Wow, those are almost exactly my numbers on Page 6! Glad to see I'm not miscounting significantly.
However, the Esper decks are significantly different: from my count, 5 of them play 3+ Gifts Ungiven, and the other 6 play 2+ Mystical Teachings. The ones with Mystical Teachings are generally called Teachings decks.
Also, there was one UW deck with the Urza's lands--that deck is known as Tron.
I'm pretty certain you want blue mana on Turn 1 (Spell Snare), so I'd be cautious with how many lands that ETB tapped (e.g. Zendikar manlands) you put in your deck.
People generally put a ton of redundancy into their mana bases. However, a deck can get away with as few as 13 lands that produce coloured mana (see Legacy's Tempo Thresh) as long as it also has incredible dig.
As another example, Tron decks run at least 12 colourless lands, and they'll probably use at least 13 other lands.
Targeted discard is better than random. However, Hymn is pure CA (unless you're hitting a 1-card hand), and random discard is ten times better than plain old discard because your opponent isn't discarding the worst card(s) in his/her hand.
Swathstorm has had zero results since Rite/Ponder/Preordain got banned. It just got too difficult to assemble a 2-piece combo within 4 turns without protection, and Swath was often vulnerable to removal.
Past in Flames produces a more resilient deck, and you only need to dig for it at first (then, after casting PiF, dig for Grapeshot).
@weltkrieg Pacifism allows the creature to use activated abilities with tap in their cost. I was looking for an effective creature-killer enchantment, but maybe I need some mor power.
Curse of Chains still lets people use activated abilities that require tapping in response to the upkeep trigger, so it's also imperfect.
I like Temporal Isolation--it has Flash, Shadow is practically non-existent in the Modern meta, and you can even pull some dirty tricks off in response to Grim Lavamancer activations. (Shame it won't stifle activated abilities that don't deal damage.)
For what it's worth, I'm well aware of Elspeth and wasn't pulling Angelic Destiny out of thin air. I've tried both and Destiny worked better for me.
The problem I ran into with Elspeth is that I would get a swing in with her +3/+3 and she'd get blown away next turn, often times by an attacker + a bolt from both Jund and Zoo decks. Every time I got her on the board it seemed like I lost her shortly after with all the aggro in modern.
I've also run into situations where first strike was a relevant ability as well. I've played against a few vampire decks that are heavy on Nighthawk and Nocturnus, and having first strike defense helped thin the field without losing my own board position. I was similarly able to take down incoming Inkmoths.
I've had enough people scoop to Geist + Destiny outright that I'm going to run with it.
On an empty board, Elspeth poops out dudes. This means that if Elspeth is the last thing to stick against control, you can win on her back. You obviously can't stick Angelic Destiny on an empty board, as you will have no creatures in that scenario.
Did you tend to stick Elspeth against aggro when your only dude was Geist? I prefer to lift guys with her +1 when I have more than just Geist, and if I'm stuck with a practically empty board, I just poop out more dudes.
I have been testing geist in zoo as a 3-of and he has been very good. Even in the mirror its a three mana burn spell for four with suspend. On an empty board its absolutely brutal and with the 16 removal suite (tribal, bolt, helix, path) + scm against every deck but the mirror you should be able to keep the board relatively free.
In the mirror, as a 1- to 2-of, Geist plays the role of "last man standing" for me. Since they can't remove him, I tend to win if I stick him late.
I never understood why they banned ponder and preordain instead of banning kiki-jiki, red storm cards, and ascension. They seem more broken than those cantrips.
I sure would prefer to play twin with ponder and preordain and without kiki-jiki. Serum visions and sleight of hand make me vomit.
There was a critical mass of combo decks in the early days of Modern; a ton of UR Storm variants (Swathstorm, Ascension Storm, Empty the Warrens, some hybrid, Dragonstorm), Exarch Twin, and Infect Shoal were major players. The DCI decided to cripple combo (and control) in general by banning the cantrips.
Because the DCI feared decks that have a significant chance of comboing off on Turn 2 (see Inkmoth Nexus and Glistener Elf), it did the equivalent of "banning kiki-jiki, red storm cards, and ascension" and banned Blazing Shoal.
Yeah, Kiki-Jiki's cmc is a little fat for my taste, too. He's definitely the weaker of the two "Twin" effects. If they banned him, I wouldn't miss him, and I don't think Exarch Twin decks would get much worse.
