[DECK] UWR Midrange

[Arsenal]

[DECK] UWR Midrange

What is UWR Midrange?

UWR Midrange is a classic aggro-control deck in the Modern format. It ultilizes cheap and efficient removal (Lightning Bolt, Path to Exile, Lightning Helix) and countermagic (Remand, Mana Leak) to stave off opponents’ early rushes and clear your path to victory.

Why play UWR Midrange over UWR Delver?

UWR Midrange eschews the Delver of Secrets + Steppe Lynx plan in order to have a stronger mid-late game, especially postboard. Whereas UWR Delver runs 21 lands, UWR Midrange runs a robust 25 lands, 4 of which are Celestial Colonnade. The higher land count allows you to run things like Baneslayer Angel, Thundermaw Hellkite, and other 4-5cmc bombs. Also, since Modern lacks Brainstorm, Ponder, and Preordain, Delver of Secrets and Steppe Lynx are nowhere near as consistently effective in Modern as they are in other formats (see Legacy).

Modern is currently a very grindy, attrition based format. As such, you either need to be faster than the grindy decks or be able to beat them at their own game. UWR Midrange opts for the latter whereas UWR Delver opts for the former.

What cards does UWR Midrange use?

The following cards are considered “core” cards. As in, these cards usually appear in the maindeck in some quantity. There are a few flex slots available, which players have been using for Aven Mindcensor, Thundermaw Hellkite, Spell Snare, Restoration Angel, Hero of Bladehold, etc. Flex slots are exactly that, slots that you can fill to meet the expectations of your meta.

The Core:

Removal
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Helix
Path to Exile
Electrolyze

Countermagic
Izzet Charm
Mana Leak
Remand

Creatures
Snapcaster Mage
Geist of Saint Traft
Vendilion Clique

Lands
Celestial Colonnade
Eiganjo Castle
Sulfur Falls
Sacred Foundry
Hallowed Fountain
Steam Vents
Scalding Tarn
Arid Mesa
Tectonic Edge
Island
Mountain
Plains

For decklists, here are a few recent ones:

1st out of 988 Grand Prix Bilbao 2013 - http://tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=9996&iddeck=72860
2nd out of 165 PTQ Dragon’s Maze Santa Clara, CA 2013 - http://tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=10278&iddeck=74901
4th out of 112 M2K13 Torino GPT Verona 2013 - http://tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=10190&iddeck=74255

What matchup(s) is UWR Midrange favored/unfavored in?

[WORK IN PROGRESS]

[Phoenix Ignition]

Here's the first place spot you mentioned:

Creatures [14]
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aven Mindcensor
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Snapcaster Mage

Instants [21]
2 Izzet Charm
2 Mana Leak
3 Electrolyze
3 Path to Exile
3 Remand
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix


Lands [25]
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Steam Vents
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Arid Mesa
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Scalding Tarn

Sideboard:
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Batterskull
2 Counterflux
1 Disenchant
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Pyroclasm
2 Rule of Law
1 Spellskite
1 Tempest of Light
2 Threads of Disloyalty



So I guess the best thing to try to address is what is the best way to actually beat Tron? Aven Mindcensor is good but with only 2 copies and them maindecking so many pyroclasms, karns, and/or oblivion stones we can't exclusively rely on it. From the sideboard I think it's safe to remove the 2 Rule of Laws now that storm has died down (and there are a lot of ways to counterspell remaining storm decks). Counterfluxes were in there to hit Jund I assume, but that's also a neutered deck. There are definitely sideboard slots open.

Also, 25 lands just seems like too many for any deck. I guess I'll have to try it out with the 4 Celestial Colonnades and 2 Tec Edges. I think I would immediately take out 1 or 2 though, as I've never had a problem with 23 lands even in a control deck.

[Arsenal]

Between Colonnade, Snapcaster + Flashback something, Tec Edge, and running 4-5cmc cards maindeck, I've never found myself wanting less lands. 25 feels right, but if we can shave a land or two to fit more stuff, then I'm all for it.

RE: Sideboards, I didn't mention in my opener only because I figure that people will configure their SB to their specific meta. Stony Silence is in my SB as a 2-of right now, but I'm not sure if that's enough.

