General The Constructed thread

Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

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Staff member
Well I know it's not ideal. Realistically, the downside to Misty Rainforest over Scalding Tarn is that I can't grab Mountain or Sacred Foundry, but can grab Island, Hallowed Fountain and Steam Vents. I wonder how many extra game losses that actually results in.
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
CML said:
Probably best not to play fair Blue in Modern
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What makes you say this? I see fair blue decks performing well with some pretty good frequency in Modern. Also UWR is a deck I can play and actually enjoy, unlike a lot of Modern decks out there.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
so i haven't crunched the numbers in terms of "what is performing well" but one of our playgroup's finer players loves UWx control in every format and has recently been in a slump across both modern and standard ptq seasons and the weekly legacy tournament we have here. i'm sure much of it is due to bad luck and a small sample size, but with the other colors being pushed so hard it seems like not even winning every control mirror, the traditional point of departure for success with these decks, is quite enough for even him.

from a theory standpoint the dearth of "hard" combo like storm, eggs makes it more difficult to justify playing reactive spells when modern is more of a "questions" format. twin is one of the last decks like that standing and the best card against it, after all, costs GB
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

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Staff member
Yeah but UWR is a pretty midrangey deck in that half of its cards are just burn cards that can be removal against Aggro or reach against control. It closes out games really quickly with Geist + burn, and asks a lot of questions itself. There's also a UWR deck whose only creatures are a trio of Snapcasters, but that seems much more fragile.

I've always disliked Twin decks.

4-Color Jund is the biggest example of a "pile of cards" deck and perhaps the best argument for better land destruction in the format. Though these days "Jund" is more BWR splashing green for Goyf.

Our local meta is very burn heavy. I am tempted to jam these as sideboard cards:
Image.ashx
 
CML

CML

Contributor
uwr asks few questions aside from geist. as i see it the entire conceit of the deck is that it can run a ton of removal and collapse its wincons into a hexproof beater / giant manland.

rest is a strong card, no shame in that

i dunno, in the zoo list i'd be tempted to cut spells to make room for lions but helix would be first on the chopping block and is one of your best cards against burn
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

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Staff member
CML said:
uwr asks few questions aside from geist. as i see it the entire conceit of the deck is that it can run a ton of removal and collapse its wincons into a hexproof beater / giant manland.

rest is a strong card, no shame in that

i dunno, in the zoo list i'd be tempted to cut spells to make room for lions but helix would be first on the chopping block and is one of your best cards against burn
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Yeah, I've always seen red as the best "midrange" color because its burn lets you transition so easily between playing the beatdown and playing the control deck. Burn is awesome against small creatures and great at providing reach against control. Also burn is so cheap and so useful throughout the game that the decks improve considerably in consistency.

In the zoo list I think you have to consider that Deathrite Shaman helps you ramp, which can be kind of counterproductive when overloading on 1-drops. I always want high impact 3-drops when playing Deathrite Shaman (read: Geist), and really wouldn't complain with a T3 Elspeth in that sort of list.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
t2 geist is really hard for even sisters lists to deal with (one of the reasons i switched to Wb control) and t3 pethy is certainly a powerful play. t2 geist and t2 liliana are roughly as sickening for anyone to see. elspeth has fallen out of favor in modern for complicated reasons, but as i see it the big one is that she wasn't a high-impact play against combo, which is now far less of an issue. i'd say go for it.
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
Elspeth + Geist feels too good not to try. It'll be at least 6 weeks before I can run a Modern list right now, at the moment I'm hibernating.

I wish I had a MODO collection, then I could make fun constructed content.
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
I also wondered why nobody played Ajani in Modern for a long time, then all of a sudden the community woke up and decided to play Ajani. I don't know if it's for a specific metagame reason or if people are just really hivemindey.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
People are really Hive Mindey no doubt. Modern is the brewers' non-rotating format and this is still true. I have no complaints though since I think the format actually benefits from the possibility of making a terrible deck and beating people over the head with it (the bannings also help to this end, and I'm no stranger to thinking in such terms when designing a Cube)
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, brewing in Modern looks fun, but it also looks like something that would be impossible to do without being a MODO player.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
hmmmmmmmm yeah this is mostly true. I passionately hate the period in between the release of a new set in paper and on modo. how the hell does anyone test without modo, ever?

