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FZA
09-03-2017, 12:46 PM
UWx StoneBlade

UWx StoneBlade is a control deck (or rather, an archetype of control decks) built around the powerful Stoneforge Mystic together with some of the powerful blue staples of Legacy. After the initial printing of Stoneforge Mystic and Jace, the Mind Sculptor in 2011, Stoneblade quickly climbed up the ranks of the Legacy format. The deck fell out of favor a few years after that, when most players defaulted to an incredibly strong Miracle Control deck powered by Sensei’s Divining Top. But after the ban of Top in April 2017, Stoneblade has re-emerged as a viable UW control shell, offering a resilient mana base together with a powerful suite of answers and win conditions.

Preface: Deathrite Shaman or no Deathrite Shaman?

Deathrite Shaman has found its way into Stoneforge Mystic decks ever since the broken Elf was printed in RTR block, giving rise to a new archetype (Esper Deathblade) for which the primer can be found here (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?30981-Deck-Deathblade). This primer is focused on UWx Stoneblade decks that do not play Deathrite Shaman.

Deathrite Shaman is certainly very powerful, but there are a couple of reasons why one might choose to forgo it. DRS requires either stretching your mana base to 4 colors to accommodate, or playing a single copy of Tropical Island in your Esper deck. This might not seem significant at first but stretching from 2 colors (plus a possible splash) to 3-4 colors makes the mana base much more susceptible to Wasteland and powerful land hosers like Blood Moon and Back to Basics, while also taking away your ability to play those land hosers yourself. Traditional UWx Stoneblade is often able to fetch only basic lands for the first few turns of the game, whereas Deathblade is not able to do so. This significantly improves our matchup against Wasteland decks like Delver and Death and Taxes, as well any prison decks running Blood Moon.

I. The Deck

Core cards

Stoneforge Mystic
Batterskull
Umezawa’s Jitte

The namesake “package” of the deck and one of its main ways of stabilizing the board and generating card advantage. Batterskull is essentially a 4/4 Lifelink creature that can be deployed turn 3 with SFM and bounced for re-use later in the game, if needed. The self-bounce ability can also protect the batterskull itself from removal.

Umezawa's Jitte is widely regarded as the most busted Equipment card, for good reason - it quickly takes over the game against any kind of creature deck. Jitte's ability triggers on any combat damage - not just combat damage to a player - which means that even if the opponent has blockers available, Jitte is still going to devastate their board if they can't either answer it or clear your own board quickly. Jitte's ability to give opposing creatures -1/-1 by removing a counter is certainly its most powerful, but the lifegain ability can also be very relevant against decks like Delver or Burn, and the +2/+2 ability can help you kill a combo player faster or protect the creature holding Jitte from removal.

SFM has some other uses as well, like grabbing a Sword of X and Y that shines in a particular matchup, or simply acting a way to shuffle post-Brainstorm. One common trick is to Brainstorm an equipment back on top of your library, then play SFM to fetch it.

When playing SFM, you’ll often have to choose between tutoring for Batterskull or Umezawa’s Jitte. Going for Jitte is often the better option against decks with removal because it’s better to have in hand in case your SFM is killed. Against decks with lots of small creatures (Death and Taxes, Elves) you’ll generally want to grab Jitte as well.

Important note about using SFM and Batterskull: Sometimes you will have a situation where you have an SFM and a Batterskull on board with no Germ token, and at least 5 mana available. In this position you might want to pay 3 to return Batterskull to your hand, then activate SFM to put it back in play with a new token. However, this will allow your opponent to kill SFM in response to you returning Batterskull, which will leave you with the Batterskull stuck in hand. A better way to accomplish the same thing is to:

1) Activate SFM’s ability, holding priority - In a paper game, do this by saying “I’ll hold priority and activate SFM” or something similar. On MODO, hold Ctrl and then activate the ability.

2) In response to your own SFM’s ability, pay 3 to return Batterskull to your hand.

3) Batterskull’s ability will resolve first, then SFM’s ability will resolve and you can put Batterskull into play.

This is a better line because even if your opponent were to kill SFM in response to you activating Batterskull, the ability is already on the stack and you will still be able to put Batterskull into play.

Brainstorm
Widely regarded as the best card in Legacy and for good reason, Brainstorm is just way too good not to play as a 4 of in a control deck. For one mana at instant speed, you can draw three cards and shuffle your two worst cards back into your deck with a fetch land. This powerful card selection engine allows you to find the answers you need, avoid mana flood and mana screw, and trade Equipment cards in your hand for new cards in the event that your Stoneforge Mystic gets killed. Brainstorm also provides some protection against discard effects like Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy and Hymn to Tourach by allowing you to “hide” important cards on top of your library.

In general you want to be as patient as you can with your Brainstorms: don’t cast Brainstorm just because you have mana available, cast it when you need an answer for something, need lands ASAP, or have some other particular use for it in mind. Being patient this way will help you avoid the dreaded “Brainstorm lock”, i.e., having to put two bad cards on top of your deck without a way to shuffle them back in.

Ponder
Ponder is the deck’s other cantrip/card selection tool. Recently control decks have been moving toward playing 4 Ponders, with players deciding that the card selection it provides, while not as strong as Brainstorm, is powerful enough to mitigate its downsides. Namely, adding more “air” to your deck (cards that cost mana but don’t interact with the board or the stack) and making you more vulnerable to cantrip hate like Chalice of the Void, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Trinisphere.

I strongly believe that playing 4 Ponders is the right choice, however, if you don’t want to play Ponder, you’ll want to up your land count to 22 or 23.

Swords to Plowshares
Hands down the best removal spell in the format, and the main reason to play white in your control deck. Hits every relevant threat in the format except True Name Nemesis, including Marit Lage. Unless you’re in a super inbred combo-heavy meta you should be running 4 of these main deck.

Force of Will
The best universal answer card we have, protecting you from all the degenerate nonsense Legacy has to offer. This isn’t the only place Force of Will shines, however. While people will commonly tell you the card is poor against “fair” decks, it is often still very relevant as it can counter a key threat that you have no other answer for, or protect your SFM as a last-ditch effort to stabilize the board. Play 4 Force of Wills and don’t try to get cute by moving one to the sideboard.

True-Name Nemesis
At first it may seem odd to include a beater in a control deck, but TNN is still worthy of inclusion because of its raw power and its synergy with Equipment, particularly Umezawa’s Jitte. TNN helps stabilize against creature decks, ensures that your Jitte connects against decks that might otherwise make it difficult (Elves with Wirewood Symbiote on board, D&T with Thalia and/or Mother of Runes). TNN can also just give you some free wins against decks that are likely to out grind you in a longer game, e.g. Lands, 4 color Loam, Czech Pile, etc.

Snapcaster Mage
So now that you’re convinced Brainstorm is a good card, don’t you think it’d be nice if we could play a few more copies without having to worry about those pesky judges and their deck checks? Snapcaster Mage allows us to reuse our Brainstorms and other powerful cheap spells, and provides a 2/1 body that can hold a Jitte if needed, protect True-Name from an Edict effect, or even slowly close out the game.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Once you play against an opponent who drops Jace on an empty board against you, you will quickly figure out how powerful this card is. Though very expensive by Legacy standards, Jace is quick to completely take over a game after he resolves against nearly any archetype. Brainstorm is good. Brainstorm every turn will bury your opponent. In addition to the busted 0 ability, Jace can protect himself from attacks the turn you play him with his -1, or from Lightning Bolt with +2. The ultimate provides a win condition when necessary, but do not prematurely start +2’ing Jace towards the ultimate - by doing this you are passing up card advantage and giving your opponent a window to get back into the game. Usually it’s better to Brainstorm until you have the game locked up, then work toward the ultimate if you need.

Counterspell
Tied with Swords to Plowshares for oldest card in the deck, messing with people’s spells since Alpha. There’s not too much to be said about Counterspell; at 2 mana it’s a little slow and clunky for a format as efficient as Legacy, but, it’s still a great tool against combo decks and serviceable against fair decks as well.

Other card choices

Sword of Fire and Ice
The other equipment worth considering for the main deck, it shines in some matchups where Batterskull and Umezawa’s Jitte are both lackluster. In control mirrors, Sword provides card advantage while also giving you a quick clock and the ability to attack through Baleful Strix and True-Name Nemesis(!). Against combo, Sword helps you dig for more disruption while killing your opponent.

In general, the other Swords of X and Y (Feast and Famine, Light and Shadow, War and Peace, and Body and Mind) are not strong enough to run in this deck, but could be considered as sideboard options for certain metagames.

Spell Pierce
A couple copies of Spell Pierce are often included in the main deck, primarily as tools to fight spell-based combo decks. However, they are also good answers to Chalice of the Void, opposing Jaces, Liliana of the Veil, and is rarely a dead card because it can always be used on a Brainstorm, Ponder, etc.

Engineered Explosives
Provides extra removal that often scores you a 2+-for-1 against Delver decks and other decks with small creatures. Also can be used to blow up Chalice of the Void for 2 mana, or sweep a board full of Empty the Warrens tokens.

Council’s Judgement
Probably the most catch-all answer to permanents there is as it kills even True-Name Nemesis and Progenitus. A 1WW though, the cost is rather steep, and this card can be clunky. Still a good card, but probably not something you want more than 1-2 of.

Vendilion Clique
Once considered one of the most powerful creatures in the format, Vendilion Clique has lost a lot of popularity as the format has gotten faster and more efficient. It is still a good card though, and worth considering in Stoneblade decks. It can provide disruption and a clock simultaneously against combo decks, or can be flashed in EoT to kill an opponent’s Jace the Mind Sculptor or Liliana of the Veil, or to initiate a counter war that allows you to resolve your own Jace during your turn. It also has a neat synergy with Karakas, allowing you abuse its trigger over and over again to effectively fate seal your opponent on their draw step every turn while beating in for 3.

Supreme Verdict
Wrath effect that gets through Daze and Force of Will. Provides card advantage and a way to stay alive against creature decks, but at 4 mana is also pretty slow, and gives your opponent the chance to repopulate the board after you’ve tapped out for it. Good card, but Terminus it’s not.

Spell Snare
Has lost a lot of relevance now that Dark Confidant and Tarmogoyf are no longer at the forefront of the format, and Counterbalance is rarely played as well. Still good for countering Chalice of the Void, Snapcaster Mage, Infernal Tutor, Young Pyromancer, Stoneforge Mystic, Hymn to Tourach and a handful of other cards.

Standstill
Very powerful card advantage engine. For those unfamiliar, the idea is to play Standstill and then a manland like Mishra’s Factory or Faerie Conclave that will force your opponent to break Standsitll and allow you to draw 3 cards. While powerful, the Standstill engine requires running 4-5 manlands and usually 4 Wastelands as well, weakening the mana base significantly. It’s not very common nowadays, but if your meta is full of control decks, it could be worth considering.

Ancestral Vision
Was commonly used in early UW Stoneblade lists as a source of card advantage. Suspending AV on turn 1 against midrange and other control decks is very powerful, however, it is a near dead draw later in the game. This is just one of those cards that Legacy may have left behind as the format became more and more efficient (interactions with Shardless Agent aside).

Spell Queller
I’ve seen a few lists running this card lately, presumably as extra combo disruption that can also provide a clock/hold equipment similar to Vendilion Clique. I’m not sure if it’s really better than Clique, but it seems to be working for some people, so give it a try if you’re inclined.

Squadron Hawk
Ok, now we are getting into the super fringe…part of the original “Caw blade” deck that got Stoneforge Mystic and Jace banned from Standard a while back, Hawk can provide card advantage by fetching up copies of himself that can later be turned into real cards by Brainstorm or Jace. The extra bodies can be useful with equipment as well. Realistically though, I think this card is too slow for Legacy, though I’ve seen it in a couple of lists from time to time.


Mana base

A Stoneblade mana base will typically consist of the following:


3 Tundra
2-3 Plains
4-5 Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 other blue fetch lands depending on splash
2-3 U/x splash duals (Volcanic Island or Underground Sea)
0-1 splash basic (Mountain or Swamp)
0-1 Karakas
0-4 Wasteland


Fetch lands make up the core of the manabase - they are the most powerful lands in Legacy, due to their amazing interaction with Brainstorm as well as their ability to provide any color of mana you need (for example, if you're playing Esper list, your Flooded Strands can fetch Tundra or Underground Sea, providing you access to U,W, or B). Of course you need the original duals to actually fetch, and basic lands to fetch against decks with Wasteland or Blood Moon.

Whether or not to include Wasteland is an interesting choice. It is a very powerful utility land, giving you another means of interacting with things like Dark Depths + Thespian’s Stage, or Grove of the Burnwillows + Punishing Fire. However, Stoneblade is a very mana intensive deck, and does not have any mana acceleration. For this reason, trading your land drop for an opponent’s land will often be better for them than you, especially against decks that have Deathrite Shaman to fix their mana. Most Stoneblade decks opt to not include Wastelands at this point, but the debate is still open.

Karakas is another strong utility land that can deal with a Marit Lage token and is very strong against Show and Tell and Reanimator decks trying to cheat Legendary creatures into play. It also has a neat synergy with Vendilion Clique that allows you to bounce and reuse Clique on your opponent's draw step every turn, effectively Fatesealing them. However, as a land that only taps for white and can be Wastelanded, it weakens the manabase to include. For this reason you'll typically see it played in straight UW builds, but not in splash lists - this is not a hard rule, however.

Sideboard options

Flusterstorm
Usually included in every Stoneblade sideboard. In addition to being good against Storm decks, flusterstorm is great against any spell based combo deck as well as Burn and UR Delver, and can be good in control mirrors that often involve counter wars over important threats like Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

Rest in Peace
Very powerful graveyard hate effect that shuts down Reanimator, Dredge, and Life from the Loam strategies. Shuts off our own Snapcaster Mages, but this is rarely relevant because in the matchups where you want RiP, you’re typically in such a good position to win when it’s on the board that you don’t care if it makes 3-4 of your cards bad.

Surgical Extraction
Another graveyard hate option that has additional use against pure combo decks like Show and Tell or Turbo Depths: despite not being reliant on the graveyard, these decks are severely crippled if they lose all 4 copies of one of their namesake cards. As graveyard hate, Surgical is not as impactful as Rest in Peace, however, it costs zero mana while RiP costs two. This is very relevant against BR Reanimator, which usually tries to go off on turn 1 or 2 before RiP can be played. If there is a lot of BR in your meta, I’d recommend Surgical over RiP. Of course it doesn’t hurt to play both cards!

Ethersworn Canonist
Playing white gives us the luxury of “hate bears” (2/2 creatures that have relevant abilities to shut down combo strategies). Canonist is the hate bear of choice against Storm decks, as they simply cannot win the game without removing it first. It’s also useful against Show and Tell decks since it prevents them from defending their Show and Tell with counter magic, and also stops Omniscience combos. It also stops Glimpse of Nature chains and Wirewood Symboite shenanigans against Elves.

Containment Priest
Hate beat of choice against decks trying to cheat creatures into play, such as Show and Tell, Reanimator and Dredge. It’s also good against Elves (Green Sun’s Zenith, Natural Order) and against Death and Taxes (Aether Vial). Won’t save you against Omniscience though, so be aware of that.

Meddling Mage
Not usually as powerful as Canonist or Priest, but this hate bear is a little more versatile and can still be devastating. Can name Show and Tell or Sneak Attack against Sneak and Show to shut off half their enablers, or name Infernal Tutor against storm to shut off their main payoff card. Also decent against Lands (naming Life from the Loam or Punishing Fire), Dredge (naming Cabal Therapy or Dread Return), and Elves (naming Green Sun’s Zenith, Elvish Visionary, or Natural Order).

Disenchant
Funnily enough, the original way of destroying artifacts and enchantments in white is still probably the best way of doing so in this deck. While one mana cheaper, Fragmentize is no good since it can’t hit Chalice of the Void (on 1).

Invasive Surgery
This rather new card offers additional disruption against combo decks, almost all of which include import sorceries. Against Storm and Show and Tell, don’t expect it to be better than an Envelope most of the time, as you’ll rarely have a creature or artifact in the yard to enable Delirium. Against Lands, though, it can sometimes allow you to “extract” Life from the Loam in a way that can’t be played around by Tranquil Thicket, which is cool.

Pithing Needle
Shuts down a bunch of relevant things for one mana. Including but not limited to: Deathrite Shaman (yep, it’s not a mana ability), Aether Vial, Mother of Runes, Thespian’s Stage, Sneak Attack, Wirewood Symbiote…just remember that it does NOTHING against Lion’s Eye Diamond or Food Chain.

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Elspeth, Knight Errant
These planes walkers provide win conditions for grindy matchups against other control decks or midrange decks. Both are able to consistently power out tokens to pressure your opponent and any planes walkers they may have, as well as hold equipment. Be careful not to turn Gideon into a creature if you expect your opponent has Swords to Plowshares; this is a good way to throw a game.


[cards]Path to Exile
Much worse than Swords to Plowshares usually, but can be the 5th/6th copies of StP in matchups where you want more cheap removal, and sometimes can even be better than StP - against Delver decks that don’t play basics, or against decks that make Marit Lage.

Back to Basics
Powerful hoser against decks heavy on nonbasic lands. Not a complete lock, however, as your opponent can still fetch basics after the fact, or play a couple of untapped lands into Abrupt Decay or other removal. It can also be taxing on your own mana base, if you had to fetch or play a couple of Tundras earlier in the game. I recommend running BtB for sure in a straight UW list, but when splashing red, I think you’re better off with Blood Moon (will get to that).

Color splashes

Playing a straight UW Stoneblade list is very defensible, as it provides the most resilient mana base possible with the highest number of basic lands. However, because the existence of duals and fetch lands makes playing a 3 color mana base almost trivially easy in Legacy, Stoneblade lists will often include a 3rd color. Black was traditionally the most popular color to splash, but post Top-ban Stoneblade players seem to be favoring red. Both splashes have strengths and weaknesses as outlined in the following sections.

Red

With the exception of Lightning Bolt, the red splash is typically used only for sideboard cards, making it “lighter” splash than the black splash typically.

Pyroblast
Red Elemental Blast
Possibly the best sideboard cards in all of Legacy, and one of the main reasons to splash Red. In a format where blue is king, it’s no surprise that a card which can answer any blue spell or permanent for one mana is amazing. So much so that in Legacy, control mirrors are often decided by who draws more Pyroblasts (and Snapcaster Mages to flash them back).

Pyroblast is ever-so-slightly better than Red Elemental Blast because it can do things like kill Phantasmal Image copying a non-blue creature, but this is so fringe that you might be better off running a split of the two cards to hedge against Cabal Therapy type effects.

Blood Moon
The other big reason to splash red. Although straight UW decks can run Back to Basics as mentioned earlier, Blood Moon is a more powerful land hoser as it shuts off all future fetches, duals and utility lands.

Ruination
From the Ashes
Other red land hate cards that can be used in place of Blood Moon, if you expect a lot of Abrupt Decays, or your opponent fetching their 1-2 basics in anticipation of Moon. I still think Blood Moon is much stronger in today’s meta, especially against Lands which is one of the main matchups I want nonbasic land hate for.

Lightning Bolt
If you want additional removal, there’s nothing wrong with playing a couple of Bolts in the main deck. Worse than StP, but still kills most 1 and 2-drop creatures in the format. The downside is that by fetching for Red mana against Delver or D&T, you’ll open yourself up to a Wasteland by having to fetch Volcanic Island, or at least slow your mana development by fetching a Mountain. Usually, in these matchups we want to be fetching only Islands and Plains if possible, and trying to cast red cards early can mess with that plan.

Izzet Staticaster
Repeatable removal that cleans up tokens from Young Pyromancer or Empty the Warrens, and kills most cards from D&T and Elves as well as unflipped Delvers.

Grim Lavamancer
Another repeatable removal source that’s great against Delver, D&T, Elves, and 4 color control decks as well. Unlike static aster, it can kill Deathrite Shaman and flipped Delvers, and take planeswalkers off the table.

Pyroclasm
Another cheap sweeper that kills most relevant 1 and 2-drop creatures.

Splinter Twin
Deceiver Exarch
Pestermite

I’m not sure how viable this is, but it’s been tried. Perhaps the most controversial ban in the history of Magic when it was banned in Modern a couple of years ago, some players have been longing for a place to use their Splinter Twins, and UWr Stoneblade provides a reasonable shell for them. If you’re interested, you can check out Andrea Mengucci’s video series on TwinBlade here (https://www.channelfireball.com/videos/channel-mengucci-legacy-twin-blade/)

Black (written by The Source user glazed)

Including black in a UW Stoneblade deck gives you the opportunity to play some extremely powerful cards that can help in many matchups. Anyone thinking of trying Esper Stoneblade should take a look at this article this article (http://www.gatheringmagic.com/benfriedman-05262017-esper-stoneblade-and-dimir-garbage-in-legacy/) written by Ben Friedman.

Esper, like most Stoneblade variants, is trying to gain incremental card advantage while using disruption and powerful threats to win the game. Although, Esper gives a player the tools to play proactive disruption in the form of discard spells.

Discard Effects (Thoughtseize and Collective Brutality):
Other Stoneblade decks rely on reactive disruption to control the game. With the inclusion of black and discard effects, you can play proactive disruption. You’re now able to take resources away from your opponent before they’re able to try and use them. Timing Thoughtseize right is key; you need to sequence it appropriately and disrupt their game plan. Thought seize can also clear the way for your game breaking cards like Meddling Mage, Containment Priest, True-Name Nemesis, and Jace, the Mindsculptor.

