Bad draws hit everyone. Personally, I don't have a lot of testing against RG Aggro and Delver, but Terminus seems good. I'm running Think Twice and Terminus, along with Ponder. I typically hit Terminus frequently, and even when I don't, I can still stall out with tokens and Day of Judgment. I'm trying Blade Splicer right now, since the golem token is colorless it can block sworded creatures. When combined with Lingering Souls and Oblivion Ring, you get a nice 3 drop package.
@damican: Thanks! In testing yesterday, I beat Tempered Steel 4-0. In general, you take early beats for about three turns, at which point you MUST cast a sweeper. Ratchet Bomb does a lot here, so having one on turn two is great. I typically stabilized around 8-10 life, although one game I went to 2 and 8 infect. I haven't had much of a chance to play versus Delver, but I'd imagine the matchup is similar.
I recently decided to take a break from playing UW Delver, and sleeved up a brew that's a mix of UW Miracle and Esper Planeswalker. I posted it here because it felt like it fit the best. Here's the deck:
The deck plays like tap out control. You typically spend your first 2-3 turns casting Ponder, Think Twice, Oblivion Ring and Ratchet Bomb. From there, you either try to Miracle a Terminus, or cast a Day. After that, you can start setting up with planeswalkers.
Merfolk Looter - The most questionable card in the deck. After determining I wanted the deck to run as tap out, I cut Mana Leak, and these replaced them. Excellent for triggering Miracle on your opponent's turn, although a bit slow, and can also be targeted by Gut Shot.
Snapcaster Mage - Given that eight of the instants and sorceries in the deck already have flashback, Snapcaster isn't nearly as good here as he can be elsewhere. I chose to run him in silver bullet mode for sweepers, and the occasional Ponder.
Think Twice - An irreplaceable part of the deck. Being able to trigger Miracle on your opponent's turn is invaluable, and you can always bluff the Mana Leak.
Dismember - Due to the low number of black producing lands, I chose Dismember over Go for the Throat or Doom Blade simply for ease of use. Despite the large quantities of mass removal, I found that occasionally you would need to kill one problematic creature, which typically isn't worth spending a Day or Terminus on.
Terminus - In my opinion, this is the most important card in the deck. Due to Ponder and Think Twice, Miracles are very easy to set up. Since creature decks are so abundant, being able to sweep the board for one mana and then immediately tap out for a planeswalker is absolutely brutal.
Day of Judgment - Due to the fact that Terminus does cost 6, I like to have a 'backup' sweeper in the case of an emergency. In addition, it's entirely possible to continually whiff on Miracles the entire game. Day makes up for that possibility.
Ponder - The one, the only. Without a question, this is an automatic four of.
Lingering Souls - Since you may not be able to wrath the field until turn four, being able to have blockers out turn three is very important. In addition, the spirits are a handy win condition when combined with Sorin's emblem.
Entreat the Angels - The true win condition. Miracle'd, this card is absolutely brutal. Ideally, you want to cast it for four or five mana, but even three can have a huge impact on the game. However, drawing it in your opening hand is exceedingly painful, so a two of is all that's necessary.
Oblivion Ring - For opposing planeswalkers (or artifacts) that are difficult to deal with. After game one, more removal can come in from the board, but having a card that can hit everything typically is worth it.
Ratchet Bomb - Highly effective against many decks in the format. Being able to kill tokens or a flipped Delver without any wait is great, although you do potentially knock off some of your own win conditions in the process. Great card, despite any drawbacks.
Batterskull - Against aggressive decks, being able to gain life is great. While this may not be entirely necessary, it's nice to have a beater who never really goes away.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad - Personally, I feel Sorin is highly underplayed. With three relevant abilities, and a CMC of four, he fits perfectly into this deck.
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage - Tamiyo is amazing if given protection, but terrible by herself. Should you be able to get her emblem off, you basically win. Her first ability is great at keeping creatures off your back until you hit a sweeper, and her second ability can quickly refill your hand when combined with Lingering Souls and Sorin.
Gideon Jura - Gideon is a soaker, removal and a beater all in one. He can frequently absorb two turns worth of damage while your other planeswalkers power up, and can help you stall for a sweeper.
There are two excellent cards that aren't in the deck: Mana Leak and Liliana of the Veil. Mana Leak didn't make the cut because of the nature of the deck - since you want to be tapping out every turn, you rarely have the counter mana open except when you have already won or lost. I'm not sure if I should run it as a 2-3 of though. Dissipate could also make the cut.
As for Liliana, double black is nigh impossible for this deck. With only 7 black sources in the main, I typically can only support one black mana a turn, which is all I need for Lingering Souls and Sorin. While I would love to run her, I can't see how to make it work.
The sideboard is fairly indeterminate as of now. I will probably run a playset of Geist of Saint Traft for the second and third games in a round, along with some counterspells and extra removal. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
My local metagame is fairly strange, as there is an absence of Delver (other than myself). There are quite a few RG Aggro decks though, along with Humans , Zombies and Tempered Steel.
If anyone has any suggestions for the deck, I'd love to hear them. You should try playing the deck before commenting on what to cut though.
im gonna agree with helix and more... this card is broke haha i play it in uwr flare and its nuts. against control its unreal. the 1/1 body can win games and requires a removal spell, the life is meh, helps against aggro if you can get late game. but the land is the best part. it clears off the top of your deck so that you are always drawing business. seriously the card is nuts. i would go as far as saying that if you can resolve it in the mirror or against control that you cant lose. unless by some act of god...
That would work, but it's really not Solar Flare. It certainly isn't a control deck if you're running Geist and Monk - I'm pushing what's Flare with an aggro build, but by using creatures that are solely aggressive, it's a bit beyond flare.
If I had room, I'd definitely run a one or two of. Unfortunately, between Mana Leak, Doom Blade and Snapcaster, my two drop slot is filled up. And I want to fit in a BSZ.
Haunting has the strength of being an instant. Being able to cast it at end of turn and swing on your turn is very nice, as is being able to Snapcaster it for four power at end of turn.
ponder is so good. I foresee loss vs decks with fliers though, any ideas (steel, township + flies, delvers?) I cant find the room for delvers in sb myself and tbh I think we need something with more body or a better effect like a 2 for 1 (archon of justice comes to mind)
If played correctly, and the decklist is built to accomodate it, Midnight Haunting has promise. I tried it, but couldn't get it to fit perfectly. I certainly think it is possible.
While I agree with Chang's article, he isn't advocating for no Scars of Mirrodin lands, simply that the M12 and INS lands take precedence. I run 27 lands, 5 of which are SOM lands. I tend to not have mana problems - I'm also running a Ghost Quarter.
So, saying that no Flare list should run SOM lands isn't correct, they just have less value than the other set of available duals.
can anyone say spellbomb. this deck it too reliant on the graveyard. it only has 4 big threats. and would suffer from any decent u/b build. the 6 counters will help, but you cant rely on it alone. ponder helps but not good for flare decks. the one of's is too random which makes it situatonal. might want to give game one to most of the field of aggro. game 2 and 3 will be better with the board. but i like the japanesse deck a lot better for control flare style deck.
If you see a lot of Spellbomb in your meta, start running Stony Silence. I've found it spectacular - it shuts off equipment, Mox Opal, Spellbomb, Glint Hawk Idol (the activated part at least), Replicas, Pod, Shrine, Spellskite, Contagion Clasp/Engine and more. I ended up cutting it from my board since I haven't seen enough Spellbomb, but I may start running it again.
I'm probably going to look at something like:
3x Blade Splicer
3x Snapcaster Mage
2x Grave Titan
1-2x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
So 10-11 creatures - enough for it to have a good game against creature heavy lists, but I think the Splicer and Grave Titan really push it over the edge. Getting multiple creatures for the cost of one makes blocking easier, and lets you push through more damage.
2x Merfolk Looter
1x Snapcaster Mage
Instants:
4x Think Twice
1x Dismember
Sorceries:
4x Terminus
3x Day of Judgment
4x Ponder
4x Lingering Souls
2x Entreat the Angels
2x Oblivion Ring
Artifacts:
2x Ratchet Bomb
1x Batterskull
Planeswalkers:
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
2x Gideon Jura
Land:
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Seachrome Coast
3x Darkslick Shores
2x Isolated Chapel
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Swamp
5x Plains
4x Island
The deck plays like tap out control. You typically spend your first 2-3 turns casting Ponder, Think Twice, Oblivion Ring and Ratchet Bomb. From there, you either try to Miracle a Terminus, or cast a Day. After that, you can start setting up with planeswalkers.
Merfolk Looter - The most questionable card in the deck. After determining I wanted the deck to run as tap out, I cut Mana Leak, and these replaced them. Excellent for triggering Miracle on your opponent's turn, although a bit slow, and can also be targeted by Gut Shot.
Snapcaster Mage - Given that eight of the instants and sorceries in the deck already have flashback, Snapcaster isn't nearly as good here as he can be elsewhere. I chose to run him in silver bullet mode for sweepers, and the occasional Ponder.
Think Twice - An irreplaceable part of the deck. Being able to trigger Miracle on your opponent's turn is invaluable, and you can always bluff the Mana Leak.
Dismember - Due to the low number of black producing lands, I chose Dismember over Go for the Throat or Doom Blade simply for ease of use. Despite the large quantities of mass removal, I found that occasionally you would need to kill one problematic creature, which typically isn't worth spending a Day or Terminus on.
Terminus - In my opinion, this is the most important card in the deck. Due to Ponder and Think Twice, Miracles are very easy to set up. Since creature decks are so abundant, being able to sweep the board for one mana and then immediately tap out for a planeswalker is absolutely brutal.
Day of Judgment - Due to the fact that Terminus does cost 6, I like to have a 'backup' sweeper in the case of an emergency. In addition, it's entirely possible to continually whiff on Miracles the entire game. Day makes up for that possibility.
Ponder - The one, the only. Without a question, this is an automatic four of.
Lingering Souls - Since you may not be able to wrath the field until turn four, being able to have blockers out turn three is very important. In addition, the spirits are a handy win condition when combined with Sorin's emblem.
Entreat the Angels - The true win condition. Miracle'd, this card is absolutely brutal. Ideally, you want to cast it for four or five mana, but even three can have a huge impact on the game. However, drawing it in your opening hand is exceedingly painful, so a two of is all that's necessary.
Oblivion Ring - For opposing planeswalkers (or artifacts) that are difficult to deal with. After game one, more removal can come in from the board, but having a card that can hit everything typically is worth it.
Ratchet Bomb - Highly effective against many decks in the format. Being able to kill tokens or a flipped Delver without any wait is great, although you do potentially knock off some of your own win conditions in the process. Great card, despite any drawbacks.
Batterskull - Against aggressive decks, being able to gain life is great. While this may not be entirely necessary, it's nice to have a beater who never really goes away.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad - Personally, I feel Sorin is highly underplayed. With three relevant abilities, and a CMC of four, he fits perfectly into this deck.
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage - Tamiyo is amazing if given protection, but terrible by herself. Should you be able to get her emblem off, you basically win. Her first ability is great at keeping creatures off your back until you hit a sweeper, and her second ability can quickly refill your hand when combined with Lingering Souls and Sorin.
Gideon Jura - Gideon is a soaker, removal and a beater all in one. He can frequently absorb two turns worth of damage while your other planeswalkers power up, and can help you stall for a sweeper.
There are two excellent cards that aren't in the deck: Mana Leak and Liliana of the Veil. Mana Leak didn't make the cut because of the nature of the deck - since you want to be tapping out every turn, you rarely have the counter mana open except when you have already won or lost. I'm not sure if I should run it as a 2-3 of though. Dissipate could also make the cut.
As for Liliana, double black is nigh impossible for this deck. With only 7 black sources in the main, I typically can only support one black mana a turn, which is all I need for Lingering Souls and Sorin. While I would love to run her, I can't see how to make it work.
The sideboard is fairly indeterminate as of now. I will probably run a playset of Geist of Saint Traft for the second and third games in a round, along with some counterspells and extra removal. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
My local metagame is fairly strange, as there is an absence of Delver (other than myself). There are quite a few RG Aggro decks though, along with Humans , Zombies and Tempered Steel.
If anyone has any suggestions for the deck, I'd love to hear them. You should try playing the deck before commenting on what to cut though.
Thanks!
Blue, white...red? That's not flare.
3x Blade Splicer
3x Grave Titan
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Along with two Liliana and three Snapcaster.
http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/in-development-the-twenty-three-percent-solution/
If played correctly, and the decklist is built to accomodate it, Midnight Haunting has promise. I tried it, but couldn't get it to fit perfectly. I certainly think it is possible.
3x Blade Splicer
2x Grave Titan
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
2x Liliana of the Veil
4x Ponder
4x Doom Blade
4x Mana Leak
2x Oblivion Ring
2x Dissipate
4x Forbidden Alchemy
2x Day of Judgment
1x Unburial Rites
4x Drowned Catacomb
3x Isolated Chapel
3x Darkslick Shores
2x Seachrome Coast
1x Ghost Quarter
4x Island
3x Plains
3x Swamp
So, saying that no Flare list should run SOM lands isn't correct, they just have less value than the other set of available duals.
If you see a lot of Spellbomb in your meta, start running Stony Silence. I've found it spectacular - it shuts off equipment, Mox Opal, Spellbomb, Glint Hawk Idol (the activated part at least), Replicas, Pod, Shrine, Spellskite, Contagion Clasp/Engine and more. I ended up cutting it from my board since I haven't seen enough Spellbomb, but I may start running it again.
3x Blade Splicer
3x Snapcaster Mage
2x Grave Titan
1-2x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
So 10-11 creatures - enough for it to have a good game against creature heavy lists, but I think the Splicer and Grave Titan really push it over the edge. Getting multiple creatures for the cost of one makes blocking easier, and lets you push through more damage.