EDIT: For reference, here's my current 75

2 Venser, Shaper Savant
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Snapcaster Mage

2 Electrolyze
2 Izzet Charm
2 Mana Leak
4 Remand
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile

1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Island
2 Steam Vents
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Arid Mesa

Sideboard

1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Wrath of God
1 Disenchant
2 Time Reinforcements
2 Counterflux
2 Stony Silence
2 Celestial Purge
2 Threads of Disloyalty
2 Engineered Explosives

The Venser, Shaper Savant is something I've been playing with in the Hero of Bladehold/Restoration Angel slot. Sideboard is up in the air as Modern in my meta is just in it's beginning stages, so I tried to be ready for anything. I still am stone cold to a Pyroclasm, so I'm not quite sure about what to do about that other than hope I have the counter. Maybe Spell Pierce in the board? Seems bad as most Modern decks rely on a fair number of creatures, land counts are 21-25, and there's no Stifle+Wasteland resource denial to make Pierce better.

[Arsenal]

Stony Silence helps in the Tron matchup, but RG Tron is bringing in Nature's Claim to deal with it, and it's tough to have enough mana for countermagic while applying pressure. Sowing Salt is an option to turn off their insane mana ramp too, but at 4 mana, this might not be the best way to go. Any other suggestions/results versus Tron?

[Koby]

Stony Silence helps in the Tron matchup, but RG Tron is bringing in Nature's Claim to deal with it, and it's tough to have enough mana for countermagic while applying pressure. Sowing Salt is an option to turn off their insane mana ramp too, but at 4 mana, this might not be the best way to go. Any other suggestions/results versus Tron?

Spreading Seas, which both cantrips and also hoses some 3c Midrange decks too, and shuts off Manlands.

[DragoFireheart]

Why no equipment cards? Just curious.

You could fetch them with Steelshaper's Gift, but are they just not powerful enough in Modern?

[Koby]

Why no equipment cards? Just curious.

You could fetch them with Steelshaper's Gift, but are they just not powerful enough in Modern?

Abrupt Decay and Lightning Bolt are omnipresent. It's just too slow IMO.

[DragoFireheart]

Abrupt Decay and Lightning Bolt are omnipresent. It's just too slow IMO.

It's a shame since equipment is amazing on Geist.

Funny, I have 90% of the cards for making a WUR Mid-range deck.


Spreading Seas, which both cantrips and also hoses some 3c Midrange decks too, and shuts off Manlands.

Spreading Seas will also stop other shenanigans like Cavern of Souls and Boseiju, Who Shelters All.

[LEH]

Spreading Seas is a strong card verses Tron but it technically doesn't turn off the Tron lands as they still keep their names. Once the Tron lands are formed (even if a Spreading Seas is on one of the lands), additional Urza's Tower, Urza's Mine, and Urza's Power Plant will still add the additional colourless mana, the only thing Spreading Seas hinders is the land it enchants from adding additional mana. For this reason, I'd go with Molten Rain over Seas against Tron as, from my experience, the best way to beat Tron is to kill them before they get going, and the additional 2 damage from Rain helps speed up the kill as well as destroying the land - essentially, buying an additional turn by forcing the Tron player to tutor up another copy as well as speeding up our clock with the additional damage.

[Koby]

Spreading Seas is a strong card verses Tron but it technically doesn't turn off the Tron lands as they still keep their names. Once the Tron lands are formed (even if a Spreading Seas is on one of the lands), additional Urza's Tower, Urza's Mine, and Urza's Power Plant will still add the additional colourless mana, the only thing Spreading Seas hinders is the land it enchants from adding additional mana. For this reason, I'd go with Molten Rain over Seas against Tron as, from my experience, the best way to beat Tron is to kill them before they get going, and the additional 2 damage from Rain helps speed up the kill as well as destroying the land - essentially, buying an additional turn by forcing the Tron player to tutor up another copy as well as speeding up our clock with the additional damage.

Spreading Seas does not read "... in addition to its other types." It simply removes all types and replaces it with Island. Tron lands specifically look for lands with card types: "Urza's Power Plant" "Urza's Tower" or "Urza's Mine" in the card type line; but not the name of the card itself.

Spreading Seas
10/1/2009: The enchanted land loses its existing land types and any abilities printed on it. It now has the land type Island and has the ability to tap to add {U} to its controller's mana pool. Spreading Seas doesn't change the enchanted land's name or whether it's legendary, basic, or snow.

That said, it's a cantripping hoser that comes online sooner than Molten Rain. There is obvious implications between hosing vs destroying; but also 2 mana and 3 mana. Cantrips help keep the deck on pace and 2 mana is in the right ballpark before the Tron player can play a Karn off a natural Tron assembly when they are on the play.

[DragoFireheart]

So Spreading Seas should be a staple then? A Cantrip with multiple uses in hosing troublesome lands?