If past in flames weren't a deck that gets hated out relatively easily, I'd be all up for banning it, but any experienced control player who knows how the deck works should be able to beat it without too much of a hassle. The real problem is when the combo decks can fight through wayyy too much hate, and still have a turn 2-4 clock. Combo decks either need to slow themselves down to fight through hate (see Melira), or just have to rely on an opponent not finding answers quick enough in the format to win (Storm Combo).
I must admit that, from my testing, Teachings (assuming no Storm-specific hate) probably has a slight edge against UR Storm Game 1, and the edge gets higher if it runs targeted discard and Extirpate/Surgical Extraction. I'm not sure post-sideboard, though.
UR Storm also rolls over to any aggro-control deck that runs 8+ counterspells. When you're about to get hit for lethal next turn by Merfolk/Bant/Illusions/RUG Tempo Thresh/BUG Dark Thresh/Fae/etc., you attempt to combo off on 3 lands, and you get hit by Mana Leak, it's the worst feeling in the world for Storm.
Enough responses--now for Modern Daily round analyses!
Red Affinity (go Etched Champion maindeck! Not sure about Spellskite, though) and Hive Mind win, while Jund, Next Level Blue, Martyr Proc, two UR Storm lists (apparently, Telemin Performance is tech for the mirror--who knew?), Esper Teachings (what's with the increasing trend of Teferi but no fatty?), Exarch Twin (with lots of card draw), and another Red Affinity (with Bob) get close.
Jund wins (it appears that the new decklist is finally stabilizing--Thrun, 4 Lili, Garruk R., 6 targeted discard, 4 Bolt, 3 Maelstrom Pulse, etc.), while Counter-Cat Zoo, another UB Tempo Fae, Mono-Red Storm, and an unusual Vial Dark Bant list (Thirst for Knowledge is pretty funny with Aether Vial) get close.
Death and Taxes wins, while UW Merfolk (go Moorland Haunt!), Esper Reanimator Gifts (3 fatties you can't reasonably hardcast in a game? My, this deck relies on a Reanimator strategy), UR Storm, and an unusual Grixis Tempo list (timthetornado's been working on this deck, I know it) get close.
Jund wins (has kaOz.Zeh finally given up on Counter-Cat Zoo?), while UR Storm, Martyr Proc (with Spectral Procession, Windbrisk Heights, and Honor of the Pure--an unusually aggro take on the deck), Esper Reanimator Gifts, and RDW (20 creatures, 20 spells, 20 lands) get close.
@Blitz Reloaded, I've tested the Mono-Red and UR builds somewhat and here are my conclusions:
Least Reliable: Mono-Red Past in Flames Storm
The dig is incredible, but not being able to definitely keep rituals in hand hurts a lot.
Second Least Reliable: Mono-Red Past Ascension Hybrid Storm
Again, the dig is incredible, and the deck gets more reliable when you stick Pyromancer Ascension in it. Again, if you can't keep rituals in hand, you're hooped. It's capable of ridiculous turns, but its set-up is somewhat unreliable.
Second Most Reliable: UR Past in Flames Storm
Aggressively dig for Past in Flames, 2 rituals, enough lands, a Grapeshot, and a free draw spell (in that order), and you should definitely be able to win by Turn 5. I often get Turn 4 kills and occasionally get Turn 3 kills with my deck list. It's still prone to fizzling, though--this is why I swear by Muddle the Mixture as Grapeshot #5 and counterspell backup.
Most Reliable: UR Past Ascension Hybrid Storm
This is the deck that has been tearing up the Modern Dailies, and it's for good reason. The deck's about as fast as the one above, but it has the most incredible turns. Get going with Pyromancer Ascension and Past in Flames and you can basically draw your deck and cast multiple Grapeshots (and maybe a Lightning Bolt or two) for the win. It's not win-more, though: you need this level of ridiculous-ness to win through 40 life (Martyr Proc), Mindbreak Trap (just about everyone), Leyline of Sanctity (board in at least 1 bounce spell--you only need to cast it just before you cast your Storm spells), and more. Also, once this deck gets going, it practically never fizzles.
Leyline of Sanctity helps with targeted discard, the mirror (sorta), Gifts decks (sorta), and RDW. Giving yourself Hexproof is surprisingly helpful, but I'm personally not a Leyline fan.
On the other hand, according to my latest update of the Modern Daily Analysis on Page 6, UR Storm has appeared 18 times and gotten 4-0 5 times so far. Not a single other archetype has appeared even 10 times (Zoo has 9). Also slightly disturbing is that Ad Nauseam-Angel's Grace has the second most 4-0s so far, with 3.
