational. Sword of Fire and Ice gives us relevant protection and has the best trigger for our deck. When i put Kaldra Compleat i knew i had to take one of the swords out, and given what i just said, the choice was obvious. Given your situtation, not having acces to Sword of Fire and Ice, i still think Sword of Feast and Famine is the second best choice. I absolutly love Shadowspear in the side for some matchups, but in terms of overall value, Sword of Feast and Famine still takes the cake for me as the protection is still very relevant and it has the good but not amazing triggers of discarding and kinda doubling your mana for the turn.
And yes, i'm a sucker for Teferi, Time raveler so for me, more is always better :b
Answering your question regarding the use of Skyclave Apparition and Ranger-Captain of Eos in the same deck: I think it's possible but you have to make a lot of sacrifices for it. The 3cmc lot is already very crowded with Skyclave Apparition, Court Hussar, Teferi, Time raveler, and in our case Elite Spellbinder too (although this last one i feel like it's a flex slot and could be more easily slotted out). To put ranger, you would have to probably pur 3-4 and the one drops to back it up, which would mean cutting some Wall of Omens and Charming Prince which in my opinion would make this version of the deck weaker. I absolutly adore Ranger-Captain of Eos and have been trying to slot it in, but the sacrifices were just to great to put him in unfortunatly.
In regards to the rest, your list is very simillar to mine so i can't really add much!
About the sideboard, i think everyone has different preferences catered to different metas, but the one i'm most curious about is the one of Leyline of Sanctity. In what matchups would you bring it and why the decision to include only one?
I'm very much looking forward to seeing your results to see how this version of the deck holds up against different decks form the ones i play at my LGS.
Hey Plichow, hope you're surviving out there in these hot times and congrats on the 3-2!
I think it takes time to get used to a new configguration of the deck and to find a sideboard that we can work with so definitly keep working on your build and posting results here a si feel you encounter many more matchups that i for example have never actually played like UB food!
Glad to know Stéphane's list is working out for you and hope it keeps being good in this meta!
Hey Fluff , thank you for your work again :b
That list was the one i used because i didn't have Solitude yet, so if you could add this one instead it would be great!
About the Scapeshift guide, i haven't played against it in a very long time, only against Amulet Titan which seems to be the defacto Primeval Titan and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle deck so while i could write something it would be only very theoretical and not based on my recent experiances.
Stéphane, glad to see your new list for this new meta!
Your list seems very geared towards aggro wich makes perfect sense given the current meta! We have discussed Pilgrim's Eye in the past and while i'm not as high on it as i was when i started playing the deck, for your controlling version of the deck it makes sense to get to an Emeria activation as soon as possible, while many of my games are won before getting that late game. But in a world with mostly Lava Dart but also cards like Wrenn and Six being present, do you still believe the card to be as good as it was for you before?
Another question i have is regarding Mortarpod. I love the card in an evironment with many 1 thougness creatures, and with the rise of Delver that is certanly the case. But my question is do think 3 is a good number? I say this because while it feeds your graveayard and has value against some of these creatures, i feel like in the late game is just a dead draw when i need something of power. I was running one as i have been for a long time, and for the vast majority of my games it wouldn't do anything except block and ping my opponent for one. I started running it mostly because i wanted a way to interact with the Heliod Combo when they went to take the counters of one of the creatures, but now that that deck is falling in the meta with the rise of Afinnity and other decks, at least for me i don't find as much value running it. But i would love seeing your point of view on the card as it has definitely been good for me in the past.
About the 4 Teferi, Time Raveler, do you think the benefit of maximizing the oods of having it as much as possible outwheighs the drawback of being legendary? I'm running 3 of them so i think we both have the card in high consideration in this meta, my question was simply regarding the deckbuilding of 3 vs 4.
Also i like your approach against control in the side, with Ghost Quarter and Crucible of Worlds. That's a lock i haven't used in a long time, as crucible, as a 3 mana do nothing artifact when it comes into play, just didn't cut it for me. Haven't played against a hardcore control deck in some time so i might try it again in the future, but i need more experienace to see if with my current build i'm able to deal with control easily or need more tools.
Regarding to Aura of Silence, do you find it to be better that the second Seal of Cleansing? Being 3cmc, how relevant is the first line of text when sometimes you just want to sacrifice it to break something we need. In what matchups and situations do you think it's better than Seal?
Tell us about your experiances when you have the chance to give the deck a spin as it would be very enlightening! Good luck on your games!
Also hope everything is okay with you and your loved ones Fluff! We'll get through this eventually!
About the FNM i had previously mentioned:
Round 1 - Won 2-0 against 8 Rack
I think this is a wonderfull matchup given the cycling effects we have in the deck, always drawing us cards, and the presence of Prismatic Ending and Skyclave Apparition just dealing with their cards permanently.
Sideboarded out: 2 Supreme Verdict, 3 Solitude, 2 Mortarpod, 1 Path to Exile
Sideboarded in: 2 Sanctifier en-Vec, 2 Seal of Cleansing, 1 Sanctum Prelate, 1 Celestial Purge, 1 Crucible of Worlds, 1 Gideon of the Trials
Round 2 - Won 2-0 against Orzhov Stoneblade
Always fun having a midrange matchup. I have discussed this match up previously and overall felt very good in it. The value is just better in our deck so in my experiance we usually come out on top.