[Arsenal]

Seems decent, although I worry about the Nature's Claim the Tron player will be boarding in for Game 2/3. I suppose they only have so many Nature's Claims for our Spreading Seas + Stony Silence though...

[Phoenix Ignition]

Spreading Seas is significantly weaker than Molten Rain and shouldn't be played over MR. First of all, leaving them extra lands at all is bad. The mono U tron going around would just laugh at this since it wastes your turn to effectively have them just play an island, which they're fine with. For GR tron they have so many colorless spells anyway that it's also a non-issue. Yes you could slow them down enough to keep them off of Karn or Wurmcoil for an extra turn or 2, but it's not like you can close out the game in that amount of time, being a midrange deck.

You want Molten Rain because even though it's a 3 drop it sets them back significantly. It's not just something they can remove the effect of with Oblivion Stone, or a sideboard Nature's Claim (which they will most likely bring in against possible Stony Silence + Bloodmoon anyway). They can't just use the mana and say "oh, thanks" if they're mono U tron. Also, 2 damage is that much faster of a clock. Irreversibly killing their land is well worth the double red, and well worth paying 3 over 2.

[Anusien]

The advantage of Spreading Seas is that you can use it to stop them from turn 3 Karn if you're on the draw. That may not be a concern though.

[Arsenal]

Played Modern at FNM for the first time. Beat an interesting Cascade/Suspend deck and Melria Pod easily, but got blown out by Martyr Proc badly. Even post board, with siding in Wrath and SVerdict, I couldn't do anything. Maybe play more EE in my board? Not sure, but this matchup felt unwinnable.

[Koby]

Sulfur Elemental exists to beat Lingering Souls and Soul Sisters alike.

[CardboardCrack]

What are your thoughts about playing Goblin Guide instead of Geist of Saint Traft? It really lowers your curve so you can play less land and more spells, plus the Goblin often gets in for a lot of damage before the Geist would even come down.

[Arsenal]

Geist is the backbone of this deck. Hexproof > Modern. Guide will eat Bolt/Path all day if it matters enough to your opponent.

[DragoFireheart]

What are your thoughts about playing Goblin Guide instead of Geist of Saint Traft?

I think you made a pretty funny joke.

Are you being serious? I would argue that Geist is one of the best cards in Modern and you need a damn good reason to not play him.

[Arsenal]

So, Ral Zarek just got spoiled and interested in hearing what people think of him in UWR Midrange. Obviously at 4cc, he'll be competing with Restoration Angel/Elspeth/Ajani Vengeant/Hero of Bladehold/Venser, Shaper Savant/Thundermaw Hellkite/etc, so it'll be tough for him to crack in, but with Geist in this deck, Geist + Ral +1 tap down their Goyf, swing for 6 points, seems juicy...

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...g/daily/mm/242

Ral Zarek - 2UR

4 Loyalty

+1: Tap target permanent, then untap another target permanent.

-2: Ral Zarek deals 3 damage to target player or creature.

-7: Flip 5 coins. Take an extra turn after this one for each coin that comes up heads.

[DragoFireheart]

He's perfect for this deck. Between all the removal and his tap/bolt abilities, letting Geist of Saint Win hit our opponent should be cake.

[Arsenal]

But is he better than Elspeth? Elspeth pump+jump on Geist (over their Goyf/Finks/Smiter/etc) seems to be better on offense than Ral's tap+untap in order for Geist to get in. Both Ral and Elspeth protect themselves (Ral with Bolt and Elspeth with 1/1), but Ral can redirect his Bolt to opposing Planeswalkers (although, there aren't as many in Modern as in other formats), so I suppose Ral gets the edge defensively... barely. Both ultimates seem okay, each one being strong given the proper situation.

[DragoFireheart]

But is he better than Elspeth? Elspeth pump+jump on Geist (over their Goyf/Finks/Smiter/etc) seems to be better on offense than Ral's tap+untap in order for Geist to get in. Both Ral and Elspeth protect themselves (Ral with Bolt and Elspeth with 1/1), but Ral can redirect his Bolt to opposing Planeswalkers (although, there aren't as many in Modern as in other formats), so I suppose Ral gets the edge defensively... barely. Both ultimates seem okay, each one being strong given the proper situation.

Ral giving us more removal seems better than Elspeth. I would use Ral over the chick knight if I had to choose. Ral looks better suited for aggro/control while Elspeth is better for control decks that want to stall.