Perhaps even more disturbing is that the latest Teachings decks have harshly adapted to UR Storm's presence by inserting Nihil Spellbombs and Mindbreak Traps maindeck, and I even saw a UR Storm list that adapted to the mirror by sticking Mindbreak Traps in the sideboard. The Grixis Tempo list that 4-0'd today has a Suffer the Past maindeck, which I interpret as another sign that UR Storm might be going too far (in the MTGO meta, at least).
I like UR Storm, but if it keeps performing like this, Past in Flames might get the banhammer...
You can cast Think Twice on Turn 2, and cast it again (well, pay its flashback cost) on Turn 3. With the only other instant-speed Divination in the format being Esper Charm, and with Desperate Ravings requiring a red splash and having an unfortunate random discard clause, Think Twice is the best fast instant-speed card draw UB has to offer.
Forbidden Alchemy is nice for Dimir players. Shame its flashback cost is pricier than Mystical Teachings's. It gets going earlier than Teachings, but until you hit the late-game, it has about the same digging power and card advantage as Thirst for Knowledge (in Teachings, at least).
Peer Through Depths is a pretty nice "Shoot, where's my counterspell/removal/etc." card, but it can't dig for lands and it can't hit Tiago/V. Clique/Teferi/etc.
Each player chooses a number of lands he or she controls equal to the number of lands controlled by the player who controls the fewest, then sacrifices the rest.
However, the Esper decks are significantly different: from my count, 5 of them play 3+ Gifts Ungiven, and the other 6 play 2+ Mystical Teachings. The ones with Mystical Teachings are generally called Teachings decks.
Also, there was one UW deck with the Urza's lands--that deck is known as Tron.
People generally put a ton of redundancy into their mana bases. However, a deck can get away with as few as 13 lands that produce coloured mana (see Legacy's Tempo Thresh) as long as it also has incredible dig.
As another example, Tron decks run at least 12 colourless lands, and they'll probably use at least 13 other lands.
Past in Flames produces a more resilient deck, and you only need to dig for it at first (then, after casting PiF, dig for Grapeshot).
There's also Dream Halls + Conflux if you build your deck around it.
Curse of Chains still lets people use activated abilities that require tapping in response to the upkeep trigger, so it's also imperfect.
I like Temporal Isolation--it has Flash, Shadow is practically non-existent in the Modern meta, and you can even pull some dirty tricks off in response to Grim Lavamancer activations. (Shame it won't stifle activated abilities that don't deal damage.)
Weight of Conscience is funny tech if you run enough Spirits.
On an empty board, Elspeth poops out dudes. This means that if Elspeth is the last thing to stick against control, you can win on her back. You obviously can't stick Angelic Destiny on an empty board, as you will have no creatures in that scenario.
Did you tend to stick Elspeth against aggro when your only dude was Geist? I prefer to lift guys with her +1 when I have more than just Geist, and if I'm stuck with a practically empty board, I just poop out more dudes.
In the mirror, as a 1- to 2-of, Geist plays the role of "last man standing" for me. Since they can't remove him, I tend to win if I stick him late.
There was a critical mass of combo decks in the early days of Modern; a ton of UR Storm variants (Swathstorm, Ascension Storm, Empty the Warrens, some hybrid, Dragonstorm), Exarch Twin, and Infect Shoal were major players. The DCI decided to cripple combo (and control) in general by banning the cantrips.
Because the DCI feared decks that have a significant chance of comboing off on Turn 2 (see Inkmoth Nexus and Glistener Elf), it did the equivalent of "banning kiki-jiki, red storm cards, and ascension" and banned Blazing Shoal.
Yeah, Kiki-Jiki's cmc is a little fat for my taste, too. He's definitely the weaker of the two "Twin" effects. If they banned him, I wouldn't miss him, and I don't think Exarch Twin decks would get much worse.
I must admit that, from my testing, Teachings (assuming no Storm-specific hate) probably has a slight edge against UR Storm Game 1, and the edge gets higher if it runs targeted discard and Extirpate/Surgical Extraction. I'm not sure post-sideboard, though.
UR Storm also rolls over to any aggro-control deck that runs 8+ counterspells. When you're about to get hit for lethal next turn by Merfolk/Bant/Illusions/RUG Tempo Thresh/BUG Dark Thresh/Fae/etc., you attempt to combo off on 3 lands, and you get hit by Mana Leak, it's the worst feeling in the world for Storm.
Enough responses--now for Modern Daily round analyses!
3rd Modern Daily on 12/25/2011: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/3192948
Red Affinity (go Etched Champion maindeck! Not sure about Spellskite, though) and Hive Mind win, while Jund, Next Level Blue, Martyr Proc, two UR Storm lists (apparently, Telemin Performance is tech for the mirror--who knew?), Esper Teachings (what's with the increasing trend of Teferi but no fatty?), Exarch Twin (with lots of card draw), and another Red Affinity (with Bob) get close.
4th Modern Daily on 12/25/2011: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/3192943
Jund wins (it appears that the new decklist is finally stabilizing--Thrun, 4 Lili, Garruk R., 6 targeted discard, 4 Bolt, 3 Maelstrom Pulse, etc.), while Counter-Cat Zoo, another UB Tempo Fae, Mono-Red Storm, and an unusual Vial Dark Bant list (Thirst for Knowledge is pretty funny with Aether Vial) get close.
5th Modern Daily on 12/25/2011: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/3192935
Death and Taxes wins, while UW Merfolk (go Moorland Haunt!), Esper Reanimator Gifts (3 fatties you can't reasonably hardcast in a game? My, this deck relies on a Reanimator strategy), UR Storm, and an unusual Grixis Tempo list (timthetornado's been working on this deck, I know it) get close.
1st Modern Daily on 12/26/2011: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/3192960
Jund wins (has kaOz.Zeh finally given up on Counter-Cat Zoo?), while UR Storm, Martyr Proc (with Spectral Procession, Windbrisk Heights, and Honor of the Pure--an unusually aggro take on the deck), Esper Reanimator Gifts, and RDW (20 creatures, 20 spells, 20 lands) get close.
Least Reliable: Mono-Red Past in Flames Storm
The dig is incredible, but not being able to definitely keep rituals in hand hurts a lot.
Second Least Reliable: Mono-Red Past Ascension Hybrid Storm
Again, the dig is incredible, and the deck gets more reliable when you stick Pyromancer Ascension in it. Again, if you can't keep rituals in hand, you're hooped. It's capable of ridiculous turns, but its set-up is somewhat unreliable.
Second Most Reliable: UR Past in Flames Storm
Aggressively dig for Past in Flames, 2 rituals, enough lands, a Grapeshot, and a free draw spell (in that order), and you should definitely be able to win by Turn 5. I often get Turn 4 kills and occasionally get Turn 3 kills with my deck list. It's still prone to fizzling, though--this is why I swear by Muddle the Mixture as Grapeshot #5 and counterspell backup.
Most Reliable: UR Past Ascension Hybrid Storm
This is the deck that has been tearing up the Modern Dailies, and it's for good reason. The deck's about as fast as the one above, but it has the most incredible turns. Get going with Pyromancer Ascension and Past in Flames and you can basically draw your deck and cast multiple Grapeshots (and maybe a Lightning Bolt or two) for the win. It's not win-more, though: you need this level of ridiculous-ness to win through 40 life (Martyr Proc), Mindbreak Trap (just about everyone), Leyline of Sanctity (board in at least 1 bounce spell--you only need to cast it just before you cast your Storm spells), and more. Also, once this deck gets going, it practically never fizzles.
Perhaps even more disturbing is that the latest Teachings decks have harshly adapted to UR Storm's presence by inserting Nihil Spellbombs and Mindbreak Traps maindeck, and I even saw a UR Storm list that adapted to the mirror by sticking Mindbreak Traps in the sideboard. The Grixis Tempo list that 4-0'd today has a Suffer the Past maindeck, which I interpret as another sign that UR Storm might be going too far (in the MTGO meta, at least).
I like UR Storm, but if it keeps performing like this, Past in Flames might get the banhammer...
Against control, Finks beats face and makes your opponent reluctant to use removal.
Against combo...Finks is a speed bump against UR Storm.
Forbidden Alchemy is nice for Dimir players. Shame its flashback cost is pricier than Mystical Teachings's. It gets going earlier than Teachings, but until you hit the late-game, it has about the same digging power and card advantage as Thirst for Knowledge (in Teachings, at least).
Peer Through Depths is a pretty nice "Shoot, where's my counterspell/removal/etc." card, but it can't dig for lands and it can't hit Tiago/V. Clique/Teferi/etc.
Sorcery
Each player chooses a number of lands he or she controls equal to the number of lands controlled by the player who controls the fewest, then sacrifices the rest.
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