Sideboarded out: 2 Mortarpod, 1 Solitude, 1 Teferi Time Raveler
Sideboarded in: 2 Sanctifier en-Vec, 1 Ashiok, Dream Render, 1 Aven Mindcensor
Round 3 - Won 2-1 against Sultai Control, with Wilderness Reclamation and Nexus of Fate
Teferi Time Raveler and Emeria really shine in this match up as we could expect in a control game. My loss was very unfortuante as i had an active Emeria with absolutly no creatures in the game, had a hand with 3 Prismatic Ending and 2 Supreme Verdict, only 2 lands left in the deck and 2 Mortarpod in play. I think if i tried i couldn't replicate how unlucky my draws were.
Sideboarded out: 2 Prismatic Ending, 3 Solitude, 2 Supreme Verdict, 1 Path to Exile
Sideboarded in: 1 Sanctifier en-Vec, 2 Seal of Cleansing, 1 Sanctum Prelate, 1 Remorseful Cleric, 1 Crucible of Worlds, 1 Gideon of the Trials, 1 Ashiok, Dream Render, 1 Aven Mindcensor
Round 4 - Won 2-0 Against Hardened Scales
Hadn't played this matchup before and was honestly quite suprised by it's resilience. The Ozolith, Throne of Geth to avoid Exile based effects and Animation Module were actually cards that gave me trouble, specially when Urza's Saga just gets everything they need. But the removal was just too much and picking the right targets proved crucial for a win.
Sideboarded out: 2 Mortarpod, 1 Sword of Fire and Ice
Sideboarded in: 2 Seal of Cleansing, 1 Sorcerous Spyglass
I think this FNM had a great variety of decks and being able to deal with aggro, midrange and control with more or less ease is a testament to it's power.
Managed to play 2 FNM's this weekend and won both of them, with 6 wins and 1 draw in total.
This is the build i went with, very simillar to what i had used previously, only changing some sideboard slots:
2 Windswept Heath
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
6 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Raugrin Triome
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Prairie Stream
3 Field of Ruin
3 Flooded Strand
1 Snow-Covered Island
Creatures
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Wall of Omens
4 Skyclave Apparition
2 Court Hussar
3 Solitude
3 Sun Titan
2 Mortarpod
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Kaldra Compleat
1 Batterskull
Planeswalker
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
Sorcery
3 Prismatic Ending
2 Supreme Verdict
Instant
3 Path to Exile
2 Seal of Cleansing
2 Sanctifier en-Vec
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Damping Sphere
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Kor Firewalker
1 Shadowspear
1 Gideon of the Trials
1 Celestial Purge
1 Sanctum Prelate
In the first tournament went 2-0-1
First round won 2-0 Rakdos Midrange with Lurrus of the Dream-Den
I tailored this deck for this agressive meta and it really shows in the games. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Dragon's Rage Channeler are very powerful cards, but with 3 Path to Exile, 2 Mortarpod and 3 Prismatic Ending, with the addition of our 2 mana creatures, usually they are threats we can deal well in the early game. Survive the early game and the game is very much favored.
I dont exactly remember the sideboard as i forgot to write down my changes in this day but i think it was:
Sideboarded in: 2 Sanctifier en-Vec, 1 Celestial Purge and 1 Remorseful Cleric.
Sideboarded out: 3 Teferi, Time Raveler, 1 Sun Titan.
Teferi isn't better than any of the cards in the deck and doesn't disrupt them as much, so they are the first to go. Given that i already feel very confident in our chances of winning the long game, 1 less titan to trim out the curve and put more inpactfull cards seems like a good choice. Sanctifier en-Vec is a wonderful card, having pretection against all the cards they have (asside from Prismatic Ending if they are running it) and exiling Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger as well as their other cards to stop them from achieving Delirium.
Second round won 2-0 against Mono red Discard with Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar.
Very explosive deck with the ability to put several Hollow One as soon as turn 1! Usually they don't do it, but turn 1 Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, with turn 2 The Underworld Cookbook and a discard/ draw spell can be very strong, enabling Hollow One and Vengevine.
Given the suite of exile based removal we have in the deck, it's also not a bad match up as long as they don't have the god hands that dump Hollow One and Vengevine on turn 1 and 2.
Sideboarded in: 2 Sanctifier en-Vec, 1 Celestial Purge, 1 Remorseful Cleric and 1 Ashiok, Dream Render
Sideboarded out: 2 Teferi, Time Raveler, 1 Sun Titan and 2 Mortarpod
All the sideboard cards are great disruption for the graveyard recursion plan they have, and saving removal for their big hitters makes this play like any other explosuve aggro deck we are used to.
Round 3 drew 1-1 against Hammertime
My opponent was new with the deck and took a long time making decisions so the games went very long and unfortunatly couldn't close game 3, although the win was almost certain.
Game 1 lost because i was stuck on 2 lands for the entire game, without drawing either a Path to Exile or Solitude and with 2 Skyclave Apparition in hand. He eventually ovwerpowers my defences by swinging with 2 constructs. I block one with Kaldra Compleat and one with Stoneforge Mystic, and he answers by putting 2 Colossus Hammer and a Shadowspear on the big Construct that was being blockes by Stoneforge at instant speed because of Sigarda's Aid.
Sideboarded in: 2 Seal of Cleansing, 1 Aven Mindcensor, 1 Sanctum Prelate.
Sideboarded out: 2 Mortarpod, 1 Sword of Fire and Ice, 1 Skyclave Apparition
Game 2 I keep a one lander, but had 2 Prismatic Ending, 1 Solitude, 1 Wall of Omens and 1 Sanctum Prelate in hand. I knew even if it took 2 turns to draw the second land i was safe from most of his early game. Got 2 lands on the next turns and the game was very doomed for my opponent when i played Sanctum Prelate on 1 and dealt with his Urza's Saga. He couldn't play Sigarda's Aid or his equipments and eventually he conceded.