[LEH]

Ral is a generally worse Ajani Vengeant. Vengeant keeps the permanent tapped down for the turn, Ral lets you untap something - Ral can be conditionally better but on the whole I favor Ajani. Lightning Helix is better than Lightning Bolt when they cost the same to cast so Ajani trumps Ral there too. Their ultimates are both very strong so no major differences there. Ral starts with more loyalty and preferable casting colours but I still prefer Ajani.

[DragoFireheart]

Ajani can't help a Geist swing through a blocker that's too big to kill with a bolt. Ral can.

[Arsenal]

Ral is a generally worse Ajani Vengeant. Vengeant keeps the permanent tapped down for the turn, Ral lets you untap something - Ral can be conditionally better but on the whole I favor Ajani. Lightning Helix is better than Lightning Bolt when they cost the same to cast so Ajani trumps Ral there too. Their ultimates are both very strong so no major differences there. Ral starts with more loyalty and preferable casting colours but I still prefer Ajani.

Good points, but Ral give you 1 Lightning Bolt + 1 Lightning Bolt, whereas Ajani can only do 1 Lighting Helix, keep something from untapping, then 1 Lightning Helix. Ral dealt 6 damage over two turn, Ajani takes three turns to do the same. So I think the speed of Ral's Lightning Bolt vs. the lifegain of Ajani's Lightning Helix cancel each other out.

And Ajani's +1 ability is dead if the opponent didn't tap their fatty whereas Ral's +1 is live regardless of the opponent tapping/not tapping their fatty; Ral guarantees that their fatty is going to be tapped and not able to block your Geist. Ajani's +1 offers no such guarantees.

I think Ajani's ultimate is slightly stronger than Ral's, only because of the unpredictability of Ral's ultimate.

[DragoFireheart]

Or we could run both planeswalkers. They complement each other VERY well.

Both burn, Ral can tap something while Ajani keeps it tapped.

[YamiJoey]

I managed to T4 a small GPT with this list yesterday. (After dropping from a Standard PTQ that I L-L-W-dropped. Went badly. My g/f T8d, though!) I won by throwing Bolts and Colonnades at my opponents. I'm going to be altering the list into something closer to the one at the bottom.

Sorceries: 5
2 Isochron Sceptre
2 Wall of Omens
1 Supreme Verdict

Instants: 29
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
1 Deprive
2 Izzet Charm
4 Lightning Helix
2 Mana Leak
3 Remand
2 Shadow of Doubt
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Venser, Shaper Savant

Lands: 26
1 Plains
2 Island
1 Mountain
3 Celestial Colonnade
3 Seachrome Coast
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
3 Steam Vents

Sideboard
1 Spell Snare
1 Celestial Purge
1 Disenchant
1 Negate
2 Counterflux
2 Spreading Seas
1 Detention Sphere
2 Ghostly Prison
2 Shatterstorm
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Wrath of God

As a general rule, the Wall under performed all day, and I'd rather have had Wrath than Verdict. Thrun is next to impossible to deal with in this deck, and we have no access to Edicts in Patriot.

Shadow of Doubt and Aven Mindcensor were both excellent. You destroy the Pod decks, and can LD the crap out of people. The mana is almost perfect, though there may be an argument for trying to find room for Seas in the main and cutting the Edges. They gave me some small mana problems (Helix, Bolt, Path, Deprive, and Verdict are all a tad mana heavy, with Snare, Sphere, and 'Flux out of the board.

I didn't run into the only combo deck of the deck, which is what the 'Flux and Negate were mostly for, alongside the control mirror. I also didn't see the Snare when I pulled it in, which is a shame. The Charm was half decent. Kills a lot of things, and is a main decked Spell Pierce.

My two losses came from a Pod deck where on T4 of time I Venser to bounce my stick for lolz and he EoT Rest Angels, then casts a Zealous Conscripts and Pods the Angel for game, which was honestly the funniest thing to happen all day, and against a Junk Creatures deck that landed Thruns and Goyfs all day. The MU was generally a bit terrible, and I should probably make some more slots in the board for it. The Stirring Wildwood and Thrun just make it completely unwinnable. Tec Edge is great in G1, but I then have to race a 4/4 with Clique and Bolts. Helix almost got me there in G1, and I just didn't see any Seas to deal with the lands, and when I Wrathed he followed up with a Goyf and Smiter, which cause less, but still major problems. A tonne of x/4s are not what I want to see, especially uncounterable ones.

I'm thinking of becoming a more counterburn style deck, now. The games where I drew a lot of Blys are the games that went the best.

Instants: 31
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Boros Charm
2 Izzet Charm
4 Lightning Helix
3 Mana Leak
4 Remand
2 Shadow of Doubt
4 Snapcaster Mage

Sorceries: 4
4 Isochron Sceptre

Lands: 25
3 Celestial Colonnade
3 Seachrome Coast
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Plains
2 Island
2 Mountain

The deck is a lot more mana intensive, so I cut the Edges for another Mountain, and added another Spell slot. The board will have some Wrath of Gods, Silences, and white Fogs. Boros Charm under a Sceptre is going to basically do the business, and I may look into adding some Muddle the Mixtures. The card itself is brilliant, and being able to grab either Sceptre or a target (ie Boros Charm) is huge. I could probably try cutting a Snap or two, and a Path for it. Transmuting them into Snapping them back also seems like synergy.

[gregtron]

Played Modern at FNM for the first time. Beat an interesting Cascade/Suspend deck and Melria Pod easily, but got blown out by Martyr Proc badly. Even post board, with siding in Wrath and SVerdict, I couldn't do anything. Maybe play more EE in my board? Not sure, but this matchup felt unwinnable.

This month I've won two GPTs in a row (scooped to a teammate in the finals of one) with UWR Geist, and the only match that's given me any trouble is Martyr. The version I played against started with general Soul Sisters/Martyr shenanigans, then into Lingering Souls/Spectral Procession, and eventually killed me with Baneslayers and the 1/1 guy that turns into a 6/6. I don't know if that's the general trend for the archetype, but even though my opponent was playing very loose (playing Martyr with no mana available, missing Soul Sister triggers, etc), the match never felt like it was in my control at any point. The deck is just way too taxing even for the beautiful removal suite we get, and is like the only match I've encountered where a third-turn Geist is not enough.

I'm really hesitant to try run anything in my board for this matchup, as the deck needs so many slots to beat Burn and Tron. I'm really just hoping none of these goons make it to the fourth round of Portland.

[gregtron]

Oh, and as an aside: are you guys currently playing Ajani? I love him in every matchup. Helixing and tapping down are always great, and if an ultimate fires off it's about as close as Magic comes to taking a dump on heroin.

[Arsenal]

I think in those 2-3 flex slots, people are running whatever they want. I'm currently on 2x Venser, Shaper Savant and he's been MVP for me over the last month.

[gregtron]

I think in those 2-3 flex slots, people are running whatever they want. I'm currently on 2x Venser, Shaper Savant and he's been MVP for me over the last month.

Ah, interesting. I guess my "flex slots" are Ajani, Bonfire, and a third V-Clique. I'll have to try Venser before the GP.

[Arsenal]

UWR Midrange has a problem when things slip past it's counter/removal-wall. A resolved, problematic permanent from your opponent can be tough to negotiate for UWR Midrange, that's why I like Venser; he's a 2/2 body that can deal with anything that may have gotten through when you tapped out for Geist/weren't holding the counter/etc. Also, he's a nice way of dealing with "uncounterable" spells, even if only for a turn (which is sometimes the difference between winning with a final Geist attack, or losing to a resolved Thrun). I considered Cryptic Command in those 2 slots, but liked that Venser gives me an additional threat to beat with; this deck is incredibly threat light/fragile, so the more bodies to swing, the better.

[mvilla888]

Morning all. Wondering on any thoughts of adding Young Pyromancer to the deck? He triggers off the Scepter, so numerous chances for a impactful spell and 2 critters to boot to help provide blockers and such. As such, I'd love to fit Cabal Therapy into the deck, but really don't want to go 4 colors to reduce the stress on the mana base. Is anyone working on something like this now that wants to share notes?

[YamiJoey]

Morning all. Wondering on any thoughts of adding Young Pyromancer to the deck? He triggers off the Scepter, so numerous chances for a impactful spell and 2 critters to boot to help provide blockers and such. As such, I'd love to fit Cabal Therapy into the deck, but really don't want to go 4 colors to reduce the stress on the mana base. Is anyone working on something like this now that wants to share notes?

Cabal Therapy isn't Modern legal.

Aside from that, I love Pyroman. Seems great with Bolt, Path, Helix, Electro, Command, Snap, and counterspells.

[mvilla888]

Cabal Therapy isn't Modern legal.

Aside from that, I love Pyroman. Seems great with Bolt, Path, Helix, Electro, Command, Snap, and counterspells.

My bad...was watching Sam Black's review of the deck from last weekend and forgot he was talking about a Legacy version, not Modern.

Need to spend some time brewing this weekend and see what I can come up with. Any other suggestions on how to best utilize Pyroman in the deck would be appreciated.

[YamiJoey]

Figured I may as well post an update.

// Spells: 35
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile

4 Lightning Helix
4 Mana Leak
3 Remand
4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Electrolyze

4 Cryptic Command
2 Ajani Vengeant
2 Wrath of God

Lands: 25
1 Plains
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Mystic Gate
2 Cascade Bluffs
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
3 Steam Vents

I recently cut a pair of Restoration Angels and Wall of Omens for a pair of Paths, an Electro, and a Helix. (Meaning my old count was 2/3/3.) Walls were okay against aggressive decks, but I never wanted to tap out to play them early, and late they were terrible. Electro and Path deal with what they do better. Resto gets much worse with only Snap as a target, and if I've landed a Snap then I don't need Rest Angel to make the game go well, I should really be doing that with the Snap. That, and four Cryptics. It also lowers my curve, meaning that being stuck on four Land (all the time, man) is no longer too much of an issue. I like to get up to six lands relatively quickly so that I can start getting Snap/Command soft-locks going, and Angel meant that I was having to get to 8 to make her useful in that scenario. Now when I get to 8 mana I can just use a Lightning Helix on top of what I'm already doing and make some progress, or land an Electro and just crush them under cards. I'm not exactly happy to see Resto go, as she was an incredible way to clock people, but she's just not necessary. My sideboard currently looks like:

1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
1 Celestial Purge
1 Negate
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Wear // Tear
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Spellskite
2 Ghostly Prison
2 Shatterstorm

I recently added the Kataki, and I think I was under the influence of something. (Probably how shiny it is.) I'll probably cut that for a Spellskite at some point soon. Spellskite does everything.

[kwis]

I'm a tad worried about how your deck responds to Abrupt Decay. I guess you have board control and lightning helix man though.

Also is WoG really better than Verdict here? Seems like you should always have the spare U since you're setup to support Cryptic. I only count 3 lands that can't make blue and 2 of them can generate the W while the last still pays the colorless.

[RavenJason36]

I've been trying to break into modern for the last few months, trying to get the rest of my deck together. Decided to build URW Midrange since I have a lot of experience with it in Standard. Still need to get my fetchlands and Vendilion Cliques and I'll be finished! :)

Here's the list I've been trying to build:

CREATURES:12
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Restoration Angel
2 Vendilion Clique

SPELLS:23
4 Lightning Helix
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Electrolyze
3 Path to Exile
3 Remand
2 Mana Leak
2 Cryptic Command
1 Ajani Vengeant

LANDS:25
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Arid Mesa
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains

In play testing the list has felt very solid. The only thing I've thought about changing is maybe removing a basic land for a 3rd Tectonic edge? Love that card too much.
Due to my in-experience with the Modern format my sideboarding strategies are very poor. I'd love some pointers on which which cards are bad in certain matchups and what to bring in.

Talking to a few people here is the core that I've come up with for my sideboard.
3 Rest In Peace
3 Stony Silence
2 Counterflux
2 Supreme Verdict
1-2 Spellskite

The other 3-4 spots are up for decision. I'm sort of familiar on which cards to bring IN during matchups, such as:
Rest In Peace = Pod, Reanimator
Stony Silence = Affinity, Tron
Counterflux = Mirror, storm/combo
Supreme Verdict = Aggro, Thrun
Spellskite = Mirror, Burn

But, I'm not sure which cards in the MB are bad in each matchup. The list just feels so solid, that every card seems relevant. If anyone with more experience than myself could help me with this, I'd greatly appreciate it!

[YamiJoey]

I'm a tad worried about how your deck responds to Abrupt Decay. I guess you have board control and lightning helix man though.

Also is WoG really better than Verdict here? Seems like you should always have the spare U since you're setup to support Cryptic. I only count 3 lands that can't make blue and 2 of them can generate the W while the last still pays the colorless.

Abrupt Decay kills Snapcaster Mage and a couple of sideboard cards, most of which don't come in Vs Decay (except Pod) so I'm not sure that's relevant.

Wrath is better than Verdict, as the deck dies to Thrun. It was the final call in it. I'm not too bothered about Delver decks. I play a bajillion hyper-efficient and cheap kill Spells, so I just keep burning things as they drop, and use Electro effectively to gain advantage. If they keep landing Fae to counter it, I can untap and Wrath the board when they have less mana. If they don't then my Burn did its job so I don't care. They have less guys than I have removal. (A general rule for every deck in the format.) It wasn't a mana thing, it was an effect-based decision.

Took the above list to FNM last night.

R1 Vs Tezzerator
G1: T1 Relic of Progenitus, T2 Torper Orb. I had a tonne of countermagic and burn in hand, but eventually I ran out of stuff to do, and my late-game is fairly heavily reliant on the Snapcaster Mage actually doing something.
Sideboard: -4 Electro, -4 Snap, -2 Ajani, +1 Pierce, +2 Snare, +1 Purge, +1 Negate, +2 Wear & Tear, +1 Kataki, +2 Shatterstorm
G2: Stick on three Lands for a while, end up in a situation where he has Wurmcoil Engine, Tezzeret, and Batterskull in hand. He drops a Batterskull. I Path the token, untap, and cast Shatterstorm, tapping out, into his 3 untapped mana and a fetchland. I knew he had all of these cards and am an idiot. If I wait I can simply ask him to recast his Batterskull, not counter it, and then Command the Tezzeret he probably wants to drop on me. If he doesn't then I just keep landing Paths and Wraths on his Batterskull until I can just Bolt him from his 11 life. It wasn't like I was an out and out favourite at this point (4 Lands Vs 9 mana, Torper Orb, and double Relic of Progenitus) but I definitely could have played better.

R2: Vs Affinity
G1: He wasn't very good. I played various Bolts and Wraths. His life total dwindled from its starting point of 19. Whatever.
Sideboard: I can't remember what I took out, but I pulled in the five Spells that have "Artifact" written on them, two Spell Snares, and the Ghostly Prisons. Accidentally forgot to swap the Spellskite for the Kataki and pull it in in the first two rounds.
G2: T2 Kataki into you Sacrifice everything to keep your Darksteel Citadel alive after Dispatching Kataki. That's mostly fine to me, eventually I'll get there with some Bolts.

R3: Vs Melira Pod
G1: Mull to four. Die because.
Sideboard: -2 Lightning Helix, -2 Electrolyze, +2 Aven Mincensor, +2 Ghostly Prison (I tend to just ignore trying to kill the Pod. I counter it, or I just kill everything they play)
G2: He mulls into oblivion. Justice? He gets stuck on lands and I hold his Pod with an Ajani. He casts a second which gets countered, then I just Bolt everything in sight as my Ajani ticks to seven. Armageddon, a second Ajani. GGz.
G3: We both go to 6 and stick. He gets a tad mana screwed and pays the price. Ajani on Pod again. The game was over before it began.

Overall I'm really happy with the deck. You play Mana Leaks and Paths, and then either drop Ajani and continue locking them with Snap/Command, or you just Bolt your opponent at the end of the turn, untap and burn them to death. The weaknesses definitely come from Remand and Mana Leak being the main Counters, meaning the very late game leans very heavily on Cryptic Command, so missing your early Land Drops will just mean death, and when your opponent gains more life than you can handle, meaning a T2 Martyr of Sands on the play can be backbreaking, as suddently you have to Colonnade them quite a few times. These are the main reasons I've opted for Ajani over Gideon. His Ultimate will just win you the game, and it's not an unreasonable feat.

[Arsenal]

How exactly do we beat GR Tron? I've been having horrible results versus GR Tron, and even postboard Sowing Salt + Aven Mindcensor doesn't make me feel like I'm in the game.

[YamiJoey]

As midrange: Aggression. GosT and Rest Angel basically get there. On the play they would have to T3 Apocalypse Chime your GosT into something very relevant. Even+ing Karn isn't really enough when you hit it down to 1 with GosT alone. You need a good starter, and it's not a brilliant MU, but it should be mostly fine.

As control: Throw a brick at them and don't get caught? It is definitely one of our worst MU's. Shadow of Doubts and VERY early Mana Leaks are very key. Spell Snare isn't irrelevant, and you can consider Spell Pierce,. You have to hit 5+ mana before they assemble Tron, and Cryptic Command is about the only real thing you have at that point. You aim burn at their Face and ensure they never get a relevant hit in with a Wurmcoil Engine or Lifelink Token. Save burn for the token if you are planning on a Wrath, but otherwise you need to find a way to just race them and basically ignore Karn. You can stick yourself in a top-decking position with them inside burn range fairly quickly if you're playing enough of it and a full set of Snapcaster Mages. Otherwise you just hope their deck doesn't co-operate in at least one game as Tron tends not to.

EDIT: Also, can we start playing Vendilion Clique again? Who the hell thought it was a good idea to remove one of the best Creatures ever printed from the deck?

[Arsenal]

GR tron mains 3-4 pyroclasm, so my Geist does nothing. Postboard, they bring in defense grid, turning off my countermagic. Amd this is with them have a 3:1 mana advantage after turn 3.

My creature suite is 2 resto, 3 clique, 4 geist, 4 snap.

[YamiJoey]

Eugh. Forgot about the 'Clasms. I was actually looking into switching to GosT to help shore that MU up, but aparently that's a waste of time. Clique is generally good, but the whole thing is a mess. You can't out late-game a Tron deck with a fair deck, so Christ knows what the plan is. I've only ever beaten them by them having awkward hands, or burning them to death when I ran 4 Bolt, Helix, Electro, Command, and Snap. The only way.

[Arsenal]

So Vjeran Horvat just won GP Prague 2014 with UWR Midrange. The winning decklist (http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=12650&iddeck=92748):

1 Restoration Angel
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Snapcaster Mage

2 Mana Leak
3 Cryptic Command
3 Electrolyze
3 Path to Exile
3 Remand
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix

1 Glacial Fortress
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Arid Mesa
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Scalding Tarn

Sideboard:

2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Batterskull
1 Celestial Purge
1 Counterflux
1 Damping Matrix
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Path to Exile
1 Sowing Salt
2 Stony Silence
2 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Wear // Tear

This decklist doesn't look terribly different from many UWR Midrange lists still running the core creature suite of Geist, Clique and Snapcaster. There isn't really any new tech to be found, I think people have just forgotten how powerful untapping with Geist of Saint Traft is in the past few months. Thoughts? He beat Twin Exarch in the finals (a favorable matchup as we run a billion removal spells and countermagic + present a very fast clock in Geist/Clique).

[SilkyPimP]

[QUOTE=Arsenal;781474]So Vjeran Horvat just won GP Prague 2014 with UWR Midrange. The winning decklist (http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=12650&iddeck=92748):

1 Restoration Angel
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Snapcaster Mage

2 Mana Leak
3 Cryptic Command
3 Electrolyze
3 Path to Exile
3 Remand
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix

1 Glacial Fortress
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Arid Mesa
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Scalding Tarn

Sideboard:

[cards]2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Batterskull
1 Celestial Purge
1 Counterflux
1 Damping Matrix
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Path to Exile
1 Sowing Salt
2 Stony Silence
2 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Wear // Tear[/cards




I want to run a list like this for a tournament coming up. I played this deck a few times last season with a elspeth knights errent so I could curve into turn 3 GOST turn 4 Elspeth turn 5 Hellkite.:cool: What do you all think the worst match ups are?
I am thinking of Baneslayer and Supreme verdict might be in my board as well. I also like the anger of the gods plan. I played pyroclasm last season and it was good.

All help is appreciated!


btw My local meta is tron/pod/twin with a little b/g/x

[Arsenal]

As always, I feel that GR Tron is our worst matchup. Maindeck Pyroclasm/Firespout, maindeck Relic of Progenitus, being able to outmana us early on, etc... it's a nightmare. We typically don't run bombs like UWR Control does, so while they can battle GR Tron with their topdeck Sphinx's Revelation, Cryptic Command, etc, we're drawing Geist of Saint Traft (a good card to be sure, but less so when our opponent is drawing Wurmcoil Engine, Oblivion Stone, Pyroclasm/Firespout, etc).

[Mr. Safety]

I took this list with me to Boston, went 5-4.

4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Vendilion Clique
2x Restoration Angel

4x Lightning bolt
4x Mana Leak
4x Cryptic Command
3x Path to Exile
3x Electrolyze
3x Spell Snare
2x Lightning Helix
2x Sphinx's Revelation
1x Ajani Vengeant

4x celestial colonnade
4x arid mesa
2x scalding tarn
1x misty rainforest
2x steam vents
2x hallowed fountain
1x sacred foundry
1x sulfur falls
1x glacial fortress
3x island
1x plains
1x mountain
3x tectonic edge

Sideboard
2x grafdigger's cage
1x engineered explosives
1x relic of progenitus
1x batterskull
2x stony silence
1x wear/tear
1x detention sphere
2x supreme verdict
1x wrath of god
1x counterflux
1x sowing salt
1x combust


My mana wasn't perfect but I didn't have problems. I beat affinity, uw merfolk, junk, and two burn decks. I lost to scapeshift, melira pod, boros w/blood moon, and rug aggro/control with sided blood moons. Moon is hard to beat and I was obviously unprepared for it. I didn't see much tron going around, which surprised me. I thought it was gaining popularity lately.