It leans midrange and I thought it could grind and take a Chainwhirler and keep on trucking. I tweaked (worsened) it a bit to match my existing Arena collection and am just 1-2 on ranked Bo3. Early days, but it seems to lack the explosiveness of the 'whirler-be-damned version I have been grinding on ranked Bo1.
tbh that list looks even more soft to chainwhirler with all the x/1s.
I feel like there is a consensus that mono red is a bad MU for this archetype, but I've found it to be the opposite. Either my Sb strategy is better or I'm just lucky, who knows.
I tried different splashes but like mono white the best. I don't think Deputy is particularly strong outside of the mirror match. Counterspells also seem like a trap to me. Ajani is nuts in many post board games. I don't care if I flood on them from time to time, I'm sick of seeing 0 in the games I need them.
I've also found Blood Moons to be worse and worse. After UW fell off the map it has been very hard to justify the plan.
However, I also like Things. I'm currently experimenting with a fair grixis control list that plays four Things, and while probably underpowered, the deck at least feels better than other options I've tried in the past. Post belongs to grixis control thread but w/e
I'm not sure I follow the Drake vs TiTi arguments.
TiTi improves the bad matchups, Drake improves the already good matchups?
If that premise holds, wouldn't we run TiTi main, and then have cards like Drake, Keranos etc. in the board?
In my opinion the fair MUs are the difficult ones. I'm referring to Jund, BG etc. Against decks like Humans and Spirits it's not so clear cut, but I'd say Thing is more crucial there. Against UWx control whichever threat you run feels inconsequential, but having too many expensive spells would be a disaster. (EDIT: then there's burn - a difficult MU, but having Things makes a huge difference IMO. If you see Hardened Scales as a fair deck, then that's one more MU where Thing takes the cake.)
Whether you agree or disagree, I don't see Drake being a SB card. Keranos is also an overcosted clunker IMO. To be frank, I find the MUs BGx completely unsalvagable, and would have my focus on other decks. Modern is littered with linear aggressive decks anyway, so thinking about how to beat the fair decks is not that relevant.
I agree Drake is real, and I'm not planning on cutting it. I decided to cut 2nd Moon from the main to allow myself to play with two Drakes and three Things, for now. I found it that the ability to bounce the opponent's board is very valuable because you're getting a strong unique effect for a low opportunity cost. Instead of playing more wraths like Anger to help against Dredge and Scales, or more spot removal to deal with Sai, you can just use Thing. This is good because at least I'm starved for additional SB slots.
Izzet Arclight might be a better Thing deck, and more competitive deck overall, but that's besides the point.
EDIT: I think overall it boils down to tailoring your threat suite against the perceived metagame. Drake is a lot better against fair decks, Thing is better against the fastest linear decks like Burn, Dredge, Scales etc. I'm feeling ok with the split atm.
I've been off grixis for a short while now, but I messed around with Nicol Bolas and afterwards Crackling Drake a bit.
I think both cards are great additions, and Drake is definitely the more powerful card. The most crucial element of these cards is not the card advantage they give, but the fact they are flyers with 4 toughness - that's a huge deal. Nicol Bolas was kind of awkward though, because so many modern decks don't even mind discarding cards and operate well with very few resources. Against decks like Humans I usually was able to cast Bolas only after they had already emptied their hand! For these reasons Drake's ETB gets the nod from me. Also, Drake is actually a brutal clock, whereas the flip ability of Bolas should never ever come up in a competitive modern game.
Drake has been fantastic in most MUs, but the utility Thing gives us is too important. The ability to bounce opponents' creatures is very valuable against various archetypes, even stuff like KCI where opponents will board in Sai which can be tough to deal with efficiently. I might play a second drake if I find a decent cut.
If the modern gp isn't enough to satisfy you, I'm streaming the modern challenge, currently 3-1: https://www.twitch.tv/tiemuuuu
I'll later upload a recording to youtube where the time between rounds will be cut.
video from yesterday's stream is up. I think the matches were pretty good overall; I made some mistakes and nice plays as well. I would definitely suggest checking out the g2 against BW: https://youtu.be/7iVkycs3_To?t=5626
tbh that list looks even more soft to chainwhirler with all the x/1s.
I feel like there is a consensus that mono red is a bad MU for this archetype, but I've found it to be the opposite. Either my Sb strategy is better or I'm just lucky, who knows.
However, I also like Things. I'm currently experimenting with a fair grixis control list that plays four Things, and while probably underpowered, the deck at least feels better than other options I've tried in the past. Post belongs to grixis control thread but w/e
You can have a look at how the matches went for me: https://youtu.be/OWcqsixiRno
Not playing Benalish Marshal might be insane, but I can't help my biases. The mono white version is insanely advantaged in the mirror.
In my opinion the fair MUs are the difficult ones. I'm referring to Jund, BG etc. Against decks like Humans and Spirits it's not so clear cut, but I'd say Thing is more crucial there. Against UWx control whichever threat you run feels inconsequential, but having too many expensive spells would be a disaster. (EDIT: then there's burn - a difficult MU, but having Things makes a huge difference IMO. If you see Hardened Scales as a fair deck, then that's one more MU where Thing takes the cake.)
Whether you agree or disagree, I don't see Drake being a SB card. Keranos is also an overcosted clunker IMO. To be frank, I find the MUs BGx completely unsalvagable, and would have my focus on other decks. Modern is littered with linear aggressive decks anyway, so thinking about how to beat the fair decks is not that relevant.
Izzet Arclight might be a better Thing deck, and more competitive deck overall, but that's besides the point.
EDIT: I think overall it boils down to tailoring your threat suite against the perceived metagame. Drake is a lot better against fair decks, Thing is better against the fastest linear decks like Burn, Dredge, Scales etc. I'm feeling ok with the split atm.
I think both cards are great additions, and Drake is definitely the more powerful card. The most crucial element of these cards is not the card advantage they give, but the fact they are flyers with 4 toughness - that's a huge deal. Nicol Bolas was kind of awkward though, because so many modern decks don't even mind discarding cards and operate well with very few resources. Against decks like Humans I usually was able to cast Bolas only after they had already emptied their hand! For these reasons Drake's ETB gets the nod from me. Also, Drake is actually a brutal clock, whereas the flip ability of Bolas should never ever come up in a competitive modern game.
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This is my current list:
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Blood Moon
3 Cryptic Command
2 Electrolyze
1 Harvest Pyre
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Serum Visions
4 Opt
2 Remand
2 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
3 Thing in the Ice/Awoken Horror
1 Nimble Obstructionist
1 Crackling Drake
7 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Mountain
1 Desolate Lighthouse
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Dispel
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Molten Rain
1 Negate
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Tormod's Crypt
Drake has been fantastic in most MUs, but the utility Thing gives us is too important. The ability to bounce opponents' creatures is very valuable against various archetypes, even stuff like KCI where opponents will board in Sai which can be tough to deal with efficiently. I might play a second drake if I find a decent cut.
I'll later upload a recording to youtube where the time between rounds will be cut.
EDIT: https://youtu.be/4Rg9tEmDloA