If you are running blighted lands AND Ugin, the Spirit Dragon I think you would run into more situations where you can't cast it, not to mention it produces colorless mana in a 3 color deck. Ugin is really only good against control and late game decks anyway. Sideboard at best. Running it main with atarka red and G/w/x megamorph and token decks very much in standard is bad. I only run 25 lands not including blighted lands and I haven't run into any problems. I've been playing this deck since BFZ prerelease and I've only lost 4 matches out of a months worth of fnm's. I'm also surprised to see a lack of planeswalkers in some lists. I run 6-7 main and 1 Ugin in the side and have had some very serious success.
I like the dragon package because they are solid finishers that have some evasion and powerful support cards. Foul-Tongue Invocation is some of the best removal that conditionally gains you life which is a huge buffer against early decks like Atarka and other R/g/x variants. Silumgar's Scorn is up there as well having a solid mana base to counter early. It's silver lining is against decks that require tapping out early to supply threats or build momentum and you can catch them without revealing a dragon and they are tapped out. The downside is mid to late game it's holstered without dragon and they can pay the one colorless. I value the upside more because the meta I've encountered runs parallel to a lot of the standard top eights I've seen lately and a counter spell on turn 2 on a Hangarback Walker, Soulfire Grandmaster, Abbott of Keral Keep, or even Evolutionary Leap is a big deal. It's even solid against Siege Rhino forcing them to either wait to play it which benefits you by potentially drawing a dragon anyway or play through it if they've got the gas and walk right into a soft counter.
I like the draw card package this way because I've run 4 Dig Though Time in the past and sometimes you'll have one in the opener which isn't bad but then you draw into another one early and having 2 late game cards without a graveyard to support it isn't good against decks that can provide pressure early and there are a lot. I prefer the Anticipate split here because it allows you to dig early for an answer if you are behind and works amazingly well with Jace, Telepath Unbound's -3 ability. And if you are real good you can bluff counter magic with it, lol.
The board wipes have been very relevant. Crux of Fate more so than Languish so that might change depending on the meta but Languish is still very good. It's weakest point is obviously not killing creatures 5 toughness or bigger but the other board removal you have will clean up whatever is left behind.
I love Ob Nixilis. The guy has always over-performed for me. There hasn't been a game yet to where he hasn't killed something and drawn at least 2 or more cards before opp can deal with it. I've even thrown him into the fray without backup just to kill something and let my opp swing into him just to buy me a turn. And to top it off he has a legit win-con with a decent body to get you there if you can support that line of play.
Gideon can become a decent chump producer against aggro to mid-range but often suffers if their board isn't dealt with. He's also a main deck threat generator against control decks. He needs support to stabilize but if left unchecked he can steam roll an opp quickly.
I chose Silumgar, the Drifting Death for a few reasons; decent evasion, can protect itself, Excellent blocker and kills Hangarback tokens, scion tokens, and many 1 toughness creatures. At best I've used his triggered ability in tandem with Languish to finish off certain creatures while staying alive.
Quarantine Field is a fair removal spell that only gets better late game. Exiling Hangarback is nice. A six mana double targeting removal spell is nothing to sneeze at in standard. Downside is that it is sometimes too slow against quicker decks. It can hit the odd things that most of your removal can't which is why I like having one. Running it with Utter End improves its versatility.
I only run 3 Jace. An argument could be made for a 4th but I honestly don't think it's necessary. He can't protect himself like Jace, the Mind Sculptor could and I played America Super Friends a lot back in the day. The esper version I run reminds me of that deck minus all the better cards Super Friends had, lol. Jace is very underwhelming if your opp has heavy removal or you are behind and can't flip him. I like being able to drop him later in the game with backup once I've built a graveyard he can use and flip the following turn. On the upside he can sneak in there early and get the flip after a couple turns but is often dealt with quickly making that line of play too risky and unreliable. Contrasting opinion can argue he is a good way to bait the removal and drop another one so 4 Jace would make more sense against a removal heavy deck. He is a beast when he can chump into an activation that flips him. So much value there.
I like the singleton Ojutai's Command. Strong utility but still limited. Doesn't always apply to various game states but can shine ever so brightly when it is relevant. I used to run 2. I'll throw a second one in there every now and then subbing out a counter spell before a tournament depending on the meta. Not a big change but luck favors the prepared and I really like it's effects. This card is another reason why I like running 3 Jace. It can bring him back to the battlefield at instant speed. Pretty big deal when that creature becomes a planeswalker next turn.
Is this just BtZ? If so how do I combine the two card files? I am using Cockatrice and have had difficulty in the past so a brief walk through and some patients helping me would be great. I plan on playing as many prereleases as I can even though the set isn't that great in comparison with the last one...by a lot. I just want as much exposure opening packs in hopes of some treasure. Odds are slim but it's strictly a numbers game. The more you play...
^no Popcornrobot. I would rather run Ready // Willing or To Arms!. At least here you might be able to ramp enough mana to swing for the kill, survive a board wipe, or nurf an opp.'s attack. The other card is marginally better when you have Chord or Company. The other cards I've mentioned do more most of the time. Surviving a board wipe is huge, especially when you run the Cloudstone Curio package.
I really like this deck. I've been testing this and have won about 80% of my matches on Cockatrice. I've played approx. 20-30 games so far. Abzan midrange and Abzan control give the most difficulty. Fighting through Languish can be tough but having Starfield out can change that quickly. The best this deck has done for me so far is having Frontier Siege, naming dragons, and Sigil of the Empty Throne and just start fighting dudes. The board presence is overwhelming if you can get Eidolon of Blossoms going. Starfield of Nyx is the true all-star though. It can, and has, literally brought me back from death. IF I curve out with dorks, I've been able to swing turn 5-6 for 15 and above damage. More if I have a live Sigil. Thinking about running a single Erebos, God of the Dead and/or Nylea, God of the Hunt. Erebos would probably go in the board against control. Nylea goes in main. But what to drop...
This in combination with Infinite Obliteration will destroy all COCO decks as well as any creature based combo decks anywhere else. Hurts Twin, reanimate decks, all coco decks...They just took a giant deuce on a major archetype. Thanks wizards. Ruining magic has always been your top priority. My question is why ban pod when they new Infinite Obliteration was going to be printed? HUGE OVERSIGHT!
A'www does someone feel like all control players feel whenever we see cards like Whisperwood Elemental? Or the Deathmist Raptor/Den Protector combo
I don't play standard so I wouldn't know. I was mostly commenting on the effects of these cards in competitive eternal formats.
This in combination with Infinite Obliteration will destroy all COCO decks as well as any creature based combo decks anywhere else. Hurts Twin, reanimate decks, all coco decks...They just took a giant deuce on a major archetype. Thanks wizards. Ruining magic has always been your top priority. My question is why ban pod when they new Infinite Obliteration was going to be printed? HUGE OVERSIGHT!
I figured I'd give this tournament report from GP Charlotte. All in all, I was super happy with the deck, but I just could not believe what a nightmare Grixis Twin was, and how prolific it was.
Round 1: R/B Value Creatures 2-0
G1 - I had the combo online turn 4 through 2 Swiftspears I just plain ignored.
G2 - He gave the worst tell possible: He had 2 Bloodstained Mire and 1 Lavaclaw Reaches. He ripped both fetches and got basic swamps. I immediately fetched all basics out in anticipation of Blood Moon. Unfortunately, it took him another 2 turns to get it on the table, and at that point I was on Chord for the win.
Round 2: Naya Burn 2-0
G1 - Turn 2 Finks, chumps for days while he can't move my life total down. He scooped in frustration.
G2 - Again, turn 2 Finks, that put him really on tilt. I untapped and dropped Seer and Anafenza while he was tapped out and he scooped.
Round 3: Bogles 2-0
G1 - At first I thought this was a mirror, he went to fetch Temple Garden on turn 1. I had a weird hand with not much to do until turn 3, so I just jammed Spellskite. He only pushed 2 more turns before scooping.
G2 - The combo was on the table as he got a 10/7 lifelink Bogle. I chumped with Finks to soften the blow, and when I saw he wasn't going to interfere, I comboed off and put Redcap on top.
Round 4: BUG Delver 2-0
G1 - I had Finks, Hierarch, and Seer by turn 3. He tapped out for a Simic Charm, I Chord for 2, he scoops.
G2 - He played a lot of tempo and counter, finally stuck Tasigur as I had beaten him down to 7 with Voice, a Voice token, then when he killed both, another Voice. He was forced to put a Goyf in front of a 7/7 Voice token (Gavony's only appearance the whole day). I had a 3/3 Redcap and 3/3 Voice put him to 1, he let me resolve Seer and I just sacked the Redcap for the final point.
Round 5: Grixis Twin 0-2
G1 - This is where everything went downhill. Bolt on Birds turn 1. Lets me have Seer. Lets me have Finks. Counter Company. Inquisition Melira. Snap to Counter Chord. Stick Qasali Pridemage. Go infinite anyway, put Redcap on top. Terminate on Pridemage, attach Twin on Pestermite.
G2 - Sided over Worship, 2 Abrupt Decay, 2 Burrenton. I was on beatdown plan until he hit an Anger of the Gods with no Burrenton or Chord in sight.
Round 6: Grixis Twin 0-2
G1 - Bolt on Birds turn 1. Lets me have Seer. Lets me have Finks. Counter Company. Inquisition Melira. Snap to Counter Chord. Stick Qasali Pridemage. Go infinite anyway, put Redcap on top. Terminate on Spellskite, attach Twin on Pestermite.
G2 - Sided over Worship, 2 Abrupt Decay, 2 Burrenton. I was on beatdown plan until he hit an Anger of the Gods with no Burrenton or Chord in sight.
Round 6: Grixis Twin 1-2
G1 - Bolt on Birds turn 1. Lets me have Seer. Lets me have Finks. Counter Company. Inquisition Melira. Snap to Counter Chord. Stick Qasali Pridemage. Go infinite anyway, put Redcap on top. Terminate on Pridemage, attach Twin on Pestermite.
G2 - He has a handful of black spells and doesn't see black mana. He goes to Twin Exarch, I hit Abrupt Decay with lethal swinging. He scooped.
G3 - Sided over Worship, 2 Abrupt Decay, 2 Burrenton. I was on beatdown plan until he hit an Anger of the Gods with no Burrenton or Chord in sight.
Those last 3 aren't copypasta, the matches all went almost the exact same way. I know Grixis Twin was grossly over-represented at this tournament, but I didn't realize that an experienced Twin pilot can nullify us so easily. It was like all 3 of them were psychic, allowing in stuff that would get them low but never kill them, and thwarting every attempt to gain ground. Even with Abrupt Decay, I still felt naked to their combo. Since we basically need 4 pieces over 2 turns (because our million life means nothing to them, you have to get Redcap to combo finish), and they only need 2 cards to auto-win, it's a lot more stress to perform against their countermagic, hand attacks, and dodge the combo. I always felt really, really underpowered in this matchup.
On the bright side, my friend borrowed a deck from me, and made Day 2 with (duh) Grixis Twin.
I used to have problems with grixis twin delver decks. I just sided in 2 Choke and 2 Fulminator Mage. No more problems. Keeping them off blue and black mana just lets you win. Also good against the rise in tron decks. Bonus against summer bloom too. But for grixis I also used one Vexing Shusher and sided in the third Abrupt Decay.
I like the list but I prefer a more combo-centric list. I like the magus but it can backfire against you. I just run 2 Fulminator and 2 choke in the board
I've played against Grixis Delver quite a bit lately and I have to tell you that Choke and Fulminator Mage have won me every single match. My usual sideboard for them is 2 choke, 2 f. mage, 2 Thoughtseize, and either the 2nd Orzhov Pontiff(as I run one main) to try and catch Young Pyromancer and their goons as they usually board out the combo game 2 if they lose, the 2nd Spellskite(also one main) because it can eat removal and stop the combo, or Vexxing Shusher which is just really good against permission. Strongly considering finding a slot for Grand Abolisher because while shusher is good at building the board if you don't have the combo, and when you do it requires you to sink mana into it while abolisher just blankets your turn against removal but if you don't have the combo it becomes an obvious target for your opponent when they untap for their turn. These are the cards I find to have the most effect against Grixis Delver. I've used all but the abolisher. I run 2 Abrupt Decay main and have access to an additional one in the side. I run one Fleshbag Marauder that I side out for the 3rd decay. I also am also exchanging fleshbag for Fiend Hunter because its way better with sac outlet tricks and Reveillark. I prefer the abrupt decay over Path To Exile against this deck because your opponent will have access to Spell Pierce, Dispel, Pact of Negation, Swan Song after board most likely to protect the combo and decay just cuts right through that plan. Not to mention Blood Moon is played in many lists. Decay can get rid of this troublesome woe. If you have the decay or can bluff the decay early by playing cheap spells while leaving up decay mana, you can sit on your opponent a few turns then start casting Chord Of Calling and Collected Company on their turns to try and draw the counters and tap them out so you can windmill your Choke. This strategy works for almost every blue deck with permission. If they are also 3 colors I bring in the f. mages too. This deck can race their tempo if we get mana dorks and/or hand disruption early. Combine that with land hate and you can cut them off colors which is how I won my most recent match. They held a Damnation the entire game as I choked 3 lands and f. mage'd their only other black source. I locked him out of the game and was free to combo a few turns later. Fulminator is also amazing against Tron and, to a lesser extent, Summer Bloom decks.
I'd have to say my favorite card is Academy Rector. She is a bomb in Commander. I usually grab Omniscience once I have a massive draw spell or combo that enables me to abuse Omni. Unfortunately, I missed her debut as I have only been playing for about 6 years now. I am Johnny/Spike. When they first spoiled info about Theros being an enchantment oriented block I secretly hoped that they would reprint her. No such luck yet.
3 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Dragonlord Silumgar
2 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Quarantine Field
3 Silumgar's Scorn
3 Scatter to the Winds
1 Ojutai's Command
3 Foul-Tongue Invocation
1 Murderous Cut
1 Utter End
2 Anticipate
2 Dig Through Time
3 Languish
1 Crux of Fate
2 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Shambling Vent
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
4 Sunken Hollow
4 Prairie Stream
2 Island
2 Swamp
2 Plains
2 Negate
3 Duress
2 Self-Inflicted Wound
1 Virulent Plague
3 Surge of Righteousness
2 Fate Forgotten
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
I like the dragon package because they are solid finishers that have some evasion and powerful support cards. Foul-Tongue Invocation is some of the best removal that conditionally gains you life which is a huge buffer against early decks like Atarka and other R/g/x variants. Silumgar's Scorn is up there as well having a solid mana base to counter early. It's silver lining is against decks that require tapping out early to supply threats or build momentum and you can catch them without revealing a dragon and they are tapped out. The downside is mid to late game it's holstered without dragon and they can pay the one colorless. I value the upside more because the meta I've encountered runs parallel to a lot of the standard top eights I've seen lately and a counter spell on turn 2 on a Hangarback Walker, Soulfire Grandmaster, Abbott of Keral Keep, or even Evolutionary Leap is a big deal. It's even solid against Siege Rhino forcing them to either wait to play it which benefits you by potentially drawing a dragon anyway or play through it if they've got the gas and walk right into a soft counter.
I like the draw card package this way because I've run 4 Dig Though Time in the past and sometimes you'll have one in the opener which isn't bad but then you draw into another one early and having 2 late game cards without a graveyard to support it isn't good against decks that can provide pressure early and there are a lot. I prefer the Anticipate split here because it allows you to dig early for an answer if you are behind and works amazingly well with Jace, Telepath Unbound's -3 ability. And if you are real good you can bluff counter magic with it, lol.
The board wipes have been very relevant. Crux of Fate more so than Languish so that might change depending on the meta but Languish is still very good. It's weakest point is obviously not killing creatures 5 toughness or bigger but the other board removal you have will clean up whatever is left behind.
I love Ob Nixilis. The guy has always over-performed for me. There hasn't been a game yet to where he hasn't killed something and drawn at least 2 or more cards before opp can deal with it. I've even thrown him into the fray without backup just to kill something and let my opp swing into him just to buy me a turn. And to top it off he has a legit win-con with a decent body to get you there if you can support that line of play.
Gideon can become a decent chump producer against aggro to mid-range but often suffers if their board isn't dealt with. He's also a main deck threat generator against control decks. He needs support to stabilize but if left unchecked he can steam roll an opp quickly.
I chose Silumgar, the Drifting Death for a few reasons; decent evasion, can protect itself, Excellent blocker and kills Hangarback tokens, scion tokens, and many 1 toughness creatures. At best I've used his triggered ability in tandem with Languish to finish off certain creatures while staying alive.
Quarantine Field is a fair removal spell that only gets better late game. Exiling Hangarback is nice. A six mana double targeting removal spell is nothing to sneeze at in standard. Downside is that it is sometimes too slow against quicker decks. It can hit the odd things that most of your removal can't which is why I like having one. Running it with Utter End improves its versatility.
I only run 3 Jace. An argument could be made for a 4th but I honestly don't think it's necessary. He can't protect himself like Jace, the Mind Sculptor could and I played America Super Friends a lot back in the day. The esper version I run reminds me of that deck minus all the better cards Super Friends had, lol. Jace is very underwhelming if your opp has heavy removal or you are behind and can't flip him. I like being able to drop him later in the game with backup once I've built a graveyard he can use and flip the following turn. On the upside he can sneak in there early and get the flip after a couple turns but is often dealt with quickly making that line of play too risky and unreliable. Contrasting opinion can argue he is a good way to bait the removal and drop another one so 4 Jace would make more sense against a removal heavy deck. He is a beast when he can chump into an activation that flips him. So much value there.
I like the singleton Ojutai's Command. Strong utility but still limited. Doesn't always apply to various game states but can shine ever so brightly when it is relevant. I used to run 2. I'll throw a second one in there every now and then subbing out a counter spell before a tournament depending on the meta. Not a big change but luck favors the prepared and I really like it's effects. This card is another reason why I like running 3 Jace. It can bring him back to the battlefield at instant speed. Pretty big deal when that creature becomes a planeswalker next turn.
Well that is about it. Thoughts?
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Herald of the Pantheon
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Eidolon of Blossoms
2 Brain Maggot
2 Doomwake Giant
ENCHANTMENTS-13
2 Banishing Light
3 Frontier Siege
4 Sigil of the Empty Throne
4 Starfield of Nyx
3 Thoughtseize
LANDS-24
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
4 Llanowar Wastes
3 Temple of Malady
3 Temple of PLenty
2 Forest
2 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Agent of Erebos
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Pacifism
2 Display of Dominance
3 Duress
2 Self-Inflicted Wound
1 Infinite Obliteration
1 Thoughtseize
I really like this deck. I've been testing this and have won about 80% of my matches on Cockatrice. I've played approx. 20-30 games so far. Abzan midrange and Abzan control give the most difficulty. Fighting through Languish can be tough but having Starfield out can change that quickly. The best this deck has done for me so far is having Frontier Siege, naming dragons, and Sigil of the Empty Throne and just start fighting dudes. The board presence is overwhelming if you can get Eidolon of Blossoms going. Starfield of Nyx is the true all-star though. It can, and has, literally brought me back from death. IF I curve out with dorks, I've been able to swing turn 5-6 for 15 and above damage. More if I have a live Sigil. Thinking about running a single Erebos, God of the Dead and/or Nylea, God of the Hunt. Erebos would probably go in the board against control. Nylea goes in main. But what to drop...
I don't play standard so I wouldn't know. I was mostly commenting on the effects of these cards in competitive eternal formats.
I used to have problems with grixis twin delver decks. I just sided in 2 Choke and 2 Fulminator Mage. No more problems. Keeping them off blue and black mana just lets you win. Also good against the rise in tron decks. Bonus against summer bloom too. But for grixis I also used one Vexing Shusher and sided in the third Abrupt Decay.