Game 3 went very long and was a grindy one. He had Sigarda's Aid and was swinging with his Inkmoth Nexus every turn but never put any equipment on it, just baiting the removal. I didn't fall for it and went to 5 infect with no chance of death as i always had a Path to exile, Solitude and Seal of Cleansing ready to go. Puresteel Paladin and Esper Sentinel were actually quite good for him as they drew quite a bit of cards that made him stay in the game just enough to hold on for a draw.
I will post the other 4 matches tomorrow as I'm a bit short on time but i hope this results and short explanations benefit you and spark some interesting discussions in the thread!
Yhea unfortunately cards are still super exapnsive, specially format staples like Stoneforge Mystic and fetchlands.
However Mono white Emeria is still a great build, with a smoother mana base and retains most of the power of the UW version baring some cards that are better in this version like Teferi, Time Raveler, Court Hussar and Supreme Verdict, but that can be substituted for others.
I think even without Stoneforge package, Mortarpod is still a great card, specially in this meta with a lot of 1 thoughness creatures like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Dragon's Rage Channeler. If you're using Thraben Inspector, i think Ranger-Captain of Eos is always a great card to consider as it can fetch silver bullet creatures or the Inspector, and it also has a great active that works wonders against control, combo and the Cascade decks! Giver of Runes, Kami of False God, Burrenton Forge-Tender and Hex Parasite are just some of the cards that work well in this build in the side. I think Prismatic Ending is a wonderful card, but given that you´re playing a mono colered version it loses a bit of it's shine... Still great for the aggro matchups but loses to much value perhaps.
For the sideboard, most cards we have in our lists are white so i think you can also take ideas from there! I would love to see the results you get with the deck as i haven't played the mono white version in a very long time!
Good luck for your games!
Unfortunatly i haven't played against this new iteration of Hardened Scales Affinity so just like the scapeshift guide, it would be a theoretical guide and not one based on my experiance.
Regarding the Izzet Blitz guide, i would like to rectify some points given the feedback i received, so if you could just switch it with this updated version it would be amazing!
Usually Izzet Blitz plays 16 creatures: 4 Monastery Swiftspear, 4 Soul-Scar Mage, 4 Stormwing Entity, and depending on the build, 4 Sprite Dragon or 4 Dragon's Rage Channeler.
We usually have blockers on the ground that buy us a lot of time to develop our game. The biggest problem comes in the form of the fliers. When using 1 for 1 removal, try to prioritize flying creatures, only using it on ground creatures if it's absoultly needed and only after they pump it enough with a couple of spells to make them lose some value out of it.
If they swing with only one creature and you have a creature with at least 2 thoughness, you should probbaly block it as they will have to pump their creature to actually kill ours, making them waste a spell pumping only one creature when in future turns they could be pumping several. It also leaves them with less mana to work in the second main phase which can be relevant.
Stoneforge Mystic is quite important to get Batterskull assuming we are running the Stoneforge package. Even when stabilized with an empty board, we are still going to probably be low on life, so that's the recovery we need to put the game to rest and our life total way out of their range.
Always remember that without creatures, they cannot threaten us. Be mindfull of Expressive Iteration. This card can single handidly change a game as for 2cmc they see 3 cards and get 2 of them. Even when they are on top deck mode, assume there is a line where they can kill you out of nowehere if you're low enough and be ready for it.
2 cards i absolutly love in this match up in my mainboard are Skyclave Apparition, which can eat one of their creatures and trade with another (or at least make them use a spell to pump their creature); and Prismatic Ending which cleanly deals with whatever 1 drop they put, which will save you quite a bit of life in the long term.
Sideboaard considerations: Prismatic Ending (assuming you're not running it on mainboard already), Sanctifier en-Vec, Gideon of the Trials, Shadowspear, Celestial Purge, Kor Firewalker, Detention Sphere, Sanctum Prelate and whatever other removal, life gain or pretection from red you have.
When sideboarding out, Don't be afraid on trimming Sun Titan (some or all of them) and an Emeria, the Sky Ruin to lower or curve a bit if you need the sideboard slots.
This is the list i was playing:
2 Windswept Heath
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
6 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Raugrin Triome
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Prairie Stream
3 Field of Ruin
3 Flooded Strand
1 Snow-Covered Island
Creatures
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Wall of Omens
4 Skyclave Apparition
2 Court Hussar
3 Solitude
3 Sun Titan
2 Mortarpod
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Kaldra Compleat
1 Batterskull
Planeswalker
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
Sorcery
3 Prismatic Ending
2 Supreme Verdict
Instant
3 Path to Exile
2 Seal of Cleansing
2 Sanctifier en-Vec
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Damping Sphere
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1 Kor Firewalker
1 Shadowspear
1 Gideon of the Trials
1 Celestial Purge
1 Sanctum Prelate
First match won against Jeskai Control 2-1. Important to say this was a straight control version with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Jace, the Mind Sculptor and without Stoneforge Mystic and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
I'm going to go over the sideboard first as i think even with it, the match up doesn't particularly change much and i just a more fined tuned deck i games 2 and 3.
Sideboarded out: 2Path to Exile, 1 Solitude and 2 Supreme Verdict
Sideboarded in: 1 Sanctum Prelate, 1 Crucible of Worlds, 1 Ghost Quarter, 1 Ashiok, Dream Render and 1 Remorseful Cleric.