i think you can tweak an existing archetype if you understand it and the meta well enough without the benefit of modo, but certainly jamming many matches on modo is the best way to get better at competitive magic. what it doesn't teach you about is the misery of getting up at fuckface o'clock and driving to a convention center on the edge of some bustburb (yes, bustburb) so you can put together a deck and subsist on a diet of coffee and cigarettes to earn a cash prize that will buy a land or two for your deck.

the other misery of sitting on your boxers on the internet is well-documented.
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
New tribal list:
4 Arid Mesa
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Marsh Flats
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Steam Vents
1 Blood Crypt
1 Godless Shrine
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Forest
(21)

3 Kird Ape
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Noble Hierarch
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Tarmogoyf
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Lingering Souls
4 Geist of Saint Traft
(24)

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
4 Tribal Flames
(15)


Tentative SB:
3 Molten Rain
2 Sowing Salt
2 Rest for the Weary
2 Rest in Peace
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Path to Exile
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Ajani Vengeant



Sideboard is crap and I know it. Local meta has a lot of Tron, Burn and Living End.
 
Eric Chan

Eric Chan

Hyalopterous Lemure
Staff member
omg omg omg USE THE DECKLIST TAGS

(i.. actually forgot how to use them myself. maybe we really do need a button up in here)
 
CML

CML

Contributor
I do not recommend running RIP (the kind of hate card Living End doesn't much care about, even) in a Goyf + Deathrite deck. Relic of Progenitus is far better vs. LE but runs into the same nonbo problems.

Elspeth Tirel? Uhhhhhhhh...

5 LD spells is way too many and Zoo should eat Tron decks alive anyway (though your build is rich in Pyroclasm targets). I think 3 Molten Rain is more than good enough. Maybe run Surgical as your GY hate, I hear those cards go well together vs. Tron

I'm having nightmares about you drawing Rest for the Weary and not hitting landfall, Heroes' Reunion is another option. I think just more Finks and maybe Rhox War Monk are best

I would not choose to run a basic Mountain since in the event of getting Mooned you'll have plenty of those
 
HannesVersmissen

HannesVersmissen

CML said:
I do not recommend running RIP (the kind of hate card Living End doesn't much care about, even) in a Goyf + Deathrite deck. Relic of Progenitus is far better vs. LE but runs into the same nonbo problems.

Elspeth Tirel? Uhhhhhhhh...

5 LD spells is way too many and Zoo should eat Tron decks alive anyway (though your build is rich in Pyroclasm targets). I think 3 Molten Rain is more than good enough. Maybe run Surgical as your GY hate, I hear those cards go well together vs. Tron

I'm having nightmares about you drawing Rest for the Weary and not hitting landfall, Heroes' Reunion is another option. I think just more Finks and maybe Rhox War Monk are best

I would not choose to run a basic Mountain since in the event of getting Mooned you'll have plenty of those
Click to expand...


The Tron decks played at our LGS are most often a blue variant (wich doesn't even come near the results of the original version.) and as a result there are almost no decks with pyroclasm in the sb. ( maybe 1/10 ratio even :) )
 
CML

CML

Contributor
U tron will certainly beat UWR control. It's a choice for winning every control mirror and a few random other matches in an inbred meta.

What's dread return.dec?
 
CML

CML

Contributor
the izzetron deck is kinda sweet (electrolyze, pyroclasm, through the breach) as is the UW one with the gifts package. dunno what to do when you actually draw norn, iona, and/or rites though
 
Dom Harvey

Dom Harvey

Contributor
I played UW Tron in both of the past two Modern PTQ seasons so I'll add my $.02. Drawing Rites and/or Rites targets wasn't a problem too often - Elesh Norn was hardcastable a lot of the time, and you had TfK to sift through cards and get them in the GY. idk how viable the Gifts plan is now that your toughest matchup (BGx DRS-Liliana decks) has Scavenging Ooze as well as DRS. U/R is prob better than U/W as Path isn't really a good card right now and Pyroclasm is better than Timely Reinforcements., but U/W with lots of removal/counters, Timely, and Sphinx's Rev might be good.
 
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