Having access to discard effects in the form of Thoughtseize and Collective Brutality help in many combo matchups. The most noteworthy combo decks in legacy are TES Storm, ANT Storm, and Sneak and Show. These matchups become easier when black is added. One of the most backbreaking lines of play against combo is:
T1: Thoughtseize
T2: Meddling Mage/Containment Priest/Collective Brutality
T3: Snapcaster Mage - Thoughtseize

Discard effects also help in scenarios found in fair matchups. Cards like Aether Vial, Karakas, and Brainstorm all let your opponent do tricky things, and discard lets you make your opponent use their resources in less effective ways.

Thoughtseize and Collective Brutality give you information on what is in your opponent’s hand. This information is something you cannot get when playing UW or UWR Stoneblade. Knowing what answers your opponent has to your cards in your own hand lets you craft your game plan and sequence your spells more optimally. This is what proactive interaction can let you do. Reactive interaction (like counterspells) might not do the trick because your opponent could have answers that can’t be countered, or they might have more than one answer. In these scenarios, discard, and the information you gain by looking at their hand, lets you play around everything.

Lingering Souls
This card is amazing in Stoneblade decks. There are times and metas where it is better to be playing Lingering Souls over True-Name Nemesis. The addition of Collective Brutality makes Lingering Souls even more powerful. Esper gets to play Supreme Verdict, as do all other UWx variants of Stoneblade. But Esper can quickly rebuild with Lingering Souls flashback. The inclusion and number of this card depends on your meta. Adding Lingering Souls to your deck makes planeswalkers like Sorin, Lord of Innistrad and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar much better. You’re also able to play Humilty effectively in your sideboard.

Zealous Persecution
ZP is one of the reasons to be playing Esper. It’s uses are endless. The ability to kill Young Pyromancer and all the Elemental Tokens, killing True Name Nemesis, allowing a Stoneforge Mystic to block and kill Leovold, killing a swarm of white creatures out of Death and Taxes, letting a Germ with Batterskull on it kill a Gurmag Angler. ZP also counters Marsh Casualties and Toxic Deluge when they’re used against you. Stoneblade decks typically have a tough time beating Elves, but having access to Zealous Persecution allows the deck to have another way to clear the board quickly. This card has so many uses and I typically sideboard two of them. At least one usually comes in against every deck with black in it.

Baleful Strix
Night’s Whisper

These do everything Esper wants. The immediate card advantage plays to this deck’s strengths. Esper has the best matchup against Eldrazi Stompy because of the inclusion of Baleful Strix. Some people will opt for Night’s Whisper over Baleful Strix as they both provide immediate card advantage for two mana. If your meta leans towards Delver and Infect, play Baleful Strix. If there’s more 4c Leovold/Czech Pile and Stoneblade, play Night’s Whisper.

Diabolic Edict
This card helps in many matchups including Bant Deathblade, Turbo/Hex Depths, and Lands. There are many uses for this card, and it should have one or two spots somewhere in the 75.

Engineered Explosives
While any deck can play Engineered Explosives, Esper allows you to play it with a sunburst of three. You’re also given the option to play Academy Ruins in collaboration with Baleful Strix and Academy Ruins. This interaction is game ending against decks that can’t deal with Academy Ruins


Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Gurmag Angler

Some players like to play 0-2 of these black delve threats. If you’re looking to race your opponent, these cards are usually the fastest way. Tasigur can help generate value in matchups like Shardless BUG and 4c Leovold/Czech Pile with it’s activated ability. Tasigur is much worse than Gurmag Angler in a meta with a lot of Death and Taxes because Karakas is a blowout.

Fatal Push
Many players choose not to play Fatal Push and instead play a full set of Swords to Plowshares. Players add 0-2 Fatal Push, and if they are played, typically they are in the sideboard.

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Sorin is powerful, allowing you to get ahead on the board and on life totals. This card helps in every fair matchup, and can be in the sideboard in place of Sword of Fire and Ice. Some people prefer to play Gideon, Ally of Zendikar or Elspeth, Knight Errant instead. Nahiri, the Lithomancer is also a choice that many Stoneblade players go for.

Bitterblossom
Similar to Lingering Souls, this card lets you quickly rebuild after a board wipe.

Mana Leak[cards]
You’ll have to play with basic lands in the first few turns, and you’ll need to fetch your Scrubland more often than you think. Mana Leak is less strenuous on you mana base than Counterspell. You can also catch opponents off guard ;)

[cards]Vindicate
Council’s Judgement
CJ is a clean answer to Leovold and True-Name Nemesis. But CJ is harder to cast having double white mana cost. Vindicate also can destroy lands that you may need to answer. It is possible to cast Vindicate through Blood Moon. Weigh these pros and cons for yourself, but definitely include one of them in the main deck.
Adding credit to the users Seraphix and ClimbGneiss :)

Weaknesses: Blood Moon and Wasteland recursion strategies are better against Esper than they are against UW and UWR Stoneblade. Esper plays a more greedy manabase that tries to play Ponder, Swords to Plowshares, and Thoughtseize on the early turns requiring you to fetch for dual lands early.
Your play style and flex slot choices determine your UBx matchups, but most variants of UBx are 45/55 matchups for Esper Stoneblade. Experience and intuition will determine whether you win or lose these matches. Shardless BUG is a 35/65 matchup and is typically tough to beat unless you tune Esper to have more Snapcaster Mage, Lingering Souls, and Fatal Push in the 75.

Esper has an unfavorable matchup against RG Lands. Esper’s spells are very color intensive and require you to fetch dual lands early in the game. You can’t play Blood Moon or Back to Basics like other Stoneblade decks. But you can always win off the back of True-Name Nemesis, Surgical Extraction, and Diabolic Edict.


II. Decklists

Stoneblade lists tend to vary quite a bit, but here are some examples for each variant:

UW Stoneblade

Pedroj - 1st place, MTGO Legacy Challenge 7/3/17

// Lands (22)
2 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
5 Island
2 Plains
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Tundra
2 Wasteland

// Creatures (10)
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique
3 Snapcaster Mage

// Spells (28)
4 Brainstorm
1 Council's Judgment
2 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
2 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Back to Basics
1 Batterskull
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Umezawa's Jitte

// Sideboard (15)
1 Back to Basics
2 Containment Priest
2 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Flusterstorm
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Vendilion Clique


UWr Stoneblade

Mitchell Nguyen - 16th place, GP Las Vegas 2017


// Lands (21)
1 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
3 Island
1 Karakas
1 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island

// Creatures (11)
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique

// Spells (28)
4 Brainstorm
1 Council's Judgment
1 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
2 Lightning Bolt
3 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Umezawa's Jitte

// Sideboard (15)
2 Containment Priest
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Flusterstorm
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Meddling Mage
1 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Rest in Peace
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Sword of Feast and Famine



Esper Stoneblade (written by glazed)

Back in May of 2017, there were a few players who did well on MTGO with lists like these (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=15625&d=295418). They feature Night’s Whisper and attempt to gain more value with extra Snapcaster Mage.

In late 2016, a player did well at GP Chiba with this list (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=14104&d=284056&f=LE). It plays two Tasigur, the Golden Fang and plays Crucible of Worlds in the sideboard in collaboration with Wasteland in the main deck.

The MKM Series Prague had a lot of Stoneblade players do well. This specific list (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=16413&d=301370&f=LE) is playing Notion Thief and three copies of Baleful Strix to try and combat 4c Leovold/Czech Pile decks.

This decklist (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=15935&d=298018&f=LE) plays some interesting sideboard choices like Blessed Alliance and Humility, which works well with Lingering Souls.

Joe Bernal has this list (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=7494&d=242968&f=LE) from an SCG event in 2012. This list was different in it’s time, yet it never gained traction. It keeps the discard effects in the sideboard and plays Engineered Explosives and multiple basic lands in a meta filled with Delver of Secrets decks packing full playsets of Wasteland.

Here is my list, I am choosing to play Collective Brutality, Lingering Souls, and Baleful Strix in my flex slots:


3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 True-Name Nemesis
2 Baleful Strix
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Spell Pierce
3 Thoughtseize
2 Ponder
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Lingering Souls
2 Collective Brutality
1 Vindicate
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats
3 Underground Sea
3 Tundra
1 Scrubland
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Academy Ruins

// Sideboard
1 Pithing Needle
2 Meddling Mage
2 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Disenchant
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Flusterstorm
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad



III. Matchups and sideboard guide

The following matchup and sideboard guide will follow my personal UWr list:


// Creatures (11)
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique

//Spells(29)
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
2 Counterspell
2 Spell Pierce
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Lightning Bolt
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Council’s Judgement
1 Engineered Explosives

//Lands(20)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Tundra
4 Island
2 Plains
2 Volcanic Island
1 Mountain

//Sideboard (15)
3 Pyroblast
2 Flusterstorm
2 Blood Moon
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Rest in Peace
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Disenchant
1 Meddling Mage


Matchups will of course change a bit based on which color you splash and your specific sideboard, but the general idea should hold for each matchup.

Grixis Delver (favorable)
Grixis Delver decks are at the top of the format right now, packing an efficient mix of aggressive threats and disruptive spells. With a resilient mana base, flexible cheap removal, and the Stoneforge Mystic package to help stabilize, Blade decks have a good Delver matchup, which is one of the main reasons to consider playing the deck in the first place.

In this matchup, you’ll want to look for opening hands that can deal with a couple of early threats. Try to play around Daze when possible, but not too much - if you are effectively adding a mana to the cost of every spell, you are playing right into their game plan. Play around Daze for spells that you really need to resolve, but don’t be afraid to play into it otherwise if you are constrained on mana. If they have a good enough opener, you can easily fall too far behind on tempo to catch up, especially on the draw. But usually if you are able to survive the initial onslaught, you’ll be able to stabilize with SFM, Snapcaster, Jace and True-Name.

Sideboarding:
-2 Counterspell
-1 Vendilion Clique
-2 Force of Will
-2 Spell Pierce

+3 Pyroblast
+2 Blood Moon
+2 Flusterstorm

Death and Taxes (even)
You have better card advantage engines and are favored in a longer game, however, they will sometimes tempo you out with Aether Vial early in the game. I like to force a turn 1 Vial, as D&T is just so much less scary without one on the field. Your plan in this matchup should be to grab Umezawa’s Jitte and start connecting, at which point it will quickly invalidate their creatures. True-Name is very good, as it allows you to get through Mother of Runes and start going to town with your Jitte.

-2 Spell Pierce

+1 Izzet Staticaster
+1 Disenchant

Czech Pile/ 4c Control (unfavorable)
Sort of the hot deck at the moment, this is not a deck we really want to fight - the Stoneforge Mystic package does not line up well against Kolaghan’s Command, Abrupt Decay and Snapcaster Mage, and they have more card advantage with more Snapcasters, Baleful Strix and Hymn to Tourach. However, you can still often win on the back of a True-Name Nemesis, which they have very few answers for, or by resolving a Jace and protecting it for a couple of turns.

Post board, I actually like cutting the Stoneforge Mystic package and trying to beat them through Jace, Blood Moon and True-Name.

-4 Stoneforge Mystic
-1 Batterskull
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Engineered Explosives
-2 Force of Will

+2 Blood Moon
+2 Rest in Peace
+2 Flusterstorm
+3 Pyroblast

Sneak and Show (favorable)
Perhaps the format’s scariest combo deck, as it can have some crazy nut draws that put Griselbrand or Emrakul into play with Force of Will backup on turn 1 or 2. However, this deck is often beatable with a couple of counter spells in game 1 and we get more answers after sideboarding. It’s a pretty straightforward matchup: your goal is to stop Show and Tell and Sneak Attack from resolving.
Ethersworn Canonist is a mixed bag here; it’s good at preventing them from protecting their big spells with counters, but it also stops you from being able to use Snapcaster to flash back counters. Overall though, I think it is still worth bringing in. Meddling Mage is great as it shuts off one half of their enablers.

-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Lightning Bolt
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Engineered Explosives

+3 Pyroblast
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Ethersworn Canonist
+1 Meddling Mage

Storm combo (unfavorable)
This is probably my least favorite matchup to face with UWr Stoneblade out of the top decks in Legacy. We have a lot of relevant interaction, but the lack of a fast clock means that the Storm deck can often take the time to sculpt a hand to win through said interaction. We also have a lot of dead cards game 1.
The goal of the Storm deck is to cast ten spells and then a Tendrils of Agony in one turn. A key part of their combo is often, but not always, to resolve an Infernal Tutor with the Hellbent clause active. Countering the Tutor will often leave them without resources and will put you in a great position to win, however, sometimes countering a prior spell (such as a Dark Ritual or Cabal Ritual) can be correct instead, despite being less of a blowout. This is really situation dependent, and the only real way to learn this matchup is to practice playing against it a ton. My biggest piece of advice is to try and make plays that maximize your overall chance of winning the game, rather than just minimizing your opponent’s chance to go off that turn. For example, Forcing their first Dark Ritual might be the best way to stop them going off, but will also mean that you traded your Force (and another card) for just one of their cards, that is easily replaced. You might want to be more patient with your counter magic and try to stop them going off after they’ve already used more than just one resource. Izzet Staticaster is worth bringing in for this matchup, in case they go for an Empty the Warrens line. Infernal Tutor is usually the best card to name with Meddling Mage: you might be tempted to name Tendrils of Agony, but they will often be able to remove the Mage right before killing you after they’ve seen tons of cards with Ad Nauseam or Past in Flames. Naming Tutor will often prevent them from going off in the first place.

It’s also worth noting that Esper’s discard effects give it a better Storm matchup than straight UW or UWr Blade.

-3 True Name Nemesis
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Lightning Bolt
-1 Council’s Judgement

+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Ethersworn Canonist
+2 Pyroblast
+1 Surgical Extraction
+2 Rest in Peace
+1 Izzet Staticaster
+1 Meddling Mage

Elves (favorable)
Slightly favorable due to Jitte being so insane against them, but Elves can often win in a grind anyway. Similar to D&T, your primary strategy should be to survive until you can start connecting with a Jitte. Glimpse of Nature is a must-counter, as it will quickly bury you in card advantage. Natural Order, of course, is also a must-counter. Don’t play out your Jitte before you can actually attack with it, because it could get killed by Reclamation Sage on their turn. Wirewood Symbiote is important to remove for a few reasons: (1) when paired with Elvish Visionary, it becomes a powerful draw engine, (2) it can prevent you from getting counters on your Jitte by bouncing a blocking creature, and (3) they can bounce Reclamation Sage with it to destroy multiple pieces of Equipment.

Lists with Supreme Verdict are naturally going to have a better Elves matchup than lists without, and Esper lists with Zealous Persecution and Engineered Plague will be even better off in this matchup.

-2 Spell Pierce
-1 Council’s Judgement
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

+1 Izzet Staticaster
+1 Meddling Mage
+2 Flusterstorm

RG Lands (even)
Lands typically crushes fair blue decks, but we are perhaps the best equipped to fight them because of True-Name Nemesis, a resilient mana base and sideboard Blood Moons/Back to Basics. True Name is very difficult for Lands to answer and will usually force them to try and race you with a Marit Lage token. You can stop Marit Lage with Swords to Plowshares, but this will give your opponent a lot of life and time to reassemble the combo, which is not too difficult for them if they have their Life from the Loam engine going. You will be unfavored in game 1 because of the inevitability that Loam provides for them. Punishing Fire + Grove of the Burnwillows is also a big problem; it’s very good at killing Jace and at killing Stoneforge Mystic before you can untap with it.

Post-board, though, you get access to graveyard hate effects that shut down the Loam engine. Rest in Peace is the best because it shuts down both Loam and Punishing Fire at once. Surgical Extraction is also great, as exiling all of their Loans can be a back breaking play, but be careful of them cycling Tranquil Thicket and dredging Loam in response to counter your Surgical.

Blood Moon is simply amazing in this matchup - it shuts off nearly everything they are trying to do. It’s not an automatic win, as they can still beat you with Tireless Tracker, or with Life from the Loam, Molten Vortex and a basic Forest or Mox Diamond. They will also be bringing in 3-4 Krosan Grips to answer it. Nevertheless, it’s an extremely powerful hate card that gives UWr Stoneblade lists a distinct advantage over their cousins in this matchup. Back to Basics is also very good, but not quite as impactful as it doesn’t actually stop them from playing Dark Depths and Thespian’s Stage untapped, or recurring Wasteland and Ghost Quarter.

Meddling Mage can be decent naming Life from the Loam or Punishing Fire. If you have a Blood Moon or Rest in Peace in play, you can also name Krosan Grip to protect it. This still gives them the out of Punishing Fire into Grip, but still puts you in a very strong position.

UWx Stoneblade (mirror match)
As with most control mirrors, the UWx stoneblade mirror is a grindy affair. Pre-board, the most important card is Jace - if you’re able to resolve it and keep it alive for a couple of turns, you’ll likely be in a great position to win the game. True-Name Nemesis is also often game breaking once it resolves, particularly in combination with equipment, as many Stoneblade lists don’t play answers to it in the main deck outside of Council’s Judgement.

Red stoneblade lists are going to have a distinct advantage in the mirror, since Pyroblast is so incredibly strong. Countering TNN, Jace and Snapcaster Mage for one mana is incredible, and being able to remove a Jace that’s on the field for one mana can save you from sure defeat as well.

Flusterstorm is decent in this matchup as it can help win counter wars over key cards. Force of Will, though often considered a weak card in matchups between “fair” decks such as this, can often still be valuable as the matchup
tends to be more dependent on who can resolve key spells rather than just straight card advantage. I like to shave 1 or 2 copies typically, but keep a couple in. I think it’s also fine to shave a Stoneforge Mystic since the games tend to go long and you will run out of equipment to fetch.

+3 Pyroblast
+1 Disenchant
+2 Flusterstorm

-2 Swords to Plowshares
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Stoneforge Mystic
-2 Force of Will

UW Miracles (unfavorable)
This matchup plays somewhat similarly to the mirror, but they have a slight advantage. While CounterTop locking out our spells is no longer an issue, they still have a stronger late game thanks to the Predict engine which can create a lot of card advantage. Monastery Mentor can also get out of hand very quickly if not immediately answered.

+3 Pyroblast
+2 Flusterstorm

-2 Lightning Bolt
-1 Force of Will
-1 Swords to Plowshares
-1 Stoneforge Mystic

RB Reanimator (favorable)
Probably the fastest combo deck in Legacy currently (outside of fringe stuff like Belcher), its goal is to try and reanimate a creature turn 1 or 2, often with protection from Force of Will via Chancellor of the Annex or discard spells. If possible they will go for Griselbrand, which is nearly impossible to beat once in play unless they already have a low life total, or Iona, Shield of Emeria, which will name White and give you exactly one out - Jace’s -1 ability. Other times though, they might try to reanimate Chancellor of the Annex or Tidespout Tyrant, which is easily answered with Swords to Plowshares.

You will often have to decide between trying to stop them from putting a creature in the graveyard vs trying to stop their reanimation spells. The former can often be a more effective strategy, as they typically play more reanimation spells than ways to get creatures in the yard. Personally, if they lead with Entomb I like to counter that and try to stop them binning a creature, but if they start with Faithless Looting, I don’t like countering it - they are not guaranteed to be able to discard a creature with it, and if they do it might be a Chancellor/Tidespout, which are not nearly as threading as the Griselbrand that would almost surely be fetched by Entomb.

-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 True-Name Nemesis
-2 Lightning Bolt
-1 Engineered Explosives

+2 Rest in Peace
+1 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm


IV. Closing thoughts


I hope that this primer has provided a decent overview of UWx Stoneblade decks. Of course, nothing can be a replacement for actually playing the deck - go out and give it a try!

Many thanks to glazed, 13b and chalupa43087 for their assistance with the primer!

If you would like to discuss Blade strategies on the Discord server, here is the invite link: https://discord.gg/wtehtyY

Finally, in case you are curious about the history of the deck and its beginnings, or you just want to try out some older tech, the old Blade Control primer can be found here: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?21441-DTB-Blade-Control

FZA
09-03-2017, 12:46 PM
Reserved for future content

NimbleJosh
09-04-2017, 12:24 AM
From my experience don't board out lightning bolt vs storm. It kills xantid swarm and occasionally they drop into bolt range after an ad nauseum.

Also, ethersworn cannonist is beast against elves.

FZA
09-04-2017, 01:25 AM
From my experience don't board out lightning bolt vs storm. It kills xantid swarm and occasionally they drop into bolt range after an ad nauseum.

Also, ethersworn cannonist is beast against elves.

Most Storm lists aren't playing Swarms (or green at all) these days. If I saw a green dual game 1, or if I saw green cards game 2, I'd consider leaving bolts in. Otherwise they are just lava spikes, which isn't terrible, but I think probably worse than what we can bring.

You're totally right about Canonist against Elves, that was just an oversight on my part.

aRSKOG
09-05-2017, 01:04 PM
I'm still new at Legacy, and for that reason, take my guide with that in mind.

