Ghost Quarter isn't an adequate answer to Cavern of Souls. The fact that its card disadvantage isn't the worst thing; UB Control needs to make its land drops more than any other deck to stand a chance and can't afford to sacrifice a land the first seven turns.
If an aggro player opens with Cavern of Souls all your counters have become dead. And if you survive that somehow, your Mana Leaks aren't exactly great in the late game anyway.
Another thing is that due to hexproof it already has to be very careful about mixing its removal/counters so you don't end up with a grip of the wrong kind of answer. The fact that the best counter now may be a dead card in the early game now too makes it even more obvious that the UB gameplan can't work anymore.
I think we'll mainly see tapout control as a result
Has anyone here had to play against wolf run ramp? It seems like it could be a pretty tough matchup, and i haven't had to play against it yet so far; kinda curious as to how you counter it.
Horrible matchup. Veridian Emissaries and Dungrove Elders clog up the ground and make the Phantasmal Bears duds.
Beast Within doesn't give you tokens when they zap one of your creatures.
Your only hope is swinging in the air with Phantasmal Dragon but they have plenty of outs.
Really bad curve. Huge overload of the 3 slot. Poor synergy with Snapcaster (you especially don't want to recast Dismember usually w/o black / lifegain)
If you're only running green for Viridian Emissary and Skinshifter, both of which are like "OK" not amazing, then you might as well drop green entirely. And you could run MBC stuff like Gatekeeper.
dirka_dirka is on the money. This card shuts down so many key creature effects. The effect it has on Allies alone is depressing. If anything, if ANYTHING, it will be included in sideboards. It is way too good, especially at 2 ma-na na-ma. It will be a sleeper.
it shuts down an archetype that was never any good you say? well im convinced
Ascension decks are already pretty chancy, and Surgical Extraction is a likely sideboard card in the new Standard, just to make things even harder. I'm not trying to shut anyone down; I'm just saying the new Extraction is free, and Pyromancer's Ascension shells are super weak to it, so it's something people would need to plan for.
FYI nobody is going to play Extraction against PA and the new PA isn't weak to it at all.
The new PA isn't about finishing with burn spells, PA is just a means to get ridiculous card advantage.
Beast Within - In all honesty, this is a good card. Not Jace good, it won't be a 4 of, but it's still good. 3 CMC destroy target permanent is nice, the only drawback being them getting a hill giant? Not horrible, but not ideal. Decks not running G are SOL with this card, and in all honesty, decks running G (RUG and Valakut i'm looking at you) are going to be saving space for better things imo.
I'm sure i've made tons of mistakes in logic and thinking in writing this. Please discuss. All in all, i'm not impressed with the PW hate considering the counter tools at our disposal, not to say that they aren't good cards. I think it's safe to say Jace will continue to shape standard until he's banned or rotated out.
Beast Within is real. Its definitely going to see play in Valakut and maybe RUG as well. Valakut doesn't give a damn about a 3/3 but it does care about opponents playing Jace and brainstorming for counterspells or attacking with certain equipment.
Its going to help Valakut against Caw Blade though probably not enough to make the matchup even.
After he returns with Undying you sacrifice in response to the "swap control" trigger and then your opponent doesn't get him
If an aggro player opens with Cavern of Souls all your counters have become dead. And if you survive that somehow, your Mana Leaks aren't exactly great in the late game anyway.
Another thing is that due to hexproof it already has to be very careful about mixing its removal/counters so you don't end up with a grip of the wrong kind of answer. The fact that the best counter now may be a dead card in the early game now too makes it even more obvious that the UB gameplan can't work anymore.
I think we'll mainly see tapout control as a result
quick somebody make a "tragic slip guy" twitter
Horrible matchup. Veridian Emissaries and Dungrove Elders clog up the ground and make the Phantasmal Bears duds.
Beast Within doesn't give you tokens when they zap one of your creatures.
Your only hope is swinging in the air with Phantasmal Dragon but they have plenty of outs.
the mountain will have summoning sickness so kinda useless
Nope, Gideon is already on the battlefield, he just changes type.
3x Birthing Pod
4x Smallpox
2x Grim Discovery
3x Beast Within
Creatures (24)
4x BoP
4x Bloodghast
4x Viridian Emissary
3x Phyrexian Rager
1x Liliana's Spectre
4x Solemn Simulacrum
2x Acidic Slime
2x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Sheoldred
2x Tectonic Edge
4x Verdant Catacombs
2x Terramorphic Expanse
4x Khalni Garden
6x Forest
6x Swamp
This list can probably be improved but this looks like a better direction to go in to me.
it shuts down an archetype that was never any good you say? well im convinced
FYI nobody is going to play Extraction against PA and the new PA isn't weak to it at all.
The new PA isn't about finishing with burn spells, PA is just a means to get ridiculous card advantage.
Even if I'm wrong, there's Mental Misstep.
Beast Within is real. Its definitely going to see play in Valakut and maybe RUG as well. Valakut doesn't give a damn about a 3/3 but it does care about opponents playing Jace and brainstorming for counterspells or attacking with certain equipment.
Its going to help Valakut against Caw Blade though probably not enough to make the matchup even.