One of the cards that i liked particularly in this match up was actually Skyclave Apparition, as their usual play is deploying a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, brainstorming and then leaving a Force of Negation to deal with anyhting we throw next turn. But if they tap out for Jace, Skyclave Apparition just eats it, simple. Have played against 3 Jeskai decks in this tournment wich i'll talk later too, but Jace was always of extreme importance to their plan, and being able to answer it so swiftly i found to be a big upside.
Teferi, Time Raveler was of course amazing when he managed to stay on board, and the value of Emeria Titan in the late game showed once more. On the other hand, i wasn't particularly impressed with the land destruction tactic as from what i swa they were running at least 8 basics and mostly played with blue so though i didn't draw Crucible of Worlds, just with normal Field of ruin and Ghost Quarter activations it didn't look like i was going anywhere with it, specially when they had planeswalkers on the table. For me, early agression and having creatures on board was key to never give them a good chance to resolve a planewalker. Sanctum Prelate on 4 was also good to end the game as it took him out of supreme verdict, jace and Cryptic Command options to deal with my board or look for answers.
Mortarpod was good to fill the grave, and ocasioanlly saving a creature from a path to exile, but it always felt awkward when putting it as a 2 drop and it not being able to apply any pressure. It's a trade we make and in the late game to fuel Emeria is amazing, but for that early agression that i spoke of, it obviously didn't provide much. Still think it's good but have to look at my sideboard again to see if there are better fits.
Very grindy game and won already on turns when i thought i was going to draw it.
Second match won 2-0 against Rakdos Midrange with Lurrus of the Dream-Den.
Game one he starts by using Inquisition of Kozilek to take a look at my hand and sees 2 Skyclave Apparition, 1 Prismatic Ending and 1 Path to Exile. He takes path, and proceeds for the next 4 turns to just use the Dash ability on Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer without me able to do anyhting against it. I was both lucky and unlucky here as i was stuck on 2 lands and Ragavan was always exiling a land, so he didn't play anyhting from my deck, but i also didn't have the lands to play. Eventually i maange to start putting defences with Mortarpod, and Court Hussar and he didn't have much else when he killed all my creatures, tried to dash with Ragavan and i evoke Solitude and leave him out of threaths. What i got from this match is that Ragavan is really sacry with the Dash ability and we should be mindfull of that and not just rely on Prismatic Ending or sorcery based removal.
Sidebparded out: 1 Path to exile, 3 Teferi, Time Raveler.
Sideboarded in: 2 Sanctifier en-Vec, 1Remorseful Cleric, 1Celestial Purge
I took Path but given what i said about instant speed removal, i think i could be better of taking a Supreme Verdict or something like that.
Game 2 had Sanctifier on turn 2 which dealt with his building of delirium and acted as a wall for Ragavan. He eventually exiles it with Prismatic Ending but i had already developed my board and the value from ragavan dropped quite significantly. from there it was just playing it out, making my creatures stronger with Sword of Fire and Ice and just killing everything he had always with backup removal in hand.
Third match was a draw 1-1 against Jeskai Stoneblade (withou Ragavan, but with Jace).
Kaldra is a big problem. in the eraly game it's really easy to deal with the token, but in the late game when they can just eqquip it to nayhting on the board and still have counter magic up, it really leaves us betwenn a rock and a hard place.
Just like the previous Jeskai match up, my early agression allowed me to stay in a good postion to win the first game, dealing with Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic. Prismatic Ending was good to deal with Stoneforge and the germs, but it didn't really shine this game. Mortarpod helped pinging jace to death so it was better than the previous Jeskai match up where it really hadn't done much,
Sideboarded out: 1 Supreme Verdict, 1 Path to Exile, 1 Solitude
Sideboarded in: 1 Sanctum Prelate, 1 Ashiok, Dream Render and 1 Remorseful Cleric.
I was kind of at a loss on what to sideboard here. I didn't want to bringCrucible of Worlds and Ghost Quarter because of my preveious experiance that i had reported, and because this was going to be a more agressive match up where i would need my removal or i would just die. I think there is very much space to improve with this sideboarding and i would like to hear everyone's thoughts.
Game 2 i lost because i had 10 plains in total but no Emeria and it was just very sad...
Game 3 went on and on, but htis time i had Emeria active with no creatures on the grave. He managed to exile 1 Wall of Omens, 1 Sun Titan 1 Skyclave apparition, 1 Stoneforge Mystic and 1 Sword of Fire and Ice, i didn't draw Mortarpod to fill my grave and we just on and on until eventually i was going to win with Kaldra Compleat but it was already too late. I also made a missplay that might have costed me the game, by casting Solitude on his turn when he had mana to counter it, when i could have casted it on my turn and exiled his Stoneforge Mystic which would leave him more defenceless in the late game so i think i could have won the game with more tight play, but that's just how it went.
Fourth match won 2-0 against Izzet Blitz.
Just like i had already disccued in previous posts, i put blockers up for the ground creatures and tried to save my instant speed removal for the fliers, specially Storming Entity. Solitude was actually a great card as it's evoke really came in handy to exile a swiftspear that was going to attack for 6 and that kinda left my opponent without many threaths and without spells. From there it was really easy. Skyclave Apparition was as usual a great card for the ground creatures and Prismatic Ending didn't show up but it would have been amazing.
Sideboarded out: 3 Sun Titan, 1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin, 1 Kaldra Compleat and 2 Mortarpod
Sideboarded in: 1 Kor Firewalker, 1 Shadowspear, 1 Gideon of the Trials, 1 Celestial Purge, 1 Sanctum Prelate and 2 Sanctifier en-Vec.
Game 2 was almost over before it started. Turn 2 Sanctifier en-Vec and turn 3 Sanctum Prelate just shut their deck down. They tried to make Sprite Dragon when they could, but a Solitude evoked just shut eveything they had and they swiftly conceded.
Fifth match lost 1-2 against Jeskai Stoneblade with Ragavan and Jace this time.
Just like other Jeskai matches, this ws a long one and just like the previous Stoneblade matchup, i was a bit lost in what to put in and out.
This played mostly like the previous match as Ragavan really didn't do much. Teferi Time Raveler resolving on game one i think preety much gave me the game.
Sideboarded out: 1 Supreme Verdict and 1 Path to Exile
Sideboarded in: 1 Sanctum Prelate and 1 Ashiok, Dream Render.
Didn't think Remorseful Cleric would have been the most amazing card as they weren't using Murktide Regent and Dragon's Rage Channeler for what i saw, and i wanted the extra removal do deal with their threats.
Game 2 and 3 they had Cleansing Wildfire for Emeria and i hadn't brought Crucible of Worlds so i payed the price for that.
Game 2 a combination of Kaldra Compleat with Sword of Feast and Famine giving their germ protection from my Kaldra Compleat won them the game.
Game 3 i was about to win the game as i had mannaged to put them to 4, had a Sun Titan equipped with Mortarpod and a Skyclave Apparition. They had play Narset, Parter of Veils and have 2 lands left. with those 2 lands and 3 cards in hand, they path my titan, which i respond by pinging them, and when i go for attacks, they bolt my skyclave which leaves them at 3 with a batterskull and a Kaldra Compleat in play but with nothring to equip it to. Eventually they find a creatures and manage to swing the game in their favour as i was out of gas.
Very fun game and i'm sure more lines could have been played optimally, but i was also getting tired and control wasn't really in the meta here before MH2 so didn't have much experiance with it for a long time.
I think the next games will for sure go better and i'll put the results here.
Last match won 2-0 against Lantern Control.
A deck running mainboard Skycalve Apparition and Prismatic Ending will always be good against Lantern. Also a turn 3 Kaldra Compleat swinging kinda puts the pressure on them. They manage to put Ensaring Bridge, which i exile with Skycalve Apparition, and then they play another and start playing the control game with Lantern of Insight, Codex Shredder, Ghoulcaller's Bell and Pyxis of Pandemonium. Fortuantly i had Emeria already in play so i manage to do my land drops and proceed to bring Skycalve Apparition back to exile Bridge and win.
Sideboarded out: 1 Supreme Verdict, 3 Solitude, 2 Path to Exile
Sideboarded in: 2 Cleansing Seal, 1 Gideon of the Trials, 1 Ashiok, Dream Render, 1 Sanctum Prelate, 1 Crucible of Worlds
Game 2 i had 2 Skyclave Apparition so i was happy. They strip one of them with an Inquisition of Kozilek and then play spellskite to protect their best cards. The game goes long and eventually I have a Sun titan but they had a Grafdigger's Cage. I start looping 2 Teferi, Time raveler and the sheer vlaue from this countering their Grafdigger's Cage, eventually finds me and opening to take the Ensaring Bridge out of the way and win.
I think it was a good showing from the deck but i definitely need more practice against these Jeskai Decks that are becoming more and more popular with the new additions from MH2. Overall 4-1-1, and against Jeskai decks 1-1-1.
Gonna see what i can refine on the sideboard and i'll wait for your feedback as these control decks seem to be troubling all of you for what i've seen in the last posts!
Stay safe and good luck for your games!
Regarding the Izzet Blitz guide I thank you all for the feedback!
Going in depth about our divergence Stéphane, it made rethink exactly how I approached the matchup and while it's true I do value my creatures more because of the blink effect of Charming Prince and the possibility of equipping my creatures with either Shadowspear or Sword of Fire and Ice, in a vaccum I think your approach is indeed more correct and I might have let these synergies cloud my judgment a bit. The fact I had won preety much every game I've played against the deck might have also let me to believe it was an optimal line, but fter putting some thought into it I think I prefer your line and I thank you for making me ponder over this subject, specially now that my list doesn't run charming prince.
Plichow, im sad to hear about the 0-4 but in my opinion, Emeria being a reactive deck, it takes some time to adjust to new metas, and specially beginning with a new version of the deck, it will take some more time to take optimal lines, but nothing that should discourage you and with the support of everyone hopefully the adaptation phase will be a brief one!
2 Windswept Heath
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
6 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Raugrin Triome
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Prairie Stream
3 Field of Ruin
3 Flooded Strand
1 Snow-Covered Island
Creatures
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Wall of Omens
4 Skyclave Apparition
2 Court Hussar
3 Solitude
3 Sun Titan
2 Mortarpod
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Kaldra Compleat
1 Batterskull
Planeswalker
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
Sorcery
3 Prismatic Ending
2 Supreme Verdict
Instant
3 Path to Exile
2 Seal of Cleansing
2 Sanctifier en-Vec
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Damping Sphere
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1 Kor Firewalker
1 Shadowspear
1 Gideon of the Trials
1 Celestial Purge
1 Sanctum Prelate
In the main did the changes i had mentiones, putting in 2 Mortarpod and 3 Prismatic Ending, taking 3Charming Prince and 2 Elite Spellbinder.
In this more agressive meta and with midrange decks using such cheap spells and having such powerfull 1 drops, i don't think it justifies using Elite Spellbinder, being the first to be cut as it was also my flex slot. Charming Prince is a card i quite like and it served me really well, but from all the cards in the deck, it was what made more sense to take out. I'm still keeping 3 Solitude as I think the card is quite powerfull and it deals with big creatures i had mentioned before, splitting it 3/3 with Path to Exile, and seeing if i like this split.
In the side i have made quite some changes as i felt i wasn't using some of my cards and sometimes i tended to sidebord in a lot of stuff in already winning matchups when i really didn't need it. Having Prismatic Ending in the main really freed up my slots and this is what i have come up with. Sideboards are always very meta dependant and local meta dependant so this is what i came up with for now, seeing what shined and what doesn't.
I'll let you know how the cards fare when i get to play them!
Lost 0-1 to Amulet Titan in the first round.
As you can see for the record, this was a quite grindy game, and it owuld have been a 1-1 if i had 2 extra minutes on the clock.
Urza's Saga is a quite powerfull Magic card, who would say Before we needed to worry about Primeval Titan and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove. Now there are the Karnstructs that if left unchecked, they can quickly become at least 3/3 with one full cycle of an Urza's Saga, and bigger if they get more artifacts like the ones they use in mainboard, or Clues from Tirelesss Tracker form the side or just another Karnstruct coming in. Teferi, Time Raveler spiked in value for having the ability to bounce both the Construct aswell as the Saga, and bought me a lot of time.I dealt with 2 Titans and 2 Dryads, but unfortunatly, another Dryad and and Azusa, Lost but Seeking, in combination with a bounce land and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle just pinged me to death (didn't draw any Field of Ruin or Ghost Quarter so no interaction with land)
Sideboarded out: 2 Elite Spellbinder, 2 Charming Prince, 1 Court Hussar, 1 Sword of Fire and Ice, 1 Teferi, Time Raveler (this last one i think it should have stayed in in hindsight for the reasons i mentioned before)
Sideboarded in: 2 Prismatic Ending, 2 Seal of Cleansing, 2 Damping Spehere, 1 Ashiok, Dream Render.
Second game went very much like the first one, but with Prismatic Ending to deal more effectively with Amulet of Vigor an eventually a Damping Sphere that actually put a strain on his mana, leaving him with only one Green Mana, that unfortunatly didn't last long as he drew Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth. The game carried on and i only drew Stoneforge Mystic almost at the end of the game, wich allowed me to put a Kaldra Compleat in and starting beating in, but time was already ending and my opponent just playing slowly didn't allow me to win game 2.
Oeverall i'm preety happy with the way i played, and i think the beiggest factor contributing to this defeat was not seeing Stoneforge Mystic for almost the entire 2 games. Kaldra Compleat can kill them quickly and can be used on defense against a Titan quite efficiently because of the First Strike and Exile effect. Still don't like this match up, but i think we have a good chance.
Lost 1-2 against Izzet Blitz in round 2.
Eventually i would have to lose against it just according to probability. Played the game exactly as intended, exactly how i described on other posts and with the same sideboard. The crucial difference: Didn't see Stoneforge Mystic nor Batterskull for the 3 games, and on game 3 had finally stabilized with a Supreme Verdict, was at 5 life, they were empty handed, and draw Lightning Bolt, crack a Fiery Islet and draw a Monastery Swiftspear that swings for lethal. I think this game they just had it and i didn't. Just part og the game.
Lost round 3 against Mardu Midrange (bascially Rakdos midrange, splashing white for Prismtaic Ending)
This was a very interesting game to see the power of the new cards in MH2. Dragon's Rage Channeler with it's surveil ability is actually a very big threat in such a spell heavy deck. The ability to dig for whatever they want, while also fueliing delirium is scary. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is also a bit scary, and the dash abilty thre me in for a loop as i forgot it existed and didn't expect the hasty attack. Fortunatly he exiled a Sun Titan and couldn't cast it, and i eventually ovwerpowered him to win game 1.
Sideboarded out: 1 Teferi, Time Raveler, 2 Elite Spellbinder
Sideboarded in: 2 Prismatic Ending, 1 Sanctifier en-Vec
Game 2 i open with a Sanctifier en-Vec, which basically absolutly destroys his delirium strategy while providing a blocker against everyhting and against all removal. Or so i thought. With Dragon's Rage Channeler he surveils 4 times until he eventually finds a Prismatic Ending to deal with my creature. The game was quite close and eventually i had a creature with Sword of Fire and Ice facing a Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger. Eventually he put a Scourge of the Skyclaves and had a Lightning Bolt in hand that took care of my remaiing life total.
Game 3 was also a back and forth until he evntually plays his 1 of Tourach, Dread Cantor, kicked, making me discard a Sun titan and a Sword of Fire and Ice. That really hurt. I manage to put a Court Hussar to buy me some time to find a Supreme Verdict or a Living weapon or Stoneforge Mystic or anyhting that would deal with the pretection from white aspect, but he also had Shizo, Death's Storehouse which allowed him to pass through Court Hussar twice for the win. Once again, didn't see the Stoneforge Mystic wich seemed to be a problem during the entirity of the 3 matches.
Oeverall the games were close and in my opinion it came down to drawing a bit poorly and specially not drawing Stoneforge Mystic in most games.
It still gave me more knowledge about the new meta and made me make some adjustments to the deck like bringing Mortarpod back into my build and bringing Prismatic Ending into the main. I think this card is a powerhouse. I brought it amost always from the side and i felt like having it was always good in whatever matchup i was playing. It just deals with preety much everyhting very clenly in most matchups and with the abundance of high impact 1 drops, this is a game changer. Dragon's Rage Channeler and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer are powerhouses that are here to stay and their card advantage/ card selection is just too good to be left unchecked. Mortapod was a good card before, but for me it had fallen a bit out of favor. Not anymore and it's better than ever. I still want Path to Exile and Solitude for the big cards like Primeval Titan, Stormwing Entity and Urza,Lord High Artificer si went with 3/3/3 split on the removal, as i also run 4 Skyclave Apparition and with mortarpod putting the 1 drops in check, i think it's not a bad split.
I think Stéphane's version of the deck that he posted a while ago is quite good against this meta with all the removal he has in his more controlling shell. I'm gonna make some changes to this version to better adapt to the new meta and i'll post some more results when i have them!
A great day and great games to all of you!
I think Stéphane already gave you a preety in deapth explanation on the UW Control matchup so i don't have much to add as you seemed to manage the other match ups quite well!
Hoping to see more good results in the future so good luck!
About the Aura of Silence vs Seal of Cleansing debate it was me indeed that asked about it. I see your reasoning behind it, being the same reason for the split in the wraths plus the upside of the innate tax that comes with Aura. It had never happened to me so i didn't actually thought of it as a problem, only looking at efficiency. With the prevalance of Urza's Saga, and the ability to grab Pithing Needle i think it's legitimate to see the split as a good idea, however, being 3cmc and Seal of Cleansing being only 2cmc, i think right now it's a very considerable difference because it can deal with Urza's Saga before it reches it's third, or even second chapter if you are on the play, which can completly change the course of the game, making them lose a land, the constructs and the fetchble artifact for only 2cmc.
Sorry for not answering sooner but regarding the Izzet Blitz guide i think i'll try to do one that works for all the versions we are currently discussing instead of something completly focused on my build.
Usually Izzet Blitz plays 16 creatures: 4 Monastery Swiftspear, 4 Soul-Scar Mage, 4 Stormwing Entity, and depending on the build, 4 Sprite Dragon or 4 Dragon's Rage Channeler.
We usually have blockers on the ground that buy us a lot of time to develop our game. The biggest problem comes in the form of the fliers. When using 1 for 1 removal, try to prioritize flying creatures, only using it on ground creatures if it's absoultly needed and only after they pump it enough with a couple of spells to make them lose some value out of it.
When they go for attacks, if it's only one creature attacking, almost 100% of the times i won't block because if they actually pump it, they are losing value on those spells, as they could be pumping not 1 but 2 or 3 creatures.
Stoneforge Mystic is quite important to get Batterskull assuming we are running the Stoneforge package. Even when stabilized with an empty board, we are still going to probably be low on life, so that's the recovery we need to put the game to rest and our life total way out of their range.
Always remember that without creatures, they cannot threaten us. Be mindfull of Expressive Iteration. This card can single handidly change a game as for 2cmc they see 3 cards and get 2 of them. Even when they are on top deck mode, assume there is a line where they can kill you out of nowehere if you're low enough and be ready for it.
Sideboaard considerations: Prismatic Ending (assuming you're not running it on mainboard already), Sanctifier en-Vec, Gideon of the Trials, Shadowspear, Celestial Purge, Kor Firewalker, Detention Sphere, Sanctum Prelate and whatever other removal, life gain or pretection from red you have.
When sideboarding out, Don't be afraid on trimming Sun Titan (some or all of them) and an Emeria, the Sky Ruin to lower or curve a bit if you need the sideboard slots.
Regarding your question about Elite Spellbinder.
I think it's a flex slot and not nearly on the same powerlevel as the other 3 drops like Skyclave Apparition and Teferi, Time Raveler. Court Hussar i always run at least 2 because of the eternal recurrence sinergies with Sun Titan and Emeria, the Sky Ruin, so that is as low as i'm willing to go on that card.
Having built the rest of the deck i had 2 free slots and decided to try Elite Spellbinder. I have been quite impressed with the card, specially in the non aggro matchups. Being able to look at their hand and jsut make something cost 2 extra is actually quite good against some decks. I rememeber doing it last week against Jund, taking a Liliana of the Veil they were about to cast in the following turn, and they didn't cast her for 4 more turns due to lands constrictions. Being able to snag a combo piece also gives us another edge against one of our worst matchups wich has been historically combo decks where sometimes we just don't have an answer. Lastly, being a 3/1 flyer, it can actually end games quickly sometimes, specially when you equip it with a Sword or a Batterskull.
I'm quite liking the card, but while i would say Skyclave Apparition and Teferi, Time Raveler are 5/5 or close to it, being useful almost everytime, and i would rate this lower, as a 3/5 in general, a 2/5 (or sometimes even 1/5) in very agressive matchups and a 4/5 in those grindier matchups.
I think our deck already fares well against aggro, so i think we can spare the slots to put something more focused on other matchups, but i'm sure some will disagree with me on this topic and i would be happy to hear other opinions on the card as it hasn't been as widely discussed as other cards!
I feel like both you and I have a very simmilar approach to the deck as after MH1 i was a running a very simillar list to yours also using 4 Ranger-Captain of Eos and the tutir targets like Thraben Inspector and kami of false hope.
Your new version is also simillar to mine, even running 2 Elite Spellbinder which is a card i've been trying out and i have been enjoying it.
Regarding your question about the equipments in particular, i think 3 is a good number to run (not counting here Mortarpod, as for this discussion in particular, i consider it more of a value 2 drop than an equipment at the power level of the others mentioned). Before MH2 i used to play with 1 Batterskull, 1 Sword of Fire and Ice and 1Sword of Feast and Famine so i think i can give you my thoughts on the card.
I mostly used Sword of Feast and Famine for it's black and green protection, rather than the triggers itself. They can be very useful yes, making our opponent discard a card and allwoing to double our mana in a turn, but during my games, i found that it was usually a bit underwhelming. Sometimes i had the mana but nothing to play, and other times my opponent had no cards to discard. That makes it a dud in certain situations. Sword of Fire and Ice trigger is always relevant. if it connects, it always delas 2 and it draws us a card. Thats also the reason i don't particualarly like the other swords: they are just too situational. Sword of Fire and Ice gives us relevant protection and has the best trigger for our deck. When i put Kaldra Compleat i knew i had to take one of the swords out, and given what i just said, the choice was obvious. Given your situtation, not having acces to Sword of Fire and Ice, i still think Sword of Feast and Famine is the second best choice. I absolutly love Shadowspear in the side for some matchups, but in terms of overall value, Sword of Feast and Famine still takes the cake for me as the protection is still very relevant and it has the good but not amazing triggers of discarding and kinda doubling your mana for the turn.
And yes, i'm a sucker for Teferi, Time raveler so for me, more is always better :b
Answering your question regarding the use of Skyclave Apparition and Ranger-Captain of Eos in the same deck: I think it's possible but you have to make a lot of sacrifices for it. The 3cmc lot is already very crowded with Skyclave Apparition, Court Hussar, Teferi, Time raveler, and in our case Elite Spellbinder too (although this last one i feel like it's a flex slot and could be more easily slotted out). To put ranger, you would have to probably pur 3-4 and the one drops to back it up, which would mean cutting some Wall of Omens and Charming Prince which in my opinion would make this version of the deck weaker. I absolutly adore Ranger-Captain of Eos and have been trying to slot it in, but the sacrifices were just to great to put him in unfortunatly.
In regards to the rest, your list is very simillar to mine so i can't really add much!
About the sideboard, i think everyone has different preferences catered to different metas, but the one i'm most curious about is the one of Leyline of Sanctity. In what matchups would you bring it and why the decision to include only one?
I'm very much looking forward to seeing your results to see how this version of the deck holds up against different decks form the ones i play at my LGS.
I think it takes time to get used to a new configguration of the deck and to find a sideboard that we can work with so definitly keep working on your build and posting results here a si feel you encounter many more matchups that i for example have never actually played like UB food!
Glad to know Stéphane's list is working out for you and hope it keeps being good in this meta!
That list was the one i used because i didn't have Solitude yet, so if you could add this one instead it would be great!
2 Windswept Heath
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
6 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Raugrin Triome
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Prairie Stream
1 Snow-Covered Island
3 Field of Ruin
3 Flooded Strand
Creatures: 25
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Wall of Omens
3 Charming Prince
4 Skyclave Apparition
2 Elite Spellbinder
2 Court Hussar
3 Solitude
3 Sun Titan
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
Artifacts: 3
1 Kaldra Compleat
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull
Sorcery: 2
2 Supreme Verdict
Instant: 3
3 Path to Exile
2 Remorseful Cleric
2 Damping Sphere
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Seal of Cleansing
1 Shadowspear
2 Prismatic Ending
2 Gideon of the Trials
2 Sanctum Prelate
1 Sanctifier en-Vec
About the Scapeshift guide, i haven't played against it in a very long time, only against Amulet Titan which seems to be the defacto Primeval Titan and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle deck so while i could write something it would be only very theoretical and not based on my recent experiances.
Your list seems very geared towards aggro wich makes perfect sense given the current meta! We have discussed Pilgrim's Eye in the past and while i'm not as high on it as i was when i started playing the deck, for your controlling version of the deck it makes sense to get to an Emeria activation as soon as possible, while many of my games are won before getting that late game. But in a world with mostly Lava Dart but also cards like Wrenn and Six being present, do you still believe the card to be as good as it was for you before?
Another question i have is regarding Mortarpod. I love the card in an evironment with many 1 thougness creatures, and with the rise of Delver that is certanly the case. But my question is do think 3 is a good number? I say this because while it feeds your graveayard and has value against some of these creatures, i feel like in the late game is just a dead draw when i need something of power. I was running one as i have been for a long time, and for the vast majority of my games it wouldn't do anything except block and ping my opponent for one. I started running it mostly because i wanted a way to interact with the Heliod Combo when they went to take the counters of one of the creatures, but now that that deck is falling in the meta with the rise of Afinnity and other decks, at least for me i don't find as much value running it. But i would love seeing your point of view on the card as it has definitely been good for me in the past.
About the 4 Teferi, Time Raveler, do you think the benefit of maximizing the oods of having it as much as possible outwheighs the drawback of being legendary? I'm running 3 of them so i think we both have the card in high consideration in this meta, my question was simply regarding the deckbuilding of 3 vs 4.
Also i like your approach against control in the side, with Ghost Quarter and Crucible of Worlds. That's a lock i haven't used in a long time, as crucible, as a 3 mana do nothing artifact when it comes into play, just didn't cut it for me. Haven't played against a hardcore control deck in some time so i might try it again in the future, but i need more experienace to see if with my current build i'm able to deal with control easily or need more tools.
Regarding to Aura of Silence, do you find it to be better that the second Seal of Cleansing? Being 3cmc, how relevant is the first line of text when sometimes you just want to sacrifice it to break something we need. In what matchups and situations do you think it's better than Seal?
Tell us about your experiances when you have the chance to give the deck a spin as it would be very enlightening! Good luck on your games!