My idea is that i will develop my 75 and my sideboardguide as i get better at Legacy. Hopefully some people will find it usefull, and hopefully people will make comments in such a way that I can improve my list. Ultimately make the perfect UW Blade Control deck.
My current plan for my Magic life is to attend MagiccardMarket Hamburg in september. After that I'm most likely heading for eternal weekend in Oslo in november and then start preparing for the MKM circuit in 2018.
For that reason my current 75 is not going to change till november 2017 as i don't have the time to get enough games in with a new configuration. I will most likely try evolve the list post november 2017.

Right now I play the following list: UW Blade Control (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=16227&d=300210&f=LE)

And my sideboard plan is the following.

4 Control:
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
+1 Hydroblast
+1 Blue Elemental Blast
-1 Stoneforge Mystic
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis, Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Back to Basics
Role: Tempo / Control
Thoughts: This matchup is about slamming a TNN and protect it for the win. In my testing so far, SFM has been inferior and I'm considering to cut that instead of FoW - the idea is, that FoW can protect TNN. Althought 2for1 yourself is very very bad in a matchup where managing your resources is key. I'm still wondering if Hydroblast / Blue Elemental Blast is worth it. The times I've played this matchup, Back to Basics has been key. If you manage to slam it at the right time (when he is tapped out) you will almost always win the match.

Grixis Delver
+1 Hydroblast
+1 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Back to Basics
-2 Counterspell
-4 Force of Will
-1 Stoneforge Mystic

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis, Jace the Mind Sculptor, Back to Basics and Sword of Feast and Famine
Role: Tempo / Control
Thoughts: As with 4C Control, this matchup is about managing your resources and make a TNN stick to take over the game. I still believe B2B is insane against a deck which runs 0 basics. It really punish greedy manabases if you manage to handle DRS.

ANT
+2 Surgical Extractions
+2 Ethersworn Canonist
+2 Hydroblast
+2 Flusterstorm
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Council’s Judgment
-1 Jitte
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Keycards: Ethersworn Canonist, Flusterstorm
Role: Beatdown / Control
Thoughts: We need to win, and we need to do it as fast as possible. With that said, the number one priority is to make sure that the ANT-player doesn't win. This could be an argument for taking the controlling rute to victory.

Lands
+2 Back to Basics
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Pithing Needle
+1 Disenchant
-2 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Council’s Judgment
-1 Jitte
-1 Spell Snare

Keycards: Surgical Extraction, Back to Basics, Basic lands, TNN, Karakas, Swords to Plowshares
Role: Beatdown
Thoughts: If Surgical isnt in the opening, the game needs to be closed fast. Merit Large can't be beaten in a race, but we got plenty of answers. But I've only played this matchup once with UW, so I'm very uncertaint about it.

Sneak and Show
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Containment Priest
+2 Ethersworn Canonist
+2 Hydroblast
+1 Pithing Needle
+2 Surgical Extraction
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Council’s Judgment
-1 Spell Snare
-1 Jitte
-3 True-Name Nemesis

Keycards:
Role:
Thoughts: Honestly, i have no Idea as i havent played against the deck, like ever. This is pure theorycrafting and i believe its about stopping their S&T and ride your BS to victory.

Death & Taxes
+1 Disenchant
+1 Pithing Needle
+2 Containment Priest
-2 Counterspell
-2 Spell Pierce

Keycards: anything that stops Vial and kill creatures
Role: Control
Thoughts: I've tried this matchup once and to me it seems like a good matchup to us. TNN + Jitte is hillarious. But be aware that Jitte is one of your best cards, so protect it at all cost! D&T will try kill it with various things like Needle, Revoker, Disenchant etc.

Reanimator
+2 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Containment Priest
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-1 Jitte
-2 Council’s Judgment

Keycards: Surgical Extraction, Force of Will
Role: Control
Thoughts: Number one priority is to stop their reanimation. If succeed i believe the odds of winning is fairly high, escpecially if facing the BR version. I havent played against the version running blue yet, så not sure about that matchup.

UWx Stoneblade
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
+1 Disenchant
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: Vendilion Clique, True-Name Nemesis
Role: Control / Tempo
Thoughts: I haven't actually played the mirror, but i believe its about the same as any other control mirror. Place a threat, protect it - instant threats are the best as that force the opponent to do something on their own turn. Maybe Containment Priest is worth it, just for the 2/2 instant speed threat?

Eldrazi Stompy
+1 Disenchant
+2 Back to Basics
-1 Spell Snare
-2 Spell Pierce

Keycards: Force of Will (stop Chalice), Back to Basics (lock them out of the game)
Role: Control
Thoughts: To me this matchup feels like #1 to stop chalice, #2 to time your B2B and after that, win the game with whatever threat you got in your hand.

Aggro Loam
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Disenchant
+1 Pithing Needle
-2 Pierce
-1 Counterspell
-1 Spell Snare

Keycards:
Role:
Thoughts: Again theorycraft. Never played the matchup but i figure its about stopping their engines and then ride a TNN/Batterskull to victory.

Grixis Control
+2 Hydroblast
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
-3 Ponder

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis
Role: Control
Thoughts: Feels like this matchup is about answering your opponents threats till the coast is clear for your True-Name Nemesis to take over the game. Sword has been surprisingly good for me so far (if it sticks) and Hydroblast beats keycards such as Young Pyromancer and Kolaghan's Command.

Sultai Delver
+1 Pithing Needle
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis, Back to Basics
Role: Control / Tempo
Thoughts: Attrition fight, and SFM seems superior in this matchup. If they get locked out by B2B its pretty much win - watch out for Decay thought.

Miracles
+2 Surgical Extractions
+2 Flusterstorm
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: Swords to Plowshares, Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Role: Tempo / beatdown
Thoughts: I've tried this matchup once, and my #1 plan was to stop the mentors and it worked out. I won both matches on the back of JTMS so this makes me believe that it is the best/safest wincon. But I'm far from sure of that. About Surgical i don't think it is that good afterall, but sometimes taking away their Mentor or Terminus means our chances of winning is raised by a lot. Its a bet which happens to work out sometimes, but I'm not sure if it is the right call.

Burn
+2 Hydroblast
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Disenchant
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Vendilion Clique
-1 Windswept Heath
-1 Ponder

Keycards: Stoneforge Mystic, Hydroblast, Basic Lands
Role: Control
Thoughts: We got alot of Burn in my current meta, which is why this matchup is here. The matchup is all about getting Batterskull online (with protection) and ride it to victory. The reason for Disenchant is to stop their Vortex (and Eidolon). Honestly it feels like a good matchup for UW Blade Control, and I havent lost a match to Burn yet.

Please feel free to make any comments, adjustment or simple talking about my list and the matchups listed here. If you got knowledge about another matchup which is relevant in current meta, then please share. All knowledge is welcome :)

best regards
//aRSKOG

polski
09-05-2017, 03:42 PM
Do you think lightning bolt is a good option nowadays?

NimbleJosh
09-05-2017, 04:22 PM
Do you think lightning bolt is a good option nowadays?

It's not terrible. Delvers, deathrites, moms and plenty other creatures are very prevalent and annoying that bolt answers very well.

FZA
09-05-2017, 07:38 PM
I'm still new at Legacy, and for that reason, take my guide with that in mind.

My idea is that i will develop my 75 and my sideboardguide as i get better at Legacy. Hopefully some people will find it usefull, and hopefully people will make comments in such a way that I can improve my list. Ultimately make the perfect UW Blade Control deck.
My current plan for my Magic life is to attend MagiccardMarket Hamburg in september. After that I'm most likely heading for eternal weekend in Oslo in november and then start preparing for the MKM circuit in 2018.
For that reason my current 75 is not going to change till november 2017 as i don't have the time to get enough games in with a new configuration. I will most likely try evolve the list post november 2017.

Right now I play the following list: UW Blade Control (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=16227&d=300210&f=LE)

And my sideboard plan is the following.

4 Control:
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
+1 Hydroblast
+1 Blue Elemental Blast
-1 Stoneforge Mystic
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis, Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Back to Basics
Role: Tempo / Control
Thoughts: This matchup is about slamming a TNN and protect it for the win. In my testing so far, SFM has been inferior and I'm considering to cut that instead of FoW - the idea is, that FoW can protect TNN. Althought 2for1 yourself is very very bad in a matchup where managing your resources is key. I'm still wondering if Hydroblast / Blue Elemental Blast is worth it. The times I've played this matchup, Back to Basics has been key. If you manage to slam it at the right time (when he is tapped out) you will almost always win the match.

Grixis Delver
+1 Hydroblast
+1 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Back to Basics
-2 Counterspell
-4 Force of Will
-1 Stoneforge Mystic

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis, Jace the Mind Sculptor, Back to Basics and Sword of Feast and Famine
Role: Tempo / Control
Thoughts: As with 4C Control, this matchup is about managing your resources and make a TNN stick to take over the game. I still believe B2B is insane against a deck which runs 0 basics. It really punish greedy manabases if you manage to handle DRS.

ANT
+2 Surgical Extractions
+2 Ethersworn Canonist
+2 Hydroblast
+2 Flusterstorm
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Council’s Judgment
-1 Jitte
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Keycards: Ethersworn Canonist, Flusterstorm
Role: Beatdown / Control
Thoughts: We need to win, and we need to do it as fast as possible. With that said, the number one priority is to make sure that the ANT-player doesn't win. This could be an argument for taking the controlling rute to victory.

Lands
+2 Back to Basics
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Pithing Needle
+1 Disenchant
-2 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Council’s Judgment
-1 Jitte
-1 Spell Snare

Keycards: Surgical Extraction, Back to Basics, Basic lands, TNN, Karakas, Swords to Plowshares
Role: Beatdown
Thoughts: If Surgical isnt in the opening, the game needs to be closed fast. Merit Large can't be beaten in a race, but we got plenty of answers. But I've only played this matchup once with UW, so I'm very uncertaint about it.

Sneak and Show
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Containment Priest
+2 Ethersworn Canonist
+2 Hydroblast
+1 Pithing Needle
+2 Surgical Extraction
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Council’s Judgment
-1 Spell Snare
-1 Jitte
-3 True-Name Nemesis

Keycards:
Role:
Thoughts: Honestly, i have no Idea as i havent played against the deck, like ever. This is pure theorycrafting and i believe its about stopping their S&T and ride your BS to victory.

Death & Taxes
+1 Disenchant
+1 Pithing Needle
+2 Containment Priest
-2 Counterspell
-2 Spell Pierce

Keycards: anything that stops Vial and kill creatures
Role: Control
Thoughts: I've tried this matchup once and to me it seems like a good matchup to us. TNN + Jitte is hillarious. But be aware that Jitte is one of your best cards, so protect it at all cost! D&T will try kill it with various things like Needle, Revoker, Disenchant etc.

Reanimator
+2 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Containment Priest
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-1 Jitte
-2 Council’s Judgment

Keycards: Surgical Extraction, Force of Will
Role: Control
Thoughts: Number one priority is to stop their reanimation. If succeed i believe the odds of winning is fairly high, escpecially if facing the BR version. I havent played against the version running blue yet, så not sure about that matchup.

UWx Stoneblade
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
+1 Disenchant
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: Vendilion Clique, True-Name Nemesis
Role: Control / Tempo
Thoughts: I haven't actually played the mirror, but i believe its about the same as any other control mirror. Place a threat, protect it - instant threats are the best as that force the opponent to do something on their own turn. Maybe Containment Priest is worth it, just for the 2/2 instant speed threat?

Eldrazi Stompy
+1 Disenchant
+2 Back to Basics
-1 Spell Snare
-2 Spell Pierce

Keycards: Force of Will (stop Chalice), Back to Basics (lock them out of the game)
Role: Control
Thoughts: To me this matchup feels like #1 to stop chalice, #2 to time your B2B and after that, win the game with whatever threat you got in your hand.

Aggro Loam
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Disenchant
+1 Pithing Needle
-2 Pierce
-1 Counterspell
-1 Spell Snare

Keycards:
Role:
Thoughts: Again theorycraft. Never played the matchup but i figure its about stopping their engines and then ride a TNN/Batterskull to victory.

Grixis Control
+2 Hydroblast
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
-3 Ponder

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis
Role: Control
Thoughts: Feels like this matchup is about answering your opponents threats till the coast is clear for your True-Name Nemesis to take over the game. Sword has been surprisingly good for me so far (if it sticks) and Hydroblast beats keycards such as Young Pyromancer and Kolaghan's Command.

Sultai Delver
+1 Pithing Needle
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Sword of Feast and Famine
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: True-Name Nemesis, Back to Basics
Role: Control / Tempo
Thoughts: Attrition fight, and SFM seems superior in this matchup. If they get locked out by B2B its pretty much win - watch out for Decay thought.

Miracles
+2 Surgical Extractions
+2 Flusterstorm
-4 Force of Will

Keycards: Swords to Plowshares, Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Role: Tempo / beatdown
Thoughts: I've tried this matchup once, and my #1 plan was to stop the mentors and it worked out. I won both matches on the back of JTMS so this makes me believe that it is the best/safest wincon. But I'm far from sure of that. About Surgical i don't think it is that good afterall, but sometimes taking away their Mentor or Terminus means our chances of winning is raised by a lot. Its a bet which happens to work out sometimes, but I'm not sure if it is the right call.

Burn
+2 Hydroblast
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Disenchant
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Vendilion Clique
-1 Windswept Heath
-1 Ponder

Keycards: Stoneforge Mystic, Hydroblast, Basic Lands
Role: Control
Thoughts: We got alot of Burn in my current meta, which is why this matchup is here. The matchup is all about getting Batterskull online (with protection) and ride it to victory. The reason for Disenchant is to stop their Vortex (and Eidolon). Honestly it feels like a good matchup for UW Blade Control, and I havent lost a match to Burn yet.

Please feel free to make any comments, adjustment or simple talking about my list and the matchups listed here. If you got knowledge about another matchup which is relevant in current meta, then please share. All knowledge is welcome :)

best regards
//aRSKOG

Thank you for posting this, it's a nice guide and it does a good job of illustrating how sideboarding strategy can vary a lot depending on which variant of Blade you're playing, and your specific card choices.

One thing I noticed was that you sideboard out Spell Snare against Aggro Loam, which I disagree with. It hits Chalice, Bob, Sylvan Library, and Loam (countering Loam can be very good if you're ahead on board and just need to buy time, or if you have graveyard hate in hand).

Also not sure why -3 Ponder against Grixis Control? Card selection is valuable in grindy matchups, and the manabase is built with Ponder in mind - without it, you risk getting mana-screwed.


Do you think lightning bolt is a good option nowadays?

IMO it is. It's always nice to have extra answers to DRS and Delver, despite playing 4 Plows you won't always be able to find one on time, and if you can't remove these cards quickly it's a problem.

If you're gonna play bolts, though, I think you want a mana base with either 3 volcs or 1-2 volcs and a basic Mountain, otherwise you risk getting wasted off red.

QKisMyName
09-06-2017, 03:15 PM
Can you correct my name under UWr stoneblade? It's "Mitchell Nguyen". Thanks.

FZA
09-06-2017, 04:37 PM
Can you correct my name under UWr stoneblade? It's "Mitchell Nguyen". Thanks.

Oops, my bad. Fixed!

First_Revenge
09-07-2017, 10:13 AM
Cool to see collective brutality popping up in other places, I've been running 3 in my esper deathblade list to good effect!

One thing i'd like to point out is that in my experience the brutality discarding souls synergy comes up less often than i thought it would. Game 1 its probably fine, but Game 2 and 3 you probably just want to be casting both halves of the card as they'll probably have brought in some form sweepers.

Other than that, great primer!

Megadeus
09-08-2017, 09:31 PM
Feels weird to post this on the first page, but has anyone tried a completely transformative side board? I was brewing ideas and came up with this list, you could try it with the blade package in the main I suppose if you wanted as well


UW Stoneblade Omnishow:

Maindeck (60)
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Griselbrand
3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Impulse
2 Intuition
4 Show and Tell
4 Force of Will
4 Omniscience
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Flooded Strand
5 Island
2 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
2 Tundra

Sideboard (15)
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull



Shared via TopDecked MTG https://www.topdecked.me/decks/c156de6f-a788-41c3-8142-e227afa13c9e

Nestalim
09-10-2017, 10:10 AM
Not sure how this deck can be tier 1 with its abysmall MU versus any form of combo, even with all the side you could imagine to help against it.

CptHaddock
09-10-2017, 10:37 AM
Not sure how this deck can be tier 1 with its abysmall MU versus any form of combo, even with all the side you could imagine to help against it.

Huh? Have you even played this deck? You're often playing the aggro control role game 1, with archetypes like esper having access to discard. Postboard almost all 3 archetypes get to overload on hate and attack combo decks on atleast multiple angles. This is completely ignoring Bant Deathblade and Esper Deathblade as UWx blade archetypes. Sometimes you keep hands that are reliant on 1 type of hate and lose because the combo deck has answers to that threat or just mulligan to oblivion but this archetype has a lot of game against combo.

I think the problem with UWx stoneblade is that so many different decks are lumped into this category and a lot of the results aggregation websites tend to lump them all together. I don't think that tier 1 is a stretch, i'd say blade as a deck is probably somewhere between tier 1 and 1.5. This deck has it's weaknesses and a fair number of tier 1 decks are just naturally designed to thrash this deck.

Nestalim
09-10-2017, 12:31 PM
Huh? Have you even played this deck? You're often playing the aggro control role game 1, with archetypes like esper having access to discard. Postboard almost all 3 archetypes get to overload on hate and attack combo decks on atleast multiple angles. This is completely ignoring Bant Deathblade and Esper Deathblade as UWx blade archetypes. Sometimes you keep hands that are reliant on 1 type of hate and lose because the combo deck has answers to that threat or just mulligan to oblivion but this archetype has a lot of game against combo.

I think the problem with UWx stoneblade is that so many different decks are lumped into this category and a lot of the results aggregation websites tend to lump them all together. I don't think that tier 1 is a stretch, i'd say blade as a deck is probably somewhere between tier 1 and 1.5. This deck has it's weaknesses and a fair number of tier 1 decks are just naturally designed to thrash this deck.

Esper can deal with combo, the rest won't.

FZA
09-10-2017, 12:58 PM
Esper can deal with combo, the rest won't.

Other than Storm, combo matchups for UWr or straight UW blade are not bad at all. Storm is the only one that's distinctly unfavorable, and it's not particularly popular at the moment. SnS, Elves, Lands, Reanimator are all even to favorable.

NimbleJosh
09-10-2017, 01:06 PM
Esper can deal with combo, the rest won't.

I'm playing UWr and am 50/50 against ANT and TES. Granted I run two cannonists in my board on top of the normal combo hate. I've played against and have yet to loose to S&T, elves, belcher or lands.

glazed
09-10-2017, 02:59 PM
Cool to see collective brutality popping up in other places, I've been running 3 in my esper deathblade list to good effect!

One thing i'd like to point out is that in my experience the brutality discarding souls synergy comes up less often than i thought it would. Game 1 its probably fine, but Game 2 and 3 you probably just want to be casting both halves of the card as they'll probably have brought in some form sweepers.

Other than that, great primer!

First off, thanks for the feedback! I agree with you, preboard opponents typically don't have many ways to deal with Lingering Souls, and casting just one half is usually enough to do what you need to. But in all games (pre and post board) it will depend on the situation whether you think you'll even need to cast both halves of the card. So in some situations you'll want to cast both halves and in some spots you'll be fine with only casting it from the graveyard. Brutality really shows it's strength when the game goes long since it works so well when you can discard the extra lands you inevitably draw.

themtgzealot
09-10-2017, 08:54 PM
Just wondering why this list has not been mentioned when the other top 16 deck was ?

http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=15926&d=298115&f=LE

Seems a lot cleaner to me and I like having access to wasteland.

13b
09-11-2017, 12:40 AM
Alright guys I need some help here - I played in a monthly tournament today. Had a little over 30 players and I got hosed all day on Esper blade.
Here is my 75

Lands - 21
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
2 Wasteland

Creatures - 11
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True-Name Nemesis
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Baleful Strix

Artifacts/Enchants/Planeswalkers - 5
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
2 Jace, the Mind Sculpture

Spells - 23
4 Force of Will
1 Spell Pierce
1 Counterspell
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fatal Push
4 Brainstorn
2 Ponder
3 Thoughtseize
1 Inquisition of Kozelik
1 Council's Judgement

Sideboard - 15
2 Meddling Mage
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Rest in Peace
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Pierce
1 Thoughtseize
1 Engineered Plague
1 Disenchant

Round 1 - RG Lands 0-2
Game 1: Got hosed by wasteland/Ghost Quarter lock
Game 2: See game 1

Round 2 - Bantblade? w/ Aethervila, Cryptic Command and Sylvan safekeeper 0-2
Game 1: He turn 1 vials and out tempos me until he gets an active jitte
Game 2: He was able to flick Safekeep w/ command and a vial on 3 before resolving a sfm for batterskull

Round 3 - ANT 0-2
Game 1: I have a good opener w/ a counterspell, a sfm, brainstorm and ponder. I cantrip trying to find a white source to start a clock (had double UG sea) i was able to counter her first tutor, but drew into nothing and I was tendril's for 20 ending w/ a hand of sfmx2, stpx3, tnn, fatal push. Never finding a third land or white source
Game 2: I had a good opener but was forced to blow my fow on a defense grid to keep my other outs alive. I resolved a RiP to stop any past in flames but went off on turn 4 w/ a double LED, git probe, into tutor x2 for warrens on 7

So im pretty discouraged at this point but my buddy was doing well so I decided to not drop so I wasnt just sitting there doing nothing.

Round 4 - Jeskai Blade 2-0
Game 1: Im able to lead w/ a t1 thoughtseize to pull a bolt and land a t2 SFM for batterskull. I stp his sfm and run away w/ a batterskull and tnn
Game 2: We fight over board before the dust settles on a single tnn on his end im at about 12 life when im able to get a strix w/ jitte on board. I get a tnn of my own and bring it home

Round 5 - RG Lands 0-2
Game 1: I start strong w/a t1 thoughtseize pulling his library and resolved a t2 sfm. He ripped a pfire, and comboed the following turn off an explore.
Game 2: I again start w/ a thoughtseize he has gamble, crop rotation x2, pfire, a loam and 2 lands. I take his loam and surgical it. a couple turns later he plays a tireless tracker (which I forced, maybe a mistake? I dont have a lot of lands experience outside of today) he double rotates for the combo and swings over my batterskull and sfm

I'm not sure what it was exactly that resulted in such a tough day - i did have a couple of poor draws, and maybe some questionable keeps (which i know will come w/ experience) But im so clueless on how to actually win vs lands especially game 1. Is there something im missing overall? Any noticeable holes in the list? I went into this tournament to a completely unk meta as ive never played at this shop before.

LyleCInDaHouse
09-12-2017, 12:03 PM
new tutor target for stoneforge?
http://www.mythicspoiler.com/ixa/cards/dowsingdagger.html

Nestalim
09-12-2017, 02:22 PM
new tutor target for stoneforge?
http://www.mythicspoiler.com/ixa/cards/dowsingdagger.html

The card is terrible, why do you want it ?

Secretly.A.Bee
09-12-2017, 06:59 PM
Blood-Forged Battle-Axe is better.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

QKisMyName
09-12-2017, 08:00 PM
That card is terrible. It doesn't do anything.

LyleCInDaHouse
09-13-2017, 01:35 AM
That card is terrible. It doesn't do anything.

it taps for three mana! everyone knows control decks want mana to cast their big flashy spells. With multiple vales, you can actually bounce and cast Beaterskull in case your SFM dies..

glazed
09-13-2017, 10:18 AM
Alright guys I need some help here - I played in a monthly tournament today. Had a little over 30 players and I got hosed all day on Esper blade.
Here is my 75

Lands - 21
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
2 Wasteland

Creatures - 11
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True-Name Nemesis
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Baleful Strix

Artifacts/Enchants/Planeswalkers - 5
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
2 Jace, the Mind Sculpture

Spells - 23
4 Force of Will
1 Spell Pierce
1 Counterspell
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fatal Push
4 Brainstorn
2 Ponder
3 Thoughtseize
1 Inquisition of Kozelik
1 Council's Judgement

Sideboard - 15
2 Meddling Mage
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Rest in Peace
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Pierce
1 Thoughtseize
1 Engineered Plague
1 Disenchant

Round 1 - RG Lands 0-2
Game 1: Got hosed by wasteland/Ghost Quarter lock
Game 2: See game 1

Round 2 - Bantblade? w/ Aethervila, Cryptic Command and Sylvan safekeeper 0-2
Game 1: He turn 1 vials and out tempos me until he gets an active jitte
Game 2: He was able to flick Safekeep w/ command and a vial on 3 before resolving a sfm for batterskull

Round 3 - ANT 0-2
Game 1: I have a good opener w/ a counterspell, a sfm, brainstorm and ponder. I cantrip trying to find a white source to start a clock (had double UG sea) i was able to counter her first tutor, but drew into nothing and I was tendril's for 20 ending w/ a hand of sfmx2, stpx3, tnn, fatal push. Never finding a third land or white source
Game 2: I had a good opener but was forced to blow my fow on a defense grid to keep my other outs alive. I resolved a RiP to stop any past in flames but went off on turn 4 w/ a double LED, git probe, into tutor x2 for warrens on 7

So im pretty discouraged at this point but my buddy was doing well so I decided to not drop so I wasnt just sitting there doing nothing.

Round 4 - Jeskai Blade 2-0
Game 1: Im able to lead w/ a t1 thoughtseize to pull a bolt and land a t2 SFM for batterskull. I stp his sfm and run away w/ a batterskull and tnn
Game 2: We fight over board before the dust settles on a single tnn on his end im at about 12 life when im able to get a strix w/ jitte on board. I get a tnn of my own and bring it home

Round 5 - RG Lands 0-2
Game 1: I start strong w/a t1 thoughtseize pulling his library and resolved a t2 sfm. He ripped a pfire, and comboed the following turn off an explore.
Game 2: I again start w/ a thoughtseize he has gamble, crop rotation x2, pfire, a loam and 2 lands. I take his loam and surgical it. a couple turns later he plays a tireless tracker (which I forced, maybe a mistake? I dont have a lot of lands experience outside of today) he double rotates for the combo and swings over my batterskull and sfm

I'm not sure what it was exactly that resulted in such a tough day - i did have a couple of poor draws, and maybe some questionable keeps (which i know will come w/ experience) But im so clueless on how to actually win vs lands especially game 1. Is there something im missing overall? Any noticeable holes in the list? I went into this tournament to a completely unk meta as ive never played at this shop before.

Hey, first off, lands is a bad matchup. It's rare I take a match from an experienced lands player. But the way you can squeak out a win is with a timely Surgical Extraction on Wasteland or Loam. You need to counter their Exploration or Gamble turn one, as good lands players will only keep hands that have access to accelleration. You need to slow them down enough so you can start beating down with True-Name Nemesis. Diabolic Edict helps in the matchup because it's a way to kill Marit Lage without gaining your opponent 20 life. Pithing Needle on Thespian Stage, Maze of Ith, Wasteland, or Ghost Quarter also helps.


Most Esper lists do not play Wasteland. I notice you are, and you're playing color-intensive cards alongside it like Baleful Strix and Council's Judgement. I have recently cut Wasteland from Esper Stoneblade and placed in another Underground Sea and another flex land.


Other than that, Esper Stoneblade is a very difficult deck to pilot, and experience is the key. It's unforgiving, and every play mistake can cost you the game.

glazed
09-13-2017, 10:25 AM
it taps for three mana! everyone knows control decks want mana to cast their big flashy spells. With multiple vales, you can actually bounce and cast Beaterskull in case your SFM dies..

Can't tell if you're serious or not about playing more than one of this card, but when Stoneforge dies, there are other ways to get value from Batterskull without having access to 8 mana to bounce and replay. You can treat it like an extra card in your hand with Brainstorm/Jace, and you can put it back into your library for future Stoneforge triggers. You can also leave it on the field to equip to other creatures.

CptHaddock
09-13-2017, 11:42 AM
I'm not sure what it was exactly that resulted in such a tough day - i did have a couple of poor draws, and maybe some questionable keeps (which i know will come w/ experience) But im so clueless on how to actually win vs lands especially game 1. Is there something im missing overall? Any noticeable holes in the list? I went into this tournament to a completely unk meta as ive never played at this shop before.

It's a very hard matchup for sure. Game 1 usually comes down to TNN or JTMS and sometimes you can chisel them down with SFMs, Strixes and Snapcasters. I usually feel somewhat favored game 2 especially when I have a surgical + snapcaster hand. Don't be afraid to force a Loam or Exploration, the best way to win this match is to force them to play "fairly". Karakas is also a nice utility land.

I don't think that running wastelands is that bad. In the past the deck has run a number of utility lands e.g. Karakas, Tar Pit, Academy Ruins, etc. Instead of running any of those you are just running wastelands, the mana is roughly the same as the Martell list that won the GP.

sagagx
09-19-2017, 10:45 AM
One UWr Stoneblade deck made top8 at MKM Hamburg (around 300 players).

Any1 playing UW or UWr @ MKM Hamburg can report on his/her tournament ?

Thanks

aRSKOG
09-20-2017, 04:09 AM
I was about to play at MKM Hamburg, but sadly i woke up being Ill. I decided to go to the side to play anyway (a few painkillers could do the trick).
I arrive and get registret for my R1 bye. I was curious about where my friend on burn was seated, so i checked the seatings for R1. I found myself there... well went to the TO to report the issue and it got fixed. Sadly my illness got alot worse during R1 and i didnt have more painkillers.
R2 is about to start and i go check where Im seated. And Im not on the list... again i went to TO and they said it would be fixed for R3. At this point i really felt sick and a was a bit conserned about infecting my opponents. For that reason i sugggested the TO that they could give me a refund and I could go home. An offer they took. So no Legacy for me this weekend sadly, but i did manage to 7-2 modern on saturday. Sadly i lost my win and in match but variance is a larger issue in modern.

I did watch some matches in R1-2 and to me the skill level in Hamburg seemed very low. Alot of those people i saw made modtages (huge) in R1-2 which cant be a symptom of exhaustion. So Im very optemistic about further MKM series. I will take it Down some Day i hope :)

Excrempus
10-10-2017, 06:32 PM
Is there a Blade discord group?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Nicklas
10-12-2017, 06:33 AM
You obviously did not watch me play...

aRSKOG
10-13-2017, 12:32 AM
Probably not - mind sharing your list/choices etc? :)

Nicklas
10-17-2017, 07:32 AM
Sorry, I did not play UWx Stoneblade. Well, I kinda did, but cut the lategame to squeeze in Delver and Dazes. Went 7-2, losing to UWr Stoneblade in r7 and Eldrazi in r8.
I just thought your statement about the skill level at the event was rather strange. My opponents at the top tables played very well (most of the time) and apart from the winner (SnT) no one I saw playing made an above-average amount of punts.
Seeing random dudes punt in r1 or 2 is no indicator of the skill level of the top 5-10%. Only those matter if you wanna make top8.
Cant wait to see you there next time... whats your name?

NedB37
10-17-2017, 12:08 PM
Hi there,

I've played casually before but, hoping to attend my first Legacy FNM this coming Friday and thinking of taking the list below. Or at least, this is what i have sleeved up currently but, i know it's not ideal. I'm hoping for some suggestions about changes to the list as a whole(?).

I know there will be at least Aluren/Food Chain (or Sultai fun stuff), Elves, Pox and potentially a couple of U/Wx Control to contend with. Unsure of rest of the field.

Any and all suggestions about the list and/or strategy appreciated..

Lands - 21
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
2 Wasteland
1 Karakas

Creatures - 10
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique

Artifacts - 3
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

Walkers - 2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Instant - 19
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce (Unsure on numbers)
2 Counterspell
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fatal Push
4 Brainstorm
1 Misdirection (Flex slot?)

Sorcery - 5
3 Ponder
1 Toxic Deluge (Main?)
1 Council's Judgement

Sideboard - 15
2 Meddling Mage
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Disenchant
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Flusterstorm
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sword of Fire and Ice??

13b
10-17-2017, 12:31 PM
Hi there,

I've played casually before but, hoping to attend my first Legacy FNM this coming Friday and thinking of taking the list below. Or at least, this is what i have sleeved up currently but, i know it's not ideal. I'm hoping for some suggestions about changes to the list as a whole(?).

I know there will be at least Aluren/Food Chain (or Sultai fun stuff), Elves, Pox and potentially a couple of U/Wx Control to contend with. Unsure of rest of the field.

Any and all suggestions about the list and/or strategy appreciated..

Lands - 21
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
2 Wasteland
1 Karakas

Creatures - 10
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique

Artifacts - 3
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

Walkers - 2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Instant - 19
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce (Unsure on numbers)
2 Counterspell
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fatal Push
4 Brainstorm
1 Misdirection (Flex slot?)

Sorcery - 5
3 Ponder
1 Toxic Deluge (Main?)
1 Council's Judgement

Sideboard - 15
2 Meddling Mage
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Disenchant
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Flusterstorm
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sword of Fire and Ice??
Interesting list you have there. I am probably one of the few here playing esper with no Drs.
The part I find interesting is you are using black for essentially fatal push mainboard.
If you want a primarily UW Shell id say play uwr with bolts instead. If you like esper. Id look toward utilizing some discard and possibly baleful strix. I personally run 2 strix, 3 thoughtseize and 1 iok. with the 4th thoughtseize on the board.

For reference here is my list.
Land 21
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh flats
1 Swamp
1 Plains
2 Island
2 Wasteland

Creatures 12
4 Stoneforge
3 Tnn
3 Snapcaster
2 Strix

Spells 22
4 Fow
1 Counterspell
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
4 swords to plow
2 fatal push
3 Thoughtseize
1 Iok
1 Councils Judgement

Other
2 Jtms
1 EE
1 Jitte
1 Batterskull

Board 15
1 Priest
1 Meddling Mage
1 Cannonist
2 Zealous
1 Verdict
2 Disenchant
1 Sword of feast and famine
1 Thoughtseize
2 Fluster
2 Surgical
1 Rip

Elthryn
10-17-2017, 03:24 PM
Interesting list you have there. I am probably one of the few here playing esper with no Drs.
The part I find interesting is you are using black for essentially fatal push mainboard.
If you want a primarily UW Shell id say play uwr with bolts instead. If you like esper. Id look toward utilizing some discard and possibly baleful strix. I personally run 2 strix, 3 thoughtseize and 1 iok. with the 4th thoughtseize on the board.

For reference here is my list.
Land 21
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh flats
1 Swamp
1 Plains
2 Island
2 Wasteland

Creatures 12
4 Stoneforge
3 Tnn
3 Snapcaster
2 Strix

Spells 22
4 Fow
1 Counterspell
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
4 swords to plow
2 fatal push
3 Thoughtseize
1 Iok
1 Councils Judgement

Other
2 Jtms
1 EE
1 Jitte
1 Batterskull

Board 15
1 Priest
1 Meddling Mage
1 Cannonist
2 Zealous
1 Verdict
2 Disenchant
1 Sword of feast and famine
1 Thoughtseize
2 Fluster
2 Surgical
1 Rip

How do you find playing esper with 21 lands and two colorless sources? I've been on U/w for a while now but I seem to remember it being color intensive.

13b
10-17-2017, 03:29 PM
How do you find playing esper with 21 lands and two colorless sources? I've been on U/w for a while now but I seem to remember it being color intensive.
For the most part I haven't ran into to many issues, the most common issue is double white for judgement if I'm playing a tight mana game or strictly on basics

NedB37
10-18-2017, 03:30 AM
Interesting list you have there. I am probably one of the few here playing esper with no Drs.
The part I find interesting is you are using black for essentially fatal push mainboard.
If you want a primarily UW Shell id say play uwr with bolts instead. If you like esper. Id look toward utilizing some discard and possibly baleful strix. I personally run 2 strix, 3 thoughtseize and 1 iok. with the 4th thoughtseize on the board.

Hi, thanks for the response! I agree, it's more of a splash now but originally had 2x Thoughtseize MB but, i found it to be awkward at times but am open to trying them again. I've not played with Strix before in this shell but also open to trying it. What to cut may be the issue.

Clique is an interesting one. Without that, i don't 'need' the Karakas (although good answer to Leo) and could go up a fetch/basic.

-1 Spell Pierce
-1 Misdirection
+2 Thoughtseize.

Unsure of cuts for Strix, though. Obvious choice is Clique and Deluge but having Deluge MB has actually proved quite useful (i play against elves quite often).

Also need to revisit the SB.

*edit* also, i'm yet to run into any serious issues with mana running 21 lands and the mix i have.

NedB37
10-21-2017, 06:53 AM
Ok, so i went to the FNM and sadly only four people could make it, due to various reasons. I went 0-3 in a round robin with the list i'd previously published against Pox, Burn and Food Chain. I essentially either had no mana or threats (Pox), no mana or flooded (Burn) or made horrendous misplays towards the end of the night after an 11 hour work day with a head cold (Food Chain). I learned a LOT though and as such, made some changes and the list already 'feels' much better. Although there's still a couple i'm unsure of and a one of Doomfall that i just want to try.

I'm hoping to get some more games soon with this list and see how i go :)

Lands - 21
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
2 Wasteland
1 Karakas

Creatures - 12
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Baleful Strix
1 Vendilion Clique

Artifacts - 3
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

Walkers - 2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Instant - 16
4 Force of Will
1 Spell Pierce
1 Counterspell
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fatal Push
4 Brainstorm

Sorcery - 6
2 Ponder
2 Thoughtseize
1 Doomfall
1 Council's Judgement

Sideboard - 15
2 Meddling Mage
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Disenchant
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Flusterstorm
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

MoosehBoy
10-22-2017, 05:40 PM
So I see most folks on here are Esper fiends!

I'm more of a Jeskai man myself, but I have a couple of basic questions as I've only just started to play the deck. My apologies if they are stupid questions.

1) I see no one plays Mishra's Factory. Any particular reason? Some older lists seem to favour it.

2) Sword of Fire and Ice is almost exclusively a sideboard, it seems. Again, any particular reason? Seems quite helpful against big dudes like Gurmags and Eldrazi. Is it just used to help grind?

3) No one seems to like the Monastery Mentor. I've not playtested it myself yet, but it seems good with our myriad of low cost spells (also triggers through Chalice).

4) I am playing some Spell Quellers. They seem really good. Has anyone else had much luck with them?


If anyone wants to see my current list, it can be found on tappedout, here: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/15-10-17-jeskai-stoneblade/
My only real comment on in, is that I want EE mainboard.

QKisMyName
10-23-2017, 04:34 PM
So I see most folks on here are Esper fiends!

I'm more of a Jeskai man myself, but I have a couple of basic questions as I've only just started to play the deck. My apologies if they are stupid questions.

1) I see no one plays Mishra's Factory. Any particular reason? Some older lists seem to favour it.

2) Sword of Fire and Ice is almost exclusively a sideboard, it seems. Again, any particular reason? Seems quite helpful against big dudes like Gurmags and Eldrazi. Is it just used to help grind?

3) No one seems to like the Monastery Mentor. I've not playtested it myself yet, but it seems good with our myriad of low cost spells (also triggers through Chalice).

4) I am playing some Spell Quellers. They seem really good. Has anyone else had much luck with them?


If anyone wants to see my current list, it can be found on tappedout, here: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/15-10-17-jeskai-stoneblade/
My only real comment on in, is that I want EE mainboard.
Your mana base looks shaky. Spell quellers are underwhelming.

MoosehBoy
10-24-2017, 07:47 AM
Your mana base looks shaky. Spell quellers are underwhelming.

Whilst I appreciate the input, could you be a little more specific on the land base? In an ideal world I would replace the Factory with another Volcanic, but that is just not feasible for me currently. Would that be enough?

What might you suggest as a replacement for Spell Queller?

I will read into your answer as well, that nobody plays both Mishra’s Factory and Wastelands as it dilutes the manabase too much.

CptHaddock
10-24-2017, 08:32 AM
Whilst I appreciate the input, could you be a little more specific on the land base? In an ideal world I would replace the Factory with another Volcanic, but that is just not feasible for me currently. Would that be enough?

What might you suggest as a replacement for Spell Queller?

I will read into your answer as well, that nobody plays both Mishra’s Factory and Wastelands as it dilutes the manabase too much.

I'd recommend more TNNs, Snapcasters and/or Clique. I honestly think there is very little reason to creatures other than TNN and maybe a couple of cliques in Stoneblade. TNN + Equipment just wins you so many fair games.

I think you need 2-3 more red sources to actually support your red splash ideally 2 volcs, but I can see 1 plateau, 1 volc. Uncolored sources hurt in the 3 color versions of blade when you don't have DRS fixing your mana. If you haven't considered it i'd recommend playing UW stoneblade, I think that it's probably the best nondrs playing blade deck (UW > Esper > Patriot) right and it's budget friendlyish. This (https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/legacy-wu-43049#paper) is close to what I am playing and I know that people have had success with B2B versions (https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/800083#paper).

NedB37
10-24-2017, 11:21 AM
I'd agree on the manabase points. Factory as a one of, while it can carry a sword well, doesnt feel like it's going to be as consistent as a fetch or dual. I'd be cutting one wasteland and the factory for duals, with a couple of basics for fetches. However, if budget kicks in then i'd consider back to basics, as someone else mentioned.

If you do go B2B, then you're a little more control and the Queller comes into play more? Otherwise it feels slow but hella cool. I'd probably go down to two, though.

Again, already mentioned but post SB, you have too few red sources. Worth running two shocks for fixing? With a Batterskull connecting, the life loss might be negated?

MoosehBoy
10-24-2017, 06:26 PM
Thank you for the feedback!

I think for the time being I should be able to stretch to a Plateau instead of the Mishra's Factory. As you've all mentioned, it's been a bit naff. I will drop one Queller to get the 21st land. Not sure what it will be yet (probably a shock or mountain until I can get another Volc) I realise 3 colourless sources are still quite a lot, but I will see if I can keep it at that for a while. If it doesn't work out, then another fetch will be added in.

Having played some more with the deck I can see why you're all saying the Quellers are slow. One is definitely going for another land, the others may end up going for another snappy/tnn or even to test a monastery mentor.

I have considered UW, but the extra tools you can get from the red splash are too good imho. Blasts and Blood Moon, plus better EE versatility are almost worth it alone.

Again, thank you all for the feedback, it is very much appreciated :)

Hrothgar
10-31-2017, 10:00 AM
This is the UWx Blade Discord Chat:

https://discord.gg/wtehtyY

enjoy!

Elthryn
11-03-2017, 11:54 AM
Hey all,
I'm on U/w stoneblade currently and I was wondering if you guys side out all of your FoW against grixis delver or leave some number in for dealing with problem cards like TNN? This is my current list:

3 snapcaster mage
4 stoneforge mystic
3 true name nemesis
1 vendillion clique
11
1 batterskull
1 jitte
2
4 brainstorm
4 ponder
4 force of will
2 counterspell
2 spell pierce
1 councils judgement
1 supreme verdict
4 swords to plowshares
1 spell snare
23
2 jace the mindsculpter
2
4 flooded strand
4 polluted delta
1 arid mesa
3 tundra
2 wasteland
4 island
2 plains
1 karakas
1 scalding tarn
22

Sideboard
2 surgical extraction
2 disenchant
1 pithing needle
1 ethersworn cannonist
1 flusterstorm
1 invasive surgery
1 meddling mage
1 rest in peace
1 grafdiggers cage
1 back to basics
1 containment priest
1 supreme verdict
1 engineered explosive

Currently I'm looking to go
-2 FoW
-1 spell snare
+1 back to basics
+1 explosives
+1 supreme verdict

Also is rest in peace worth bringing in to deal with deathrites and anglers?

Hanni
11-03-2017, 11:59 AM
Against Grixis Delver, Force of Will is more important for making sure your SFM resolves and survives long enough to put Batterskull into play, and then to protect it. I wouldn't cut any Force of Will in this matchup.

Elthryn
11-03-2017, 12:03 PM
How would you recommend boarding with my current list?

CptHaddock
11-03-2017, 12:14 PM
How would you recommend boarding with my current list?

I think it's fine to take out FoW if you have enough countermagic postboard for most of their problematic cards. You're the control deck in the matchup so by no means do you want to just slam your SFM turn 2, that is just asking for you to get blown out.

I'd do something like this:

-3 maybe -2 FoW, -1 Snare if you don't feel comfortable against them, snare only counters pyromancer.
-1 Snapcaster Mage
-1 JTMS or a Clique

+1 flusterstorm
+1 rest in peace
+1 back to basics
+1 supreme verdict
+1 engineered explosive

Hanni
11-03-2017, 12:16 PM
Jace is horrible against Grixis Delver. Between Wasteland, Daze, and Spell Pierce, you're not going to be resolving Jace for most of the game. The card advantage from Jace is completely unecessary for the most part.

Council's Judgment is way too clunky and slow here. They don't really have any non-creature permanents that you're worried about, and a 3cc sorcery removal spell to kill a single 1cc creature is not where you want to be in this matchup.

-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Flusterstorm
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Engineered Explosives

Back to Basics is not what you want to be doing here. Back to Basics is good against BUG Delver, but Grixis Delver is too low to the ground for it to have an impact. They get down on the board much faster than you, and your focus needs to be on dealing with what's on board.

An argument could be made to bring in Rest in Peace to shut down Deathrite and Gurmag, although I'm not really sure what else I'd cut. Counterspell and Clique are both clunky, so probably one of those, although I'm not entirely sure if Rest in Peace would be better.

Nothing else in your sideboard is relevant.

EDIT: Your Snapcasters are probably more valuable to you than shutting off DRS in this matchup, so I wouldn't bring in Rest in Peace.

Hanni
11-03-2017, 12:17 PM
I think it's fine to take out FoW if you have enough countermagic postboard for most of their problematic cards. You're the control deck in the matchup so by no means do you want to just slam your SFM turn 2, that is just asking for you to get blown out.

I'd do something like this:

-3 maybe -2 FoW, -1 Snare if you don't feel comfortable against them, snare only counters pyromancer.
-1 Snapcaster Mage
-1 JTMS or a Clique

+1 flusterstorm
+1 rest in peace
+1 back to basics
+1 supreme verdict
+1 engineered explosive

Snare counters Ancient Grudge and Abrade.

You're not using FoW to slam SFM on turn 2. You're using FoW to protect SFM from Lightning Bolt on turn 3. A resolved Batterskull is the key to winning this matchup.

CptHaddock
11-03-2017, 12:31 PM
Snare counters Ancient Grudge and Abrade.

You're not using FoW to slam SFM on turn 2. You're using FoW to protect SFM from Lightning Bolt on turn 3. A resolved Batterskull is the key to winning this matchup.

Opps forgot about the artifact destruction, that seems like a reasonable reason to keep in snare.

There is no reason that you should be 2 for 1ing yourself for a lightening bolt especially in postboard games where they will have artifact destruction. That is just asking to be blown out by so many cards that they play. I agree that you usually stabilize on the back of equipment, but the important point is getting to the stage where you can stablize. Having cards like RIP and B2B is good because they are cards that your opponent has to answer and cut off ways that your opponent can run away with the game. Although I can see an argument for not wanting either of those cards.

Hanni
11-03-2017, 12:37 PM
Opps forgot about the artifact destruction, that seems like a reasonable reason to keep in snare.

There is no reason that you should be 2 for 1ing yourself for a lightening bolt especially in postboard games where they will have artifact destruction. That is just asking to be blown out by so many cards that they play. I agree that you usually stabilize on the back of equipment, but the important point is getting to the stage where you can stablize. Having cards like RIP and B2B is good because they are cards that your opponent has to answer and cut off ways that your opponent can run away with the game. Although I can see an argument for not wanting either of those cards.

If he was on a Jeskai version with 4 Swords to Plowshares and 2-3 Lightning Bolt, I might agree with you... but he's not. Without a critical mass of cheap efficient removal, you don't have the time to play slow, clunky, conservative lines of play. You have stronger cards in the mid-late game, and the card advantage from SFM + equips offset the 1-for-2 of Force of Will. Card advantage is much less relevant in this matchup than in other matchups.

Grixis Delver will absolutely get under you and run you over if your plan is draw-go with Counterspell. You don't have Terminus to reset the board for 1 mana like Miracles does. Your key to victory here is Batterskull, and you can't wait until turn 6+ to finally deploy it.

Elthryn
11-03-2017, 01:45 PM
Thanks guys. Hopefully getting to jam some games against grixis delver tonight. Will see how it goes.

NedB37
11-04-2017, 03:53 AM
This is the UWx Blade Discord Chat:

https://discord.gg/TEeVPg

enjoy!

Hi, i recently signed up for discord and tried to use this link but am being told it's invalid?

Hrothgar
11-04-2017, 06:56 AM
https://discord.gg/wtehtyY

This is the link who can't expire.
For all questions about i'm here.

NedB37
11-04-2017, 12:51 PM
https://discord.gg/wtehtyY

This is the link who can't expire.
For all questions about i'm here.

Fantastic, thanks!

NedB37
11-09-2017, 06:24 AM
Hi,

I'm heading for a Legacy FNM tomorrow with this list:

https://deckstats.net/decks/53380/838103-esper-stoneblade/en

..and unsure of the sideboard. There seem to be quite a few people attending this time and a broad range of decks. I'm expecting Food Chain, Aluren, Miracles, Pox, Elves, Storm, Burn and Reanimator at the very least, plus whatever else turns up.

This is my current sideboard...

2 Meddling Mage
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Disenchant
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Flusterstorm
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

Does anyone have any improved/alternate suggestions for that type of meta? Yet to plan any kind of sideboard guide for the list i'm running.


*EDIT*

We had a pretty healthy turnout of 16 registered and 15 playing. I went 1-1-1 in the three rounds i played.

1. Nic Fit, won both games. Had a little bit too much removal and they had no answer to True Name/Batterskull.
2. Shardless Bug, lost both games. Mulled to 5 in both games and was just valued out the game by a Lilly in short order.
3. U/W Miracles but splashing red, draw. I had them down to <5 life pretty quickly each game but it turned into a grindy affair after. Very good player though, regular PPTQ person so, quite pleased to get a draw out of this one.

Also played a casual between rounds game against what i thought was Jeskai Blade and turned out in spectacular fashion to be TwinBlade! Lost game one to combo and game two to being screwed while they beat down.

Learned a hell of a lot but also felt way more comfortable with the deck, than last time. Sideboard definitely needs some work but didn't get to play a few of the decks i was maybe more prepared for, like Elves.

Mzfroste
11-14-2017, 12:11 PM
I won the MTGO challenge this past weekend with UWr Stoneblade, 5-1 in swiss. Red still feels like the right choice to me, I believe it has better game vs Delver with its slightly stronger mana base, and while Lightning Bolt can be replaced by Fatal Push for the most part, the sideboard Pyroblasts and Blood Moons give it significant game against some of the tougher matchups in Czech, Miracles, Aggro Loam and other grindy midrange decks. I've always been a big proponent of Pyroblast vs Discard, and while it makes the combo matchup weaker without proactive t1 disruption in Thoughtseize, I have not found myself wanting for more conventional disruption, with 2 Flusterstorm, 3 Hatebears, and the possible 2 RIP and 3 Blast, depending on the type of combo deck, postboard.

I also think that UWr, despite having a 3rd color, is better positioned against Delver than UW, with the additional 1 CMC removal making it easier to keep pace with delver and resolve your bombs without being too far behind on board. the 8 basics were a nod to Delvers primary method of beating us, mana denial; I wanted to be have more chance of simply topdecking basic lands. I almost went with 4 Island 3 plains over the 5 Islands 2 plains, but generally if I can get the basic Island out I can have countermagic to protect from stifle, as well as the obvious cantrips, to protect myself.

List is:

MB
3 Snapcaster
4 Stoneforge Mystice
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Force of Will
3 Ponder
2 Counterspell
2 Spell Pierce
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Supreme Verdict

5 Islands
2 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Flooded Strand
1 Arid Mesa

SB

1 Containment Priest
1 Disenchant
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Rest in Peace
2 Flusterstorm
3 Pyroblast
2 Blood Moon
1 Meddling Mage
1 Swords of Fire and Ice
1 Engineered Explosives

My actual matches were

WIN vs DNT
LOSS vs Czech
WIN vs Turbo Depths
WIN vs Maverick
WIN vs BR Reanimator
WIN vs Lands

Top 8

WIN VS DNT
WIN vs 4c Loamd
Win vs Czech

Changes I might make

While I always find myself wanting more cards for whatever matchup I recently played against, you can't have everything, and I try not to get greedy. Having said that, Both my DNT matchups were faily close, and I've had trouble with it in the past. I only have Disenchant and Engineered Explosives to bring in against them, along with Containment Priest as a sort of "why not". 2.5 cards doesn't feel like enough, especially when there were more cards I was willing to side out. I had been thinking about Izzet Staticaster for a long time, as Elves is also a difficult matchup. I also would like to get Council's Judgment back in the 75 somewhere. I was running it, but cut it and the 4th Ponder to make room for the Supreme Verdict and Vendilion Clique. While I do think I want both those cards, I would like the 4th "anti-permenant" card back in the 75, for matchups like DNT but also 4c Loam and other random jank that might just get you with their nonsense. Also a fast LOTV is difficult for this deck.

ClimbGneiss
11-14-2017, 05:28 PM
I won the MTGO challenge this past weekend with UWr Stoneblade, 5-1 in swiss. Red still feels like the right choice to me, I believe it has better game vs Delver with its slightly stronger mana base, and while Lightning Bolt can be replaced by Fatal Push for the most part, the sideboard Pyroblasts and Blood Moons give it significant game against some of the tougher matchups in Czech, Miracles, Aggro Loam and other grindy midrange decks. I've always been a big proponent of Pyroblast vs Discard, and while it makes the combo matchup weaker without proactive t1 disruption in Thoughtseize, I have not found myself wanting for more conventional disruption, with 2 Flusterstorm, 3 Hatebears, and the possible 2 RIP and 3 Blast, depending on the type of combo deck, postboard.

I also think that UWr, despite having a 3rd color, is better positioned against Delver than UW, with the additional 1 CMC removal making it easier to keep pace with delver and resolve your bombs without being too far behind on board. the 8 basics were a nod to Delvers primary method of beating us, mana denial; I wanted to be have more chance of simply topdecking basic lands. I almost went with 4 Island 3 plains over the 5 Islands 2 plains, but generally if I can get the basic Island out I can have countermagic to protect from stifle, as well as the obvious cantrips, to protect myself.

List is:

MB
3 Snapcaster
4 Stoneforge Mystice
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Force of Will
3 Ponder
2 Counterspell
2 Spell Pierce
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Supreme Verdict

5 Islands
2 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Flooded Strand
1 Arid Mesa

SB

1 Containment Priest
1 Disenchant
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Rest in Peace
2 Flusterstorm
3 Pyroblast
2 Blood Moon
1 Meddling Mage
1 Swords of Fire and Ice
1 Engineered Explosives

My actual matches were

WIN vs DNT
LOSS vs Czech
WIN vs Turbo Depths
WIN vs Maverick
WIN vs BR Reanimator
WIN vs Lands

Top 8

WIN VS DNT
WIN vs 4c Loamd
Win vs Czech

Changes I might make

While I always find myself wanting more cards for whatever matchup I recently played against, you can't have everything, and I try not to get greedy. Having said that, Both my DNT matchups were faily close, and I've had trouble with it in the past. I only have Disenchant and Engineered Explosives to bring in against them, along with Containment Priest as a sort of "why not". 2.5 cards doesn't feel like enough, especially when there were more cards I was willing to side out. I had been thinking about Izzet Staticaster for a long time, as Elves is also a difficult matchup. I also would like to get Council's Judgment back in the 75 somewhere. I was running it, but cut it and the 4th Ponder to make room for the Supreme Verdict and Vendilion Clique. While I do think I want both those cards, I would like the 4th "anti-permenant" card back in the 75, for matchups like DNT but also 4c Loam and other random jank that might just get you with their nonsense. Also a fast LOTV is difficult for this deck.

Great job! Love the list!
Just spit balling on random cards that could be useful versus elves and dnt:
- Abrade? Multipurpose tool..
- Blessed Alliance. Probably too cute, but definitely can put some interesting combat tricks and maybe untap your Jitte equipped tapped creature for the surprise block.
- Pyroclasm?


As an aside, I know disenchant is much better for mana stability, which is a focus of yours, but I'm always very tempted to run wear//tear as someone who has been blown out by miracles folk in the past.

NedB37
11-15-2017, 03:28 AM
Good work!

How did you find it without the wastelands? I thought they were invaluable recently against a U/W Miracles list i played. They got search for Azcanta online early both games but i was able to take them off it and give myself an opening. Still only managed a draw though but, probably saved me from being drowned in card advantage.

I'd agree on the Abrade point listed above, too :) Sudden demise might be a good one for Elves?

QKisMyName
11-15-2017, 02:00 PM
Hi Mzfroste, congrats on your finish. I noticed you returned to a derivative list to the one I piloted at GP Vegas. I haven't been playing as much since then, but I've been tampering with my sideboard. I really want to add 2 bloodmoon and a teferi's response but the sideboard is so stacked and full already. You're going to laugh at teferi's but it is actually really useful against lands & DNT as this is where counter magic is generally not so great. It lets you keep really loose hands like basic/fetch+1 nonbasic opening 7 card hands. If it resolves just once, you probably win. Still messing around with it but I definitely think I want to add a bloodmoon or two. How's Gideon working out? I've been a staunch supporter of Jace, but open to hearing out what's going on with gideon

Kirt
11-15-2017, 05:03 PM
I won the MTGO challenge this past weekend with UWr Stoneblade, 5-1 in swiss. Red still feels like the right choice to me, I believe it has better game vs Delver with its slightly stronger mana base, and while Lightning Bolt can be replaced by Fatal Push for the most part, the sideboard Pyroblasts and Blood Moons give it significant game against some of the tougher matchups in Czech, Miracles, Aggro Loam and other grindy midrange decks. I've always been a big proponent of Pyroblast vs Discard, and while it makes the combo matchup weaker without proactive t1 disruption in Thoughtseize, I have not found myself wanting for more conventional disruption, with 2 Flusterstorm, 3 Hatebears, and the possible 2 RIP and 3 Blast, depending on the type of combo deck, postboard.

I also think that UWr, despite having a 3rd color, is better positioned against Delver than UW, with the additional 1 CMC removal making it easier to keep pace with delver and resolve your bombs without being too far behind on board. the 8 basics were a nod to Delvers primary method of beating us, mana denial; I wanted to be have more chance of simply topdecking basic lands. I almost went with 4 Island 3 plains over the 5 Islands 2 plains, but generally if I can get the basic Island out I can have countermagic to protect from stifle, as well as the obvious cantrips, to protect myself.

List is:

MB
3 Snapcaster
4 Stoneforge Mystice
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Force of Will
3 Ponder
2 Counterspell
2 Spell Pierce
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Supreme Verdict

5 Islands
2 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Flooded Strand
1 Arid Mesa

SB

1 Containment Priest
1 Disenchant
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Rest in Peace
2 Flusterstorm
3 Pyroblast
2 Blood Moon
1 Meddling Mage
1 Swords of Fire and Ice
1 Engineered Explosives

My actual matches were

WIN vs DNT
LOSS vs Czech
WIN vs Turbo Depths
WIN vs Maverick
WIN vs BR Reanimator
WIN vs Lands

Top 8

WIN VS DNT
WIN vs 4c Loamd
Win vs Czech

Changes I might make

While I always find myself wanting more cards for whatever matchup I recently played against, you can't have everything, and I try not to get greedy. Having said that, Both my DNT matchups were faily close, and I've had trouble with it in the past. I only have Disenchant and Engineered Explosives to bring in against them, along with Containment Priest as a sort of "why not". 2.5 cards doesn't feel like enough, especially when there were more cards I was willing to side out. I had been thinking about Izzet Staticaster for a long time, as Elves is also a difficult matchup. I also would like to get Council's Judgment back in the 75 somewhere. I was running it, but cut it and the 4th Ponder to make room for the Supreme Verdict and Vendilion Clique. While I do think I want both those cards, I would like the 4th "anti-permenant" card back in the 75, for matchups like DNT but also 4c Loam and other random jank that might just get you with their nonsense. Also a fast LOTV is difficult for this deck.


nice list! i will test in the next tournament :)
what about ruination instead blood moon?
add karakas maindeck? (good with vendilion, really good vs reanimator and its ok vs leovold)
why 2 jace-1gideon instead 3 jace?

Mzfroste
11-16-2017, 05:58 AM
Great job! Love the list!
Just spit balling on random cards that could be useful versus elves and dnt:
- Abrade? Multipurpose tool..
- Blessed Alliance. Probably too cute, but definitely can put some interesting combat tricks and maybe untap your Jitte equipped tapped creature for the surprise block.
- Pyroclasm?


As an aside, I know disenchant is much better for mana stability, which is a focus of yours, but I'm always very tempted to run wear//tear as someone who has been blown out by miracles folk in the past.

Abrade is an interesting choice. But I don't lack for spot removal to the point I'd value a 2 mana conditional one enough because it can also shatter. Maybe if it could disenchant.

The only creature I would want a conditional edict for would be TNN, but I've got 3 Blasts, Verdict, 2 EE and the ability to make my own TNN better.

I like Pyroclasm, especially since it is good vs Delver unlike Staticaster. Killing our own TNN is a non-bo, but Verdict does already do that. My big thing against it is the opportunity cost of playing it over something like Staticaster, as our need for a sweeper against Delver is less than a deck like Miracles, given out additional 1 mana removal and SFM package. Decks that do better against those like Elves, and DNT to a lesser extent, fold much harder to Staticaster than a 1 time Pyroclasm. Still it's something I'll keep in mind.

The strength of Disenchant is just the mana, though that only really comes up vs DNT. Also if Miracles does end up making a comeback with Counterbalance, having the destroy target counterbalance cost 2 opposed to 1 will be nice. Having said that I could definitely see the meta going in a direction where there would be enough decks running both Enchantments and Artifacts that the 2 for 1 would be more realistic and force me to make the swap.


Good work!

How did you find it without the wastelands? I thought they were invaluable recently against a U/W Miracles list i played. They got search for Azcanta online early both games but i was able to take them off it and give myself an opening. Still only managed a draw though but, probably saved me from being drowned in card advantage.

I'd agree on the Abrade point listed above, too :) Sudden demise might be a good one for Elves?

I've never played with Wastelands in a Stoneblade list. I've always felt we were the more mana hungry deck in the majority of matchups. I can see it as land hate more than mana denial for decks like Post, Lands, or even Czeck. But since UWR has access to Blood Moon, I prefer to go with that in most cases. Search is very good with Miracles, I've been loving it in my builds. Pre-board we're going to have to hope to counter it or push a fast win, which can be difficult against Miracles. Postboard with 3 Blasts I'm much less worried.

Sudden Demise is an interesting choice, since it could be the Pyroclasm that doesn't kill TNN. But being a card I can't see myself bringing in for anything but Elves and DNT, I'd rather go with Staticaster.


Hi Mzfroste, congrats on your finish. I noticed you returned to a derivative list to the one I piloted at GP Vegas. I haven't been playing as much since then, but I've been tampering with my sideboard. I really want to add 2 bloodmoon and a teferi's response but the sideboard is so stacked and full already. You're going to laugh at teferi's but it is actually really useful against lands & DNT as this is where counter magic is generally not so great. It lets you keep really loose hands like basic/fetch+1 nonbasic opening 7 card hands. If it resolves just once, you probably win. Still messing around with it but I definitely think I want to add a bloodmoon or two. How's Gideon working out? I've been a staunch supporter of Jace, but open to hearing out what's going on with gideon

Yeah if I remember correctly I cut a Staticaster and a Containment Priest for those 2 Moons. And I have missed them a bit, Elves has gotten more difficult and 3 pieces of GY hate may not be enough for a deck without DRS. But I did feel like I wanted a bit more for Czech and Delver, and it's always a good card from the board just for those random gotchas against any random deck you may see, I was willing to make the cuts. It has given me tons more play against Czech, not as much against Delver, since the matchup tends to be less about resolving enough bombs to kill them and more just making sure we can do a normal gameplan against them, untapping with SFM often being enough.

Gideon has been great. It's another card to get an edge against Czech, but also all other Blue midrange/control decks, and many non-blue as well. There are so many situations where it singlehandedly takes over the game. Specifically this past league, it won me 2 games practically by itself, the first against Maverick with Choke on board, the second in the semi-finals against 4c Loam with an active LOTV and no cards in hand. Jace is better, thus why I still run a 2-1 split and not a 1-2, but there are enough times where Jace doesn't do enough, either not effecting the board powerfully or quickly enough, but also where the 4 mana walker can really be anything and it'll win the game, so the difference doesn't matter. But that it can kill other walkers, that it can't be blasted, that it can more profitably protect itself, gives it enough upsides over Jace I do think it is worth running 1 copy. I experiemented with a second copy in the board for those grindy/control matchups, but between TNN and blasts and the generic gameplan, I didn't find myself needing it that much and cut it.


nice list! i will test in the next tournament :)
what about ruination instead blood moon?
add karakas maindeck? (good with vendilion, really good vs reanimator and its ok vs leovold)
why 2 jace-1gideon instead 3 jace?

I can still use my Mountains for mana, we have enough colorless requirements in our Walkers and equipment, not to mention our actual red spells, so I don't want to destroy them. While there is the downside to Blood Mooning yourself out of the game, you can do the same with Ruination, but it costs 1 more mana, and it's easier for your opponent to come back from. From the Ashes would be a better choice, but unlike Miracles, we can effect the board earlier and are less likely to Moon ourselves out of the game because of that. Miracles wanted to keep its fetch lands active, which was the main reason they made the switch from Moon. I don't think the same incentive is there for us, if you want to run a ridiculously powerful hate card, run the cheapest version

Karakas was cut to make room for more basics. I feel I've lost more games due to land issues from Wasteland or not enough Blue than I've won due to Karakas bouncing shit.

Hrothgar
11-16-2017, 12:24 PM
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Mzfroste, very interesting point of view.
I run very close to your list for now, with very good results.
I love run 1 Disenchant and 1 Wear Tear because i don't play Academy with moon, and I want the flashback options with Snap in matchup where I want wear.
Have you try 1 Council in main?

Mzfroste
11-16-2017, 01:56 PM
I was running it, I cut it to make room for the Supreme Verdict. Other options were to cut EE, one of the 3 Walkers, or a Counterspell, but I went with CJ. I don't nessecarily regret that change, its worked out for me, Verdict has been great, but I do wish I could get it back in.

u-579
11-17-2017, 03:04 PM
Out of curiosity Mzfroste, did you record your matches in the challenge? I recently picked up the deck as an alternative to what I normally play and have been looking for commented play videos.

First_Revenge
11-29-2017, 10:09 AM
Hey guys, I’ve recently been having a bad run with esper deathblade so I’m looking to make a change. My meta is extremely fair, I think over 3 weeks and 12 rounds I’ve played against one combo deck, sneak and show. Essentially I’m looking to cut the DRS out of my deck, the short version being that I don’t think stoneblade leverages DRS to its full potential and that I’d be better off with a longer range stoneblade deck like esper. Wasteland also gets cut from my list, I’ve found 2 wastelands to be pretty anemic. They aren’t enough to choke out someone’s mana, and more often than not they end up screwing my color intensive deck. IMO wasteland probably belongs in delver style decks as a 4 of.

I’ve brewed up the following list. The biggest gamble in the deck is probably exhume. I have no idea how good it is yet, but I think it allows me to commit things like TNN to the board as bait before nuking it with verdict. I’m also less hesitant to run TNNs into countermagic. And if it’s a dead card, at worst it cycles. In some cases it also allows me to shortcut the cost on TNN if I can pitch it to collective brutality.

I also like the academy ruins buying back jitte/strix, but it may be too cute, in the future this may or may not end up becoming another dual or basic.

Do let me know what you think! Thank you!

Lands-21
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Marsh Flats
2 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Underground Sea
3 Tundra
1 Academy Ruins

Creatures-9
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 TNN
2 Baleful Strix
1 Snapcaster Mage

Artifacts-2
1 Jitte
1 Batterskull


Spells-27
3 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
3 Collective Brutality
3 Thoughtseize
2 Lingering Souls
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Unearth



Planeswalkers-2
2 Jace


Sideboard-15
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Containment Priest
1 Force of Will
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Fatal Push
1 Disenchant
2 Flusterstorm
1 Invasive Surgery

NimbleJosh
12-04-2017, 12:00 AM
I noticed a lack of Karakas in peoples lists. Any reasoning for this? Also what are people’s thoughts in Academy ruins? Seems to play well with EE.

Hrothgar
12-04-2017, 06:24 AM
Karakas imho is a meta choice for now.
In grind matchup (4c) Karakas have no use, Academy Ruin can win the game. in my experience.
Vs Delver maybe is not so good, but better than Karakas for sure.

Vs Lands Karakas can save us bouncing Marit, ok, but just one time.
Karakas is good vs Show, if your meta have many Show decks is a good choice.

NedB37
12-04-2017, 07:31 AM
I noticed a lack of Karakas in peoples lists. Any reasoning for this? Also what are people’s thoughts in Academy ruins? Seems to play well with EE.

I'm running it but, i also run Clique and have (breifly) considered Venser as well. It comes in handy against Leo at the moment, who in my Meta is usually around in some sort of 4c/BUG deck fairly frequently. Although they draw from it, you buy time and the chance to brainstorm.

I've not tried Ruins but, definitely one to consider. I'm not sure i'd have room for Karakas and Ruins but open to trying anything new :) Karakas at the moment feels more of a tempo play to me whereas the Ruins would be grindy value (?).

sagagx
01-11-2018, 04:49 AM
Hi all,

I am looking for some feedbacks on specific cards for a UWr list. I saw more control lists of UWr (without SFM) performing well with 2 copies of Search for Azcanta and From the Ashes on the sideboard instead of Blood Moon.

Anyone has ever tried Search for Azcanta in a UWr Stoneblade deck ?

Thanks

FGCmtg
01-11-2018, 05:14 AM
Hi all,

I am looking for some feedbacks on specific cards for a UWr list. I saw more control lists of UWr (without SFM) performing well with 2 copies of Search for Azcanta and From the Ashes on the sideboard instead of Blood Moon.

Anyone has ever tried Search for Azcanta in a UWr Stoneblade deck ?

Thanks

This was recently discussed on Reddit, so I'm lifting some of the points discussed from that thread as I thought they were good.

Essentially, Search requires quite a specific game-plan to be maximised. You need to really want to sit back and not use your mana if possible.

Traditional blade decks have been a lot more threat oriented than things like Miracles (the current most popular Legacy shell for Search). You care more about tapping out for things like True-Name/Gideon/Jace/Batterskull in the late game, not just sitting back and doing nothing, casting Predicts to get further ahead or Terminus to clean up for 1 mana and activating Search in the same turn.

It may well be powerful and a useful card in the deck in some cases, but I doubt it's the best place to put the card. That said, I haven't tested it, so I may be completely off here.

sagagx
01-11-2018, 06:00 AM
This was recently discussed on Reddit, so I'm lifting some of the points discussed from that thread as I thought they were good.

Essentially, Search requires quite a specific game-plan to be maximised. You need to really want to sit back and not use your mana if possible.

Traditional blade decks have been a lot more threat oriented than things like Miracles (the current most popular Legacy shell for Search). You care more about tapping out for things like True-Name/Gideon/Jace/Batterskull in the late game, not just sitting back and doing nothing, casting Predicts to get further ahead or Terminus to clean up for 1 mana and activating Search in the same turn.

It may well be powerful and a useful card in the deck in some cases, but I doubt it's the best place to put the card. That said, I haven't tested it, so I may be completely off here.

Thanks for your input. I understand the card being good in Miracles, I am more curious about the UWx control list not playing SFM and not playing Miracles recently. You are right, blade decks requires to tap out for TNN and Jace. We may see Search like Jace in the game plan, granting card advantage and quality but loosing the more control side of Jace with fateseal and bounce. Nevertheless, the card hit the board much sooner.

I will give a try taking one slot from Jace (going down to 2 in my list).

FGCmtg
01-11-2018, 06:27 AM
Thanks for your input. I understand the card being good in Miracles, I am more curious about the UWx control list not playing SFM and not playing Miracles recently. You are right, blade decks requires to tap out for TNN and Jace. We may see Search like Jace in the game plan, granting card advantage and quality but loosing the more control side of Jace with fateseal and bounce. Nevertheless, the card hit the board much sooner.

I will give a try taking one slot from Jace (going down to 2 in my list).

Seems reasonable! I'm interested in seeing how this works. It's probably pretty good in mirror type situations and is cheap to cast. It's also surprisingly good vs storm if you get to flip it, and it's so cheap that you can cast it with countermagic available (unlike JTMS most of the time).

sagagx
01-11-2018, 07:39 AM
Seems reasonable! I'm interested in seeing how this works. It's probably pretty good in mirror type situations and is cheap to cast. It's also surprisingly good vs storm if you get to flip it, and it's so cheap that you can cast it with countermagic available (unlike JTMS most of the time).

Yes, you are highlighting an important benefit of Search over Jace, keeping mana up for countermagic and instant speed card drawing engine instead of being full tap for brainstorming with Jace the 1st turn it hit the board. No mistake, Jace is so important to the deck.

One of my previous opponents told me an interesting comment on UWx blade decks. You sometimes hold all the creature removal cards on your hand facing Storm and sometimes you have all your countermagic for aggro decks, despite Ponder/BS. You cannot do much on your side to avoid this. Maybe Search can effectively help you, on the early turns of the game, building a better hand according to your opponent. I am sorry if I say something obvious here, but I do not have so many feedbacks on Search, especially on non-miracles lists.

FGCmtg
01-11-2018, 08:25 AM
Yes, you are highlighting an important benefit of Search over Jace, keeping mana up for countermagic and instant speed card drawing engine instead of being full tap for brainstorming with Jace the 1st turn it hit the board. No mistake, Jace is so important to the deck.

One of my previous opponents told me an interesting comment on UWx blade decks. You sometimes hold all the creature removal cards on your hand facing Storm and sometimes you have all your countermagic for aggro decks, despite Ponder/BS. You cannot do much on your side to avoid this. Maybe Search can effectively help you, on the early turns of the game, building a better hand according to your opponent. I am sorry if I say something obvious here, but I do not have so many feedbacks on Search, especially on non-miracles lists.

Yup, you're right, so you can start to filter your draws early in a matchup if you have the opportunity to resolve Search. So I would guess that the card is strong in most midrange/control matchups and against storm if they have a slower draw - but you don't abuse the effect as well as you could in a Miracle deck.

Cheesehead
01-11-2018, 10:07 AM
Hi all,

I am picking up the final peaces for Stoneblade/Deathblade.. I am not sure what the strongest deck is.. I am between Esper Stoneblade with 2 Jace 2 TNN and SFM package or Mentor/Probe/Cabal Therapy package..

I don't know if Deathblade (TNN or Mentor package) would be better though.. also I don't have the Tropical Island. So, is the Shaman worth it?

So can you help me, what's the best Version?

Thank you!

sagagx
01-11-2018, 11:10 AM
Hi all,

I am picking up the final peaces for Stoneblade/Deathblade.. I am not sure what the strongest deck is.. I am between Esper Stoneblade with 2 Jace 2 TNN and SFM package or Mentor/Probe/Cabal Therapy package..

I don't know if Deathblade (TNN or Mentor package) would be better though.. also I don't have the Tropical Island. So, is the Shaman worth it?

So can you help me, what's the best Version?

Thank you!

Hi,

I prefer to not give wrong information about which version is better, it's too subjective without good statistics. Maybe you should collect statistics on some sites to have a better insight.

About your hesitation between Mentor and Deathrite, you could check this list (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=17345&d=307292&f=LE) from a good player. He is playing them all, Mentor, Deathrite, Probe and Cabal.

I personally think that Pyroblast is a must at this time so that's why I play UWr over Esper or Deathblade.

Hope that helps a little :confused:

Megadeus
01-11-2018, 12:11 PM
What's the general plan against the BUG decks? I usually am fine against their normal gameplan, but goddamn Liliana is tough to beat sometimes. Both if them

kahboom0225
01-12-2018, 01:18 PM
How many fetchlands do you all run? Also what's your mana base look likes if you are planning to run Back to Basics & would you run wastelands and B2B together?

First_Revenge
01-16-2018, 12:02 PM
How many fetchlands do you all run? Also what's your mana base look likes if you are planning to run Back to Basics & would you run wastelands and B2B together?

9-10 seems about an average number of fetches. B2B is probably only a good idea in UW stoneblade, in that case yeah you would run it alongside wastelands. In a UWX deck, B2B may or may not work, i'm toying around with the idea, but i haven't decided either way yet. If you do want to run B2B in a UWX deck, i do think wastelands are too greedy.



Hello everyone!
When I played deathblade I made it a habit to post a semi-weekly tournament report. It helps me remember my mistakes and hopefully some people learn from it. If the consensus is that this sort of thing is too spammy or you just don’t like it, let me know and I’ll definitely stop.

Around the end of last year I decided that DRS didn’t really belong in stoneblade. I reverted back into esper stoneblade. DRS essentially got replaced by utility spells, and manabase got way more basics to combat the delver matchups. The list below is the end result of the brewing I did over Christmas.
Lands-21
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-9
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-27
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
3 Thoughtseize
2 Spell Pierce
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Unearth
1 Search for Azcanta
1 Council’s Judgement

Artifacts-2
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

Planeswalkers-2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Fatal Push
1 Path to Exile(Good against Gurmag/Depths)
1 Meddling Mage
1 Containment Priest
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
1 Unearth

Match 1: Pox(2-1 Win)
I’m paired against a local guy who more or less always runs pox. Pox is a long grindy matchup, but it’s definitely winnable. Pox is a less common deck to encounter so I’ll give a bit of an overview. Pox is best exemplified by the card smallpox. It attacks, your creatures, your hand, and your manabase. As most of its removal is untargeted sacrifice effects, cards like TNN are less valuable. Furthermore, this deck is one of those times where fetching basics isn’t always a guarantee. I would highly recommend that you fetch basics since they play wasteland, but understand that they aren’t safe from cards like smallpox/sinkhole.

The problem with pox is that they have a hard time closing games out. Their wincons are urza’s factory, cursed scroll, and Liliana(veil and last hope). Liliana gets out of control pretty quickly, but factory and scroll won’t kill you for 3-4 turns. You want to play the long game, develop your manabase, then leverage the power of cards like Jace in the late game where they will struggle to kill you.

Game 1:
This one I end up losing pretty handily. I survive his early pox with thoughseizes/spell pierces, but then he drops an ensnaring bridge I’m unprepared for. He gets down to 1 card and starts cursed scrolling me to death. I can’t find an out to bridge and I die.

One thing to note, I almost won this game under the bridge with a SFM+jitte. Jitte is very good against bridge. If you glue it to a SFM you can attack for 1, then pump it before damage, allowing you deal 5 damage without triggering bridge. Batterskull cannot do this. Jitte+SFM is also great against night of soul’s betrayal, but you must have a counter on jitte already. Soul’s betrayal turns SFM into a 0/1 meaning bridge can’t stop it at all. Just make sure you pump your SFM before damage or you won’t get any counters since no combat damage will be dealt.

Game 2:
-3 Collective Brutality(doesn’t hit factory, and 2 mana for discard is not great)
-2 Supreme Verdict(doesn’t hit factory)
-1 TNN(Pox has a ton of sacrifice effects, against pox TNN is basically a vanilla 3/1)
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Disenchant
+1 Engineered Explosives

This game goes long. I manage to develop my manabase in the early turns and stop his land destruction/ensnaring bridge. I get to something like 6 lands in play and I start recasting and picking up batterskull to win the game. Normally this isn’t a good way to win but against pox it is perfectly viable. They can’t counter the batterskull, and all their removal targets the germ. Just avoid their discard spells which is easy if you pick it up on their end step and redeploy it immediately. He ends up using an innocent blood, and 2 liliana of the veil to stall the germ token, but eventually he runs out of killspells and it starts connecting. Note that batterskull can be answered by pithing needle/bridge, so if you want to go this route keep those cards off the board.
Search for azanta gets involved in this game as well. I manage to flip it, although maybe I shouldn’t have considering how much land destruction they have. In either case they couldn’t deal with it and it became immediately clear just how powerful Azcanta the Sunken Ruin is when left unchecked. I don’t know if I can advocate for 2 of them, but the 1 in my list has certainly earned its keep.

Game 3:
Not much of a game. He gets stuck on a swamp, and 2 factories. Most of his spells cost BB so he ends up being unable to cast a lot of things. SFM+Batterskull clean it up in short order.

Match 2: Burn(2-0 Win)
This was a match I always struggled with as deathblade. But thanks to a ton of basics and snapcasters this match was winnable. This matchup also highlights one of my pet cards, collective brutality, which I feel is really underplayed.
Game 1:
Opening hand is some fetchlands, collective brutality, snapcaster mage, and a spell pierce. Great start. He deploys a goblin guide giving me a land. T2 Brutality pitching 2 extra lands for all the modes is amazing. T4 snapcaster mage flashing back brutality and escalating twice again pretty much ends the game. SFM comes down at some point and formally wins.

Game 2:
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor(too slow)
-3 Thoughtseize(terrible in this matchup, basically a free lightning bolt for them)
-1 Search for Azcanta(might be too slow in this matchup)
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Unearth(amazing against decks without STP)
+1 Disenchant

I get another live the dream hand. TNN, flusterstorm, unearth, collective brutality, and lands. T2 brutality escalated twice pitching land and TNN felt great. Unearthing TNN on the following turn felt even better. At some point I flash back snapcaster mage targeting brutality escalating it some more. It ends up being very close, I end the game at 2 life. TNN/snapcaster finish him off.

Match 3: Big Eldrazi(0-2 Loss)
Big eldrazi feels like the rebirth of 12 post, a deck I always struggled against. 12 post relied on cloudpost/glimmerpost/vesuva to generate a ton of mana. It used to be played as a counter to Miracles(the one with top) because the cards it would play cost 7+ mana, well out of reach of the countertop lock. I thought it went the way of the dinosaurs after top got banned and low to the ground delver/wasteland decks took over. Guess it came back.
Game 1:
Almost made a game of it. He sticks a coercive portal which essentially lets him draw an extra card per turn. This basically lets him win the game. I do make a game of it, getting him down to 1 with TNN, his ancient tomb helps out in a big way, dealing him around 8 damage over the game. I lose this game because I choose not to cast collective brutality and drain him for two earlier in the game. Brutality got sniped by a thought-knot seer.

Game 2:
-2 Spell Pierce(Big mana deck, they’ll pay the pierce tax without blinking)
-3 Collective Brutality(Huge creatures, not a lot of instants/sorceries)
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte(Their creatures are huge, the counters don’t really matter)
+1 Disenchant
+1 Fatal Push(marginal, but I can kill a thought-knot)
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice(card draw is probably better than jitte)
+1 Force of Will(Probably our best card in this matchup, thoughtseize may be #2)
+1 Engineered Explosives(deals with chalice)

Not much of a game. I don’t draw any of my key cards. I manage to get a TNN suited up with SoFi, but the following turn he lands a kozilek. Without a Force of Will I pretty much die on the spot.


Do let me know if you have questions/criticisms. I learn this way and I’ll be happy to answer them.

QKisMyName
01-16-2018, 05:44 PM
Hi all,

I am picking up the final peaces for Stoneblade/Deathblade.. I am not sure what the strongest deck is.. I am between Esper Stoneblade with 2 Jace 2 TNN and SFM package or Mentor/Probe/Cabal Therapy package..

I don't know if Deathblade (TNN or Mentor package) would be better though.. also I don't have the Tropical Island. So, is the Shaman worth it?

So can you help me, what's the best Version?

Thank you!

Neither deck is better or worst than the other. They are similar, but have different strengths and weaknesses

sagagx
01-17-2018, 09:35 AM
Do let me know if you have questions/criticisms. I learn this way and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Hi,

yes two questions here :tongue:

1) how do you get rid of Leovold against 4c control. I mean you have 2 verdicts and 1 council, seems pretty good, but with 3 colors, can you consistantly cast them ? They also have access to discard spells, it may be difficult to hide the verdict until you have all your mana up. Especially if Leovold is on the board, BS/Ponder cannot be cast.

2) how do you value Search for Azcanta ? I am also currently testing the card.

Thx

First_Revenge
01-17-2018, 10:56 AM
Hi,

yes two questions here :tongue:

1) how do you get rid of Leovold against 4c control. I mean you have 2 verdicts and 1 council, seems pretty good, but with 3 colors, can you consistantly cast them ? They also have access to discard spells, it may be difficult to hide the verdict until you have all your mana up. Especially if Leovold is on the board, BS/Ponder cannot be cast.



So 4C control is difficult but I’d say it’s pretty much even. As such it’s hard to give specific advice, so I’ll have to keep it broad here. Yes leovold is a real pain in the ass to deal with. My primary outs are the verdicts and judgement which you mention. They probably aren’t particularly hard to cast in this matchup since 4C control usually doesn’t run wasteland so I’m not tethered to basics. Regarding hiding the verdict, that’s a bit more complicated. Supreme verdict doesn’t actually see that much play, so new opponents probably won’t see it coming until you actually cast the damn thing. If you start playing it consistently at weeklies or something then ya, people will see it coming. Part of the beauty of verdict though is that there isn’t a whole lot they can do about it regardless. With respect to actually hiding the card from discard, keeping a brainstorm online at all times is your best bet.

I think you’re also asking about what to do against a resolved leovold if you don’t have answers in hand. Honestly, once you’re in this position there isn’t a whole lot you can do other than pray. But you can take measures to try and prevent yourself from ever being put in that position. First I get thoughtseize so I can just take potential leovolds outright. Second, thanks to collective brutality I get to run 3 more killspells. Brutality killing a DRS is good in this situation since it means you can save your STP for leovold, which isn’t great, but a 2-1 isn’t the end of the world. Third if it really goes bad I can FoW it.

Side note, you can cast ponder into a leovold, you get to re-arrange the cards, you just don’t get the draw. It doesn’t feel great, but if you’re in the hole it may be the only way out.

I think my game 2 and game 3 get a bit better, here’s how I’d SB:
-3 FoW(Terrible in this matchup)
-3 Thoughtseize(I’m iffy on this one, but it does tax your life total...?)
-1 Collective Brutality(Doesn’t kill Leovold and you get more efficient removal post board)
+2 Flusterstorm(Great against kommand/hymn/snapcaster)
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Path to Exile(No basics so this is STP on steroids)
+1 Unearth(They can’t really exile creatures so...)
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice(They usually have a lot of artifact hate)

There's even an argument to removing your stoneforge package altogether to combat kommand. They'll probably sideboard in more kommands so the value of those goes down. Ive tried this once or twice to some success, but i'm not sure if its correct. Doing this would probably give me access to 3 surgical extraction which can blank their snapcasters.

On a spicier note, since I do run a lot of basics, I’ve contemplated playing 2 back to basics in the SB. It hoses these matchups and the sol land matchups pretty handily. Playing it on a 3 color mana base does seem greedy though.



2) how do you value Search for Azcanta ? I am also currently testing the card.

Thx

Hard to say. Initial testing proves promising. Against wasteland decks it’s probably best left as a filter to dodge wasteland. And putting cards in my graveyard isn’t the worst thing since I play a lot of snapcasters.

That being said, if you do flip it and your opponent can’t deal with it, this thing is busted. Of note, it does in fact dodge Leovold since you LOOK at the top 4 cards, then PLACE one of them into your hand. The magic word “draw” doesn’t appear, so you get to make leovold look dumb. I’m actually pretty afraid that 4C control lists themselves will catch on and start running this card too.

I just need to put in more reps with this card before I have definitive opinion, but I do like it so far.

CptHaddock
01-17-2018, 11:38 AM
Hard to say. Initial testing proves promising. Against wasteland decks it’s probably best left as a filter to dodge wasteland. And putting cards in my graveyard isn’t the worst thing since I play a lot of snapcasters.

That being said, if you do flip it and your opponent can’t deal with it, this thing is busted. Of note, it does in fact dodge Leovold since you LOOK at the top 4 cards, then PLACE one of them into your hand. The magic word “draw” doesn’t appear, so you get to make leovold look dumb. I’m actually pretty afraid that 4C control lists themselves will catch on and start running this card too.

I just need to put in more reps with this card before I have definitive opinion, but I do like it so far.

I've actually really enjoyed having Azcanta in blade although i'm playing straight UW. It gets you a source of CA that doesn't just involve spewing things on the board. Which is useful when you're playing against some of the bigger control decks and in general just synergies with blue cards. Not sure what the right numbers are though.

sagagx
01-17-2018, 12:06 PM
Hard to say. Initial testing proves promising. Against wasteland decks it’s probably best left as a filter to dodge wasteland. And putting cards in my graveyard isn’t the worst thing since I play a lot of snapcasters.

That being said, if you do flip it and your opponent can’t deal with it, this thing is busted. Of note, it does in fact dodge Leovold since you LOOK at the top 4 cards, then PLACE one of them into your hand. The magic word “draw” doesn’t appear, so you get to make leovold look dumb. I’m actually pretty afraid that 4C control lists themselves will catch on and start running this card too.

I just need to put in more reps with this card before I have definitive opinion, but I do like it so far.



I've actually really enjoyed having Azcanta in blade although i'm playing straight UW. It gets you a source of CA that doesn't just involve spewing things on the board. Which is useful when you're playing against some of the bigger control decks and in general just synergies with blue cards. Not sure what the right numbers are though.

Thanks for your feedbacks. I agree that Search may be a good answer to Leovold by itself. Regarding you being afraid of opponents Search, I think you are right but it seems not that good in 4cc as their manabase is not ideal. Against Miracles, we may have issue dealing with Search.

That's why I open again the neverending subject, why do not play the red splash. Like you CptHaddock, I switched from esper to straight UW but without success. I had good results with esper, but with the current meta it's too difficult to play black IMHO. The loss of life of Thoughtseize and the manabase are difficult with the need of two white mana.

The red splash brings answers to Leovold, JTMS and Search post board, and you also have an easier pre board game with only 2 colors for your manabase.
I took this example as you (First_Revenge) are sideboarding out FoW and Thoughtseize against 4cc. I think that Jace may be too difficult to fight for esper.

What do you think ?

First_Revenge
01-17-2018, 01:16 PM
Thanks for your feedbacks. I agree that Search may be a good answer to Leovold by itself. Regarding you being afraid of opponents Search, I think you are right but it seems not that good in 4cc as their manabase is not ideal. Against Miracles, we may have issue dealing with Search.

I’m afraid of 4cc running it because it is super easy to cast. It costs 1U to cast, so their manabase won’t be a problem unless it somehow struggles to come up with a U mana. I’d honestly probably just cut 1-2 baleful strix and dump this in its place if I were playing 4cc.



That's why I open again the neverending subject, why do not play the red splash. Like you CptHaddock, I switched from esper to straight UW but without success. I had good results with esper, but with the current meta it's too difficult to play black IMHO. The loss of life of Thoughtseize and the manabase are difficult with the need of two white mana.

The red splash brings answers to Leovold, JTMS and Search post board, and you also have an easier pre board game with only 2 colors for your manabase.

Okay, this is a really big open ended question regarding the 3 stoneblade archetypes. Here’s how I think the 3 break down so maybe you understand why I’ve made the decisions I’ve made.

UW Blade-Strong because of its simplicity. Its manabase is virtually unassailable. It also gets to run 4 wasteland and back to basics to punish opposing greed piles. It really leans on countermagic since it lacks the utility of a splash color.

UWr Blade-IMO, you play this deck because red elemental blast exists. It’s a clean answer against almost any blue card except for a resolved TNN. You do get to play things like bolt/blood moon, but they’re really footnotes. The bad part is a slightly greedier manabase(it’s still perfectly manageable), and probably suffering a bit if you’re opponent doesn’t play blue.

UWB Blade-You play this for cards like thoughtseize which gives you more proactive gameplans. This build tends to have the least stable of the manabases because black is far more demanding of a splash color than red, especially once you start wanting to jam DRS in it. Black also gives you access to fatal push, which is great against all the delvers kicking around. UWB also leans less heavily on countermagic because of thoughtseize-esque cards.

Personally, I play UWB blade because it’s the only blade deck that gives you proactive information. A T1 thoughtseize lets you take their best card, and more importantly sculpt a game plan around what your opponent has in hand. UW and UWr are pretty much reactive decks that lean on countermagic. Consequently, you’re forced to play games in the dark, which could lead to a lot of misplays. My assumption is that for really skilled players like QK, this isn’t really a problem since they’re just straight up better players. But getting to lean on a thoughtseize as a crutch for perfect information really helps.

In regards to esper’s difficulty in the current meta, this partially why I’ve built the deck the way I have. I’ve cut the normal 2 wastelands for another plains and another island for 6 total basics, which is unusual for an esper list. The two basic plains also help me play color intensive spells like verdict. Supreme verdict is largely a reaction to delver decks, a sweeper that can’t be stopped in a deck full of basics is really good. Delver is the reason unearth is in the MD and SB. Delver decks don’t have STP. Unearthing a stoneforge mystic essentially forces them into another 2-1. Unearthing also lets you “bait” verdicts by committing a TNN to the board without really caring. Unearthing snapcasters is also hilarious as it gives you a discount on flashback spells, albeit at sorcery speed.

But to me collective brutality is really what holds my esper deck together and it’s why I continue to push so vocally for the card. It kills, it duresses, and it gains life to help offset a thoughtseize, and in general it’s never really bad. It’s an absolute house against burn and elves if you escalate it. Ben Friedman does a really good job at explain brutality’s power here if you’re interested. My deck in a lot of ways is derived from his list.
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/benfriedman-05262017-esper-stoneblade-and-dimir-garbage-in-legacy/

I do want to say that there likely isn’t a “correct” answer to this question. Play what you like, just know the strengths/weaknesses.



I took this example as you (First_Revenge) are sideboarding out FoW and Thoughtseize against 4cc. I think that Jace may be too difficult to fight for esper.

What do you think ?

Jace is rough, it’s kinda why i’m screwing around with sideboarding out the stoneforge plan altogether in an effort to blank their kommands. You could try this, but I don’t know if it’s correct or not:
-3 Stoneforge Mystic
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Batterskull
-1 Collective Brutality
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Unearth

First_Revenge
01-17-2018, 01:31 PM
I've actually really enjoyed having Azcanta in blade although i'm playing straight UW. It gets you a source of CA that doesn't just involve spewing things on the board. Which is useful when you're playing against some of the bigger control decks and in general just synergies with blue cards. Not sure what the right numbers are though.

I'm not sure either, its definitely 1 or 2. If i had to guess now i'd say its a 1 of. Miracles probably uses it better than we do and they're maxing out at 2.

EDIT: Sorry for the double post, meant to integrate it into the original post.

kahboom0225
01-17-2018, 02:54 PM
I am planning to run 4x wasteland in my U/W build. Any thoughts on crucible of worlds as a sideboard option?

sagagx
01-18-2018, 07:41 AM
I’m afraid of 4cc running it because it is super easy to cast. It costs 1U to cast, so their manabase won’t be a problem unless it somehow struggles to come up with a U mana. I’d honestly probably just cut 1-2 baleful strix and dump this in its place if I were playing 4cc.




Okay, this is a really big open ended question regarding the 3 stoneblade archetypes. Here’s how I think the 3 break down so maybe you understand why I’ve made the decisions I’ve made.

UW Blade-Strong because of its simplicity. Its manabase is virtually unassailable. It also gets to run 4 wasteland and back to basics to punish opposing greed piles. It really leans on countermagic since it lacks the utility of a splash color.

UWr Blade-IMO, you play this deck because red elemental blast exists. It’s a clean answer against almost any blue card except for a resolved TNN. You do get to play things like bolt/blood moon, but they’re really footnotes. The bad part is a slightly greedier manabase(it’s still perfectly manageable), and probably suffering a bit if you’re opponent doesn’t play blue.

UWB Blade-You play this for cards like thoughtseize which gives you more proactive gameplans. This build tends to have the least stable of the manabases because black is far more demanding of a splash color than red, especially once you start wanting to jam DRS in it. Black also gives you access to fatal push, which is great against all the delvers kicking around. UWB also leans less heavily on countermagic because of thoughtseize-esque cards.

Personally, I play UWB blade because it’s the only blade deck that gives you proactive information. A T1 thoughtseize lets you take their best card, and more importantly sculpt a game plan around what your opponent has in hand. UW and UWr are pretty much reactive decks that lean on countermagic. Consequently, you’re forced to play games in the dark, which could lead to a lot of misplays. My assumption is that for really skilled players like QK, this isn’t really a problem since they’re just straight up better players. But getting to lean on a thoughtseize as a crutch for perfect information really helps.

In regards to esper’s difficulty in the current meta, this partially why I’ve built the deck the way I have. I’ve cut the normal 2 wastelands for another plains and another island for 6 total basics, which is unusual for an esper list. The two basic plains also help me play color intensive spells like verdict. Supreme verdict is largely a reaction to delver decks, a sweeper that can’t be stopped in a deck full of basics is really good. Delver is the reason unearth is in the MD and SB. Delver decks don’t have STP. Unearthing a stoneforge mystic essentially forces them into another 2-1. Unearthing also lets you “bait” verdicts by committing a TNN to the board without really caring. Unearthing snapcasters is also hilarious as it gives you a discount on flashback spells, albeit at sorcery speed.

But to me collective brutality is really what holds my esper deck together and it’s why I continue to push so vocally for the card. It kills, it duresses, and it gains life to help offset a thoughtseize, and in general it’s never really bad. It’s an absolute house against burn and elves if you escalate it. Ben Friedman does a really good job at explain brutality’s power here if you’re interested. My deck in a lot of ways is derived from his list.
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/benfriedman-05262017-esper-stoneblade-and-dimir-garbage-in-legacy/

I do want to say that there likely isn’t a “correct” answer to this question. Play what you like, just know the strengths/weaknesses.



Jace is rough, it’s kinda why i’m screwing around with sideboarding out the stoneforge plan altogether in an effort to blank their kommands. You could try this, but I don’t know if it’s correct or not:
-3 Stoneforge Mystic
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Batterskull
-1 Collective Brutality
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Unearth

Ok I understand your points. I do not have enough data to contest Collective Brutality. It seems a good sideboard card to me more than a mandatory maindeck card. For example, I do not really agree with the article of Ben Friedman regarding D&T. It seems too expensive (and sorcery speed) to really benefit from Collective facing a T1 mother, T2 Thalia or when they are on their mana denial strategy. Burn is a good matchup for UW or UWr. I understand that Collective improve the matchup for esper.

About Search for 4cc, I mean they are already fighting Blood Moon, B2B, wastelands and so on. Transforming Search into another non-basic land seems not that great and Search never flipped is not great. It may be weaker than Night's Whisper for us. I may be wrong, it's true that transforming into a land, even a non-basic, may help against wasteland. I have more doubts post board for Blood Moon, B2B or From the Ashes.

Like I said, I played UW recently without good results, and Verdicts was the issue (for me). They are our only solution for delver decks but are weak against all the others. Too expensive, kill our TNN/SFM but you are probably right with Unearth. If you have to play Verdicts, Unearth seems really great.

Your sideboard plan against 4cc seems better this way. I think that Path should not be board in, as they are playing at least one swamp and one island.

Last thing regarding Unearth against Grixis Delver. My issue is more on fighting Cabal Therapy than protecting or resurect the SFM. Same thing post board, the issue is with Grudge. I mean I am fighting against the discard spells and grudge more than keeping SFM on the board. How do you value Unearth regarding this aspect of the matchup ?

By the way, thanks for your explanations so far, really appreciated.

Secretly.A.Bee
01-18-2018, 08:19 AM
So I've been thinking about the leovold issue also. I haven't played uwx blade control for quite some time, but with that new Warkite Marauder and a sofi or jitte, I think we are good, I'll be looking into it now. Heck, even without an equipment it still turns on your cantrips until eot. It's probably worth testing.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

JackaBo
01-18-2018, 11:24 AM
That's some pretty nice tech

First_Revenge
01-18-2018, 05:26 PM
So I've been thinking about the leovold issue also. I haven't played uwx blade control for quite some time, but with that new Warkite Marauder and a sofi or jitte, I think we are good, I'll be looking into it now. Heck, even without an equipment it still turns on your cantrips until eot. It's probably worth testing.

Maybe I’m not understanding this right, but doesn’t warkite marauder trigger leovold as you have to target him? If this is the case doesn’t this give the same end result as plowing leovold, albeit in a more roundabout manner?



It seems a good sideboard card to me more than a mandatory maindeck card. For example, I do not really agree with the article of Ben Friedman regarding D&T.

No problem, I enjoy writing this stuff and it helps crystalize things that I learn. Sometimes I worry I write too much and fall into the TLDR category.

I’ll disagree with the sideboard notion. To me sideboard cards are ridiculously costed answers to specific problems. Surgical extraction and flusterstorm are great examples of this. In the right situations they’re back breaking, in most other situations they’re useless. Collective brutality is an overcosted answer to many problems. It’s a second line removal spell to STP while simultaneously being a second line discard spell to thoughseize. There are simply more efficient SB cards you should be using instead of brutality.

I will agree with the D&T sentiment, brutality is pretty bad. My deck in general isn’t that great against D&T. To put it bluntly, I’ve built my deck around supreme verdict/collective brutality in an effort to combat aggro decks. But D&T isn’t really an aggro deck, it’s a prison deck dressed like an aggro deck. So basically the two cards I’ve built my deck around don’t actually work. Thankfully I don’t have to play D&T a lot in my local meta, I think I played it maybe 4-5 times last year? At that rate I’ll just begrudgingly chalk it up as a bad matchup and move on. If it did start becoming a serious contender in the local meta, I’d probably just start boarding in 2-3 dread of night and just be done with it. As Mike Ehrmantraut says, “No half measures.”



Transforming Search into another non-basic land seems not that great and Search never flipped is not great. It may be weaker than Night's Whisper for us.

I’ll disagree that search never flipped is not great. The obvious part being in the late game you can stop yourself from drawing excess lands/useless spells. The more complicated/situational answer is going to hinge on how many snapcasters you happen to run. If you run 3-4 snaps, at some point you start viewing the graveyard as an extension of your hand. So tossing potentially useful spells into the yard knowing you can snap them back at will, and then taking what amounts to an extra card maybe isn’t such a bad idea.

It can also let you fetch a bit more greedily I suppose. If you’re opponent is staring down a search they’re probably not going to want to waste your duals.


Last thing regarding Unearth against Grixis Delver. My issue is more on fighting Cabal Therapy than protecting or resurect the SFM. Same thing post board, the issue is with Grudge. I mean I am fighting against the discard spells and grudge more than keeping SFM on the board. How do you value Unearth regarding this aspect of the matchup ?

Everything I’m saying here is theoretical since I haven’t played against grixis delver with this list.

Before I start, a mini soap box, IMO the real problem card in grixis delver is gitaxian probe. It tells them exactly what’s up for no cost, so surprise cards like verdict lose value. It allows for busted plays with therapy/pyromancer. And it gives perfect information to a deck looking to kill you in 2-3 turns. And you can’t really even stop it, you need to save your spell pierce for things like therapy.

Game 1 the plan depends on the opening hand, and it really helps if you go first. Key thing to remember, just assuming everything in your hand costs 1 more to play around daze. If you can force them to FoW your spells it’s much better. They probably won’t use daze on your cantrips unless you really telegraph it’s a desperation play. Generally you’re looking to survive the early turns, then leverage your card quality in the late game. You don’t have to worry so much about artifact hate G1, but I do use my FoW/spell pierce to deal with therapy.

If I get a ton of point removal, it’s fairly straightforward, kill everything, but slow it down by a turn to play around daze. So it’ll be something like T2 STP into T3 collective brutality, fetching basics as much as humanly possible along the way.

If I get a hand with supreme verdict I definitely start sculpting a gameplan around it. You definitely want a brainstorm in such a hand to try and hide the verdict if possible. This hand definitely has a bit of a balancing act to it. You want to get maximum value out of verdict, but at the same time you can’t just leave grixis delver to its own devices for 4 turns so you should use some point removal. In situations where I know I can cast verdict eventually, I like to kill DRS and delver with point removal. I like sweeping up pyromancer/gurmag with verdict because they both require a level of “investment” which makes a verdict more powerful. TNN also falls under this umbrella for obvious reasons.

There’s also middle of the road hands with ponders/brainstorms. In this case what you do depends on what your cantrips. You’ll either draw into point removal or maybe dig a verdict out. If your opener doesn’t look like either of these three cases it’s probably a mulligan.

Game 1 unearth is great, assuming you can find it. They don’t have as much artifact hate so unearth SFM can be profitable. Using discard to attack equipment can be a bit trickier, other than countermagic or tucking it with a brainstorm I’m not sure what else you can do. It also lets you cast TNN more freely, casting TNN with 1 mana open forces them to use FoW. On the follow up turn, unearthing it for 1 forces them to FoW again, if they can even do it. Snapping back unearth is just gravy.

For games 2 and 3 here’s what I do:
-3 Thoughtseize
-1 Council’s Judgement(assuming they have daze this ends up costing the same as verdict, too slow)
-3 FoW
-1 Jace(Good late game engine, but probably too slow for this matchup)
+2 Flusterstorm(stops the discard/artifact hate)
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Unearth
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice(redundancy vs artifact hate)
+1 Supreme Verdict

You really want to drag the game long, drain grixis of resources, then force them to live off the top of their library. This SB plan turns my deck into a pile of removal spells that will trade at minimum 1-1 with their critters. Snapcaster mage, unearth, and playing around daze are value plays that force grixis into 2-1 scenarios. Once you get them into top deck mode, they have the potential to draw a lot of bad cards. Daze, FoW, Bolt(depending on your life) are pretty bad. Depending on the board state even drawing delver and pyromancer can be bad. Eventually you’ll stick a TNN, SFM, or Jace they can’t deal with and you’ll win.

I am still legitimately scared of a probe/therapy as it is one of the few ways grixis has of trading with us at an unfavorable rate. I prioritize this for countermagic

Accept that you will probably to lose 2 equipment in this game. Fetch the least valuable stuff first, like SoFi, and counter the first half of ancient grudge since the flashback cost is harder to stop with pierce/flusterstorm.

Unearth is still just as good in G2 and G3. Unearthing TNN dodges red elemental blast, and its B manacost just about guarantees they’ll have to dump a FoW to stop it. Things they might bring in like marsh casualties aren’t that big of a deal either as they just keep putting TNN back in the yard to reanimated.

Secretly.A.Bee
01-20-2018, 06:20 PM
Maybe I’m not understanding this right, but doesn’t warkite marauder trigger leovold as you have to target him? If this is the case doesn’t this give the same end result as plowing leovold, albeit in a more roundabout manner?

No, I agree you aren't. They get one card. Then their Leo is a 0/1 with no abilities. If your Warkite Marauder has an equipment attached that isn't batterskull, then Leo is dead. If it's not, your cantrips, removal and discard are all still turned on until EOT. Then, you can cantrip, find removal and end him. Its good against a lot more than that though. Anyway, I hope you can find a way to see what I see, but if not, don't fret. I'm sure someone will show you on camera someday, because I'm pretty sure this is the next good blue creature in a string of good blue creatures that have ended up being exactly amazing in this beautiful format.

First_Revenge
01-22-2018, 10:11 AM
Spent some time thinking on this as a SB card.


Its good against a lot more than that though. Anyway, I hope you can find a way to see what I see, but if not, don't fret.

What other circumstances? I could see it being okay against delver, and maybe marit lage if you can get them to make at sorcery speed. Probably decent against something like MUD? Is there something i'm missing?

My continual problem is that i just don't see how this is better than something like fatal push in the SB. Fatal push seems to do most of what marauder wants to do at the half the cost and at instant speed.

Maybe its just something i have to see on camera to understand fully.

CptHaddock
01-22-2018, 10:44 AM
What other circumstances? I could see it being okay against delver, and maybe marit lage if you can get them to make at sorcery speed. Probably decent against something like MUD? Is there something i'm missing?

My continual problem is that i just don't see how this is better than something like fatal push in the SB. Fatal push seems to do most of what marauder wants to do at the half the cost and at instant speed.

Maybe its just something i have to see on camera to understand fully.

Everything about it just seems really mediocre, I guess it pitches to force of will so that is a plus. This seems just like the karakas interaction but instead of having the potential upside of locking your opponent out blood moon/b2b or wasting them off a colored source you are just drawing them a card. I think that stoneblade has a lot of tools to deal with Leovold i.e. removal, counterspells, discard but it's just a matter of drawing/sequencing things correctly. Sometimes Leovold resolves and there is nothing you can do about but that is why he's the best hatebear they've ever printed.


Thanks for your feedbacks. I agree that Search may be a good answer to Leovold by itself. Regarding you being afraid of opponents Search, I think you are right but it seems not that good in 4cc as their manabase is not ideal. Against Miracles, we may have issue dealing with Search.

That's why I open again the neverending subject, why do not play the red splash. Like you CptHaddock, I switched from esper to straight UW but without success. I had good results with esper, but with the current meta it's too difficult to play black IMHO. The loss of life of Thoughtseize and the manabase are difficult with the need of two white mana.

The red splash brings answers to Leovold, JTMS and Search post board, and you also have an easier pre board game with only 2 colors for your manabase.
I took this example as you (First_Revenge) are sideboarding out FoW and Thoughtseize against 4cc. I think that Jace may be too difficult to fight for esper.

What do you think ?

I like blasts but I found UWr to be really mediocre outside of that. Outside of that I think that all blade decks have a lot of tools for dealing with the 4c matchup. You can try to out CA them with cards like night's whispers or try to go over/wide with planeswalkers. I like being way more proactive with discard, against the bigger control decks in the format I think that snagging a card early is one of the best ways to interact with them. I was trying esper for a while but I couldn't find a build that didn't feel clunky. I'll try the build that first_revenge posted, it looks like is solving a lot of the problems that I was having with my lists.

I feel like a lot of the time when I lose to cards like JTMS, i'm really losing to the cards that lead up to JTMS. If you're looking for another answer to all of these cards Vindicate is a classic.

ItsCliche
01-23-2018, 10:16 AM
I’ve been lurking these forums for quite some time, but never actually post. But, I figured as the lone Stoneblade player in the top 32, I’d make an account and share my experience this weekend.

So let me start off by saying I had every intention of playing 4cc this tournament, but due to some troubles at the post office, (thankfully) I was forced to play Jeskai Stoneblade. This was my first large Legacy event (I had played in some GP/SCG side events, multiple MTGO events, etc.) so I was a little nervous with my teams hopes and dreams riding on me making good decisions in a format where every little decision matters. I don’t have the exact sideboard plan for each matchup, as I didn’t write it down throughout the tourney, but here’s a quick rundown of each match. Remember this was a team Open, so not every match was finished.

Decklist for Reference: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=118334

Rd 1 Grixis Delver - No Finish (1-1, Close game 3, probably lose)
We sit down round 1, by opponent plays Scalding Tarn into Usea into Delver. Grixis Delver is the most played legacy deck, so I was definitely prepared to play this matchup multiple times. He wins game 1 pretty handedly off the back of a Young Pyromancer and some cheap interaction. Game 2 I kill his turn 1 DRS, land a Blood Moon on turn 3, and he scoops to the Batterskull. Game 3 is not going great when both my teammates finish up their matches in a loss. Hate to start the tournament 0-1, but what can you do.

Rd 2 Burn – Win
This is actually a matchup I thought I might face multiple times in the early rounds, and I was correct. I’d expect a higher amount of budget decks in the early rounds of a team tournament anyway, but SCG DFW was changed last minute to a Team Open, so I kind of predicted even more budget decks. This matchup feels pretty good for Stoneblade, so I didn’t feel the need to devote any sideboard slots for this particular matchup. I don’t remember many details from game 1, but I won. Game 2 we both mull to 6, my hand is Force, Force, Spell Pierce, Swords, Ponder, and Stoneforge. He chooses to mull to 5, I show my hand to my teammate asking what he thinks, he jokingly does the “snap keep” snap. I look at him and say “Nah, I think I’m gonna keep it, he’s going to 5”. I scry a True-Name to the bottom, and peel the flooded strand off the top. I miss my land drop the next turn, but then draw into a basic island and I’m firing on all cylinders.

Rd 3 Elves – Win
Wasn’t expecting a ton of Elves, but Jitte and 6 1 mana removal spells are pretty solid against the tiny green men. Game 1 my opponent mulls to 5, plays bayou into Deathrite. My initial instinct was that this was a bad 4cc hand, I had no 1 mana spot removal spells in my opener, so I force the Deathrite. He then plays a turn two Visionary and I feel kind of silly. That might or might not have been the correct play anyway when my opponent mulls to 5, but I’m thinking it was incorrect. I win game 1 with a True-Name and Jitte. Game two I have a True-Name with a Batterskull trying to race a Progenitus, but no luck. Game 3 I have a Stone-Forge with a Jitte and SoFI on her going to town, an Ethersworn Canonist sitting on the battlefield, with a ridiculous hand which at one time had 3 forces, 1 ponder, 2 counter spells, and a containment priest in it.

Rd 4 Burn – Win
Again, playing against a pretty good matchup. I could tell my opponent was a bit new and possibly wasn’t sure what Jitte did, as he let me attack with a Snapcaster wielding one when he had a bolt in hand. I win game 1, game 2 he lands a sulfuric vortex and I’m feeling a little uneasy. I draw a bolt and already had a snap in hand, and actually just ended up racing him. Playing 7 basics is very nice against Price of Progress.

Rd 5 Grixis Delver – Win
I generally think Stoneblade decks are at it’s best when it just gets to play control and then land a threat. Game 1 of this matchup was anything but that. He’s on the play and plays a turn 1 DRS, I turn 1 swords it, he dazes, I FOW, it resolves. This was a very aggressive line, but I had this gut feeling his hand was soft. I played Stone-Forge on 2 grabbing SoFI, True-Name on 3, Activate Stone-Forge and Equip to TNN on 4, and aggressively beat him down. Game two I land an early blood moon and the game is over.

Rd 6 Esper Stoneblade - No Finish (1-0, I was way ahead game 2)
At this point I’m feeling really confident after rattling off quite a few match wins in a row. We’re at table 9 and feeling good. My opponent plays a turn one creeping-tar pit and I think “uhhhh, is this guy about to cast Shardless Agent on me? What year is it?” Then he plays a beautiful Beta Tundra (all of his duals were Alpha/Beta and the rest of the deck foil… jealous!), and then it makes sense that he’s on Esper Stoneblade. We play a 35-minute game 1 which I eventually grind out. We’re about 10 turns deep into game 2 when both of my teammates inform us they’ve lost. Womp womp, streak down.

Rd 7 BR Reanimator – Win
When we sit down for the match, my opponent has one of those deck boxes that have a see-through portion and I can see a defense grid. I feel like my unfair matchups aren’t great, so I’m thinking this is where it all heads south for me. My opponent was an older gentleman who made some questionable/loose plays. He plays turn one badands into dark rit into thoughtseize and I’m sitting here looking at my hand of 3 lands, counterspell, stoneforge, force, and a ponder. I don’t think I’m suppose to Force here, so I show him my hand and tell him to finish me off. He passes the turn and I’m completely shocked. I ponder into another Force of Will and somehow manage to win this matchup 2-0. In game two he had a Sire of Insanity and Chancellor in the graveyard, he knows I have a swords in my hand and instead of reanimating the chancellor and letting me kill that, he reanimates the Sire and lets me kill that, obviously before my end step.

Rd 8 Eldrazi Stompy – Win
Game 1 my opponent is on the play, turn 1 chalice on 0 and then ancient tomb into chalice on 1, which I force. I don’t necessarily think that’s the best line for him, but I suppose it stops him from getting turn 1’d by an unfair deck. I don’t really remember all the details of this match other than all 3 games he had chalice on 1 turn 1, and I had Force of Will all 3 games. Later in game 3 he Sorcerer Spyglasses my Stoneforge, then cast a chalice on 2 (I’m not sure why you don’t chalice on 1 or 3 personally, considering Stoneforge is already locked down). I eventually race an 8/8 endless one with a Clique carrying a Batterskull.

Rd 9 BUG Delver - Loss
Last round of Day 1, at this point as a team we’re sitting at 6-2, so Day 2 is already locked. BUG Delver is in my opinion a terrible matchup. A lot of threats that have to be answered, Abrupt Decay that can’t be played around, True-Name and Lili are threats that my deck has very few answers for anyway, and Hymn to really make my life miserable. Neither of these games were particularly close, however I really punted game 2 when I had a chance to stabilize (I fetched incorrectly to not have double white for verdict, however he had a lili the last hope on the field and drew the LotV that same turn, so unlikely I’m winning from there anyway)

Rd 10 Sneak and Show – Win
Round 1 of Day 2. Feeling pretty good about my overall performance from the previous day, but aware that today’s opponents should overall be a bit better. We get paired up against some of the local grinders that I was vaguely aware of. I hear him talking about picking up sneak attacks for a good price before the match starts, so when he led with a turn 1 volcanic into preordain I was fairly certain what I was up against. My hand was pretty good and I eventually got there as he kept drawing payoff spells, but no protection. Game 2 he mulls to 3, and at that point finishing the game is a formality for me. The more entertaining part of the match was the huge judge call/spat over in our standard match, where they essentially called my buddy a cheater for marking his energy incorrectly. I’ve known the guy since 3rd grade (I’m 27 now lol) and throughout that time have never once seen the guy cheat or do anything unethical in anything in life, much less magic. There’s even been points in magic tournaments where I’ve thought he was too nice/forgiving of opponents in a competitive environment, so it’s hard to believe he was being malicious here. The judge ruled in our favor and the local Dallas grinders were complete dicks the rest of the match.

Rd 11 Infect – Win
Not a matchup I was expecting a ton of, but turn 1 Inkmoth kind of gives it away. The dudes deck was beautiful, completely foiled out and Japanese. I honestly don’t think I’ve played more than 1 match against this deck ever, but it feels pretty favored for me. Game 1 I get a jitte on a stoneforge mystic and at one point have 4 counters on my jitte, eventually winning by bolting my opponent and pumping the stoneforge. Game 2 is very similar with a grim lavamancer to add to the embarrassment of riches.

Rd 12 Lands – Loss
This was against the eventual tournament winners, and a pretty good lands player. I don’t have a ton of experience in this matchup, but I’m familiar with the deck. I lose game one after taking forever to find a TNN. Game 2 I land a Blood Moon and he has no access to green mana, easily ride a batterskull to victory. Game 3 my opener has blood moon, stoneforge, 3 fetch lands, force of will, and blue card and I’m feeling really good. At this point my teammates have split 1-1, so a ton of pressure riding on this game and I had the dream opener. He plays basic forest into mox and I quickly realize this blood moon isn’t going to be nearly as good as I want it to be. I land the Blood Moon and just hope he doesn’t have the k-grip. I draw a surgical and surgical his loam and see he has K-grip, a tireless tracker, and he already has a Dark Depths on the field with no counters thanks to my Blood Moon, gg boys.

Rd 13 BUG Delver - No Finish
I don’t really remember a ton about this match. I know game 1 he wrecked me with a Hymn into Lili and I never really had a chance. Game 2 he kind of over extends to four threats on the board (one being a TNN) when I had Verdict in hand. Both of my teammates had lost, I had a Clique on the field with a Nahiri in hand, and he had a Delver on the field with no cards in hand. No clue how it would have played out, but that matchup feels awful so game 3 probably goes in his favor anyway.

Rd 14 No Show
Kind of weird that a team no-showed this late in the tournament with prizing still available, but we waited our 10 minutes and then went and did a little trading. I got to pick up a sweet invention sword of feast and famine so I can’t complain.

Rd 15 Merfolk – Win
Going into this round, we knew we needed to win to possibly top 12, but a win would guarantee a top 16. My opponent leads on Mutavault into Aether Vial. I’m looking at this lovely spell pierce in my hand that would’ve been sweet had I won the die roll. I’m assuming merfolk as they’re the only deck I know in legacy that plays Mutavaults and Aether Vials. My first ponder shows a verdict, so I’m feeling pretty confident at this point. I use all my spot removal on his mutavaults. He plays a True-Name, vials in a phantasmal image copying the True-Name, and I cast verdict. He scoops em up. Game 2 he mulls to 5 I believe, and it wasn’t particularly close. Unfortunately, my two teammates didn’t have the same luck, as they both lost in 3.

I personally finished 10-2, with the team going 9-6, good for 24th place.

Overall, I had a complete blast playing in the team event. If you’ve never played in a team tournament, you’re really missing out on some of the most fun you can have playing Magic. As for the deck choice, I’m pretty glad the USPS didn’t get my underground seas to me on time to switch to 4cc. I didn’t feel like a dog in really any of the matchups (except maybe BR reanimator where I kept my butt clinched the first couple of turns), and felt like I got quite lucky in pairings to play in a lot of matchups where Jitte is really good. If I had to run it back, I’m not even sure I’d make any changes to the deck list except possibly trying to find room for another Tundra.

First_Revenge
01-23-2018, 01:41 PM
Congratulations on the great finish cliché!

A new week, some minor changes. -1 Supreme Verdict in the main deck, replaced by 1 Sorin Lord of innistrad. My deck feels threat light, and the lifelink is relevant. In the main deck I removed 1 thoughtsieze for an inquisition of kozilek. In the sideboard I removed 1 meddling mage for 1 inquisition of kozilek. This is because esper is quite life intensive, a good number of my wins come down to 3-5 life remaining. Thoughtseize has also been awkward in delver matchups where they really pressure your life total. Crack fetch/thoughtseize against delver decks is essentially handing them a free lightning bolt. I’ve normally sided them out for this reason but I did miss the information the card gave. Inquisition sidesteps this problem. Meddling mage got cut in the SB because it felt a lot like living in a glass house. I’ve never truly felt safe with him in play. He’s still a super solid card though, I may have to roll this change back down the road.

Match 1
UR Delver(0-2 Loss)
Game 1:
I feel like I got some pretty bad luck here. I start the hand with snapcaster, brainstorm, pierce, and lands. He does end up playing 2 stifles, but I have enough basics to develop a manabase. The problem ends up being that I can’t find any removal over the next 3 turns and delver/burn spells end up killing me off.

Game 2:
-3 FoW
-2 Jace(too slow, and red blasts are problematic)
-2 Thoughtseize
-1 Search for Azcanta
+2 Flusterstorm(deal with stifle)
+1 Unearth
+1 Inquizition of Kozilek
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Supreme Verdict


More bad luck. Keep a good hand of basics, some removal, brainstorm. We trade resources for a while, then when I brainstorm to find some more gas I find 3 tundras, and I have no way to shuffle. He sticks a threat the next turn and I end up dying because of the horrific brainstorm.

Match 2: Burn(2-0 Win)
Pretty much same as least week, collective brutality sees me through. I do win a race under a resolved sulfuric vortex with 2 TNNs. To be fair, my opponent did appear to be drawing quite poorly.

Match 3: Grixis Delver(1-2 Loss)
Not really sure what to make of this loss. I thought I’d be more prepared, but both losses were to resolved TNNs so shaving a verdict may have been a mistake.

Game 1:
I handily crush him. I have all the removal in the world, then in the late game I resolve a jace and run away with it. Importantly, I find out he runs stifle.

Game 2:
-2 Jace(too slow, pyroblast is a problem)
-2 Thoughtseize
-3 FoW
-1 Search for Azcanta
+2 Flusterstorm(deal with stifle)
+1 Unearth
+1 Inquizition of Kozilek
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Supreme Verdict

Sideboard plan is identical to UR plan, the decks largely behave the same. Pierce/flusterstorm are even more important in stopping both stifle and cabal therapy.
I make one mistake I’m aware of. Against a grim lavamancer on board and a known hand of stifle, brainstorm, flusterstorm, unknown card I cast collective brutality. My plan is to take stifle as it really screws with a lot of cards, jitte/SFM/batterskull for example. I have only one other card in hand, spell pierce. The question is whether I escalate it by pitching pierce or protect my brutality with pierce. I have plenty of land so the flusterstorm/daze tax isn’t a problem. The real concern is my opponent brainstorm a FoW and countering me. I end up playing it safe, and keep the pierce back. I grab the stifle, but as a consequence the lavamancer gets to live and probably deals me 4-6 damage over its lifetime. This lost life ends up costing me down the road.

This game goes very long, I deal with all his threats, and I’m even snapcaster mage flashing back supreme verdict at this point. I cast sorin in a bid to stabilize at 2 life, but it simply isn’t enough. His grim lavamancer/DRS kill me.

Game 3:
Another heartbreaker. We trade resources early, and so on. The real backbreaker ends up coming on turn 4 or 5. I have jace in hand that I want to resolve to win the game. The previous turn I had cast collective brutality and inquisition taking FoW and daze, but leaving him a brainstorm. I have 3 basics in play, with a tundra in hand as land number 4. My opponent has 2 volcs and a wasteland, I’m assuming he’ll waste the tundra as soon as he sees it, so I really only have one shot at this jace. I attempt to cast the jace, he brainstorms finds daze and counters it. I lose pretty much on the spot after that.

Match 4: Concede
I end up getting paired up against a friend who is 2-1. Since I’m 1-2 I just snap concede so he can prize out, he plays the eldrazi post deck so I didn’t really like my odds anyway. End up playing a burn deck for fun.


General note, I did miss the 2nd supreme verdict maindeck, I’ll probably slot that back in. I did like the inquizitions a lot so those will stay.
I’m thinking seriously about going down to 1 jace. Pyroblasts/low to the ground decks are making him awkward. Jace is still an amazing card, he just hasn’t been the slam dunk win he used to be I guess. Not sure what replaces him if anything at all. Liliana the Last Hope is possible, but her BB means I play into wastelands. Kaya has potential since her -1 gains life. But now that I’m aware of how tight life margins can be, her 0 ability costing 2 life is a significant turn off.
Search for Azcanta is probably out. Its soft to pyroblast and wasteland, both of which I have in abundance over here. And its flip side is pretty good, but it does cost a LOT.

Another thing I’m noticing more is how important DRS green gainlife ability was now that I don’t have it anymore. At least in my play, esper seems to have a chronic problem of stabilizing at very low life totals, then dying to a random top decked lightning bolt. Not sure what the solution to this problem is.

ClimbGneiss
01-23-2018, 06:59 PM
Hello Everyone! Long time no post! ~6 months?

Anyway, here's what I think I'll be running out, let me know your thoughts:

4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Baleful Strix
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
=15

4 Swords to Plowshare
2 Fatal Push
3 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality
=11

4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
4 Force of Will
=10

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Engineered Explosives
=3

Lands:
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
3 Underground Sea
2 Tundra
2 Scrubland
2 Island
1 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Karakas
1 Academy Ruins


SIDEBOARD:
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Flusterstorm
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Liliana the Last Hope
2 Council's Judgment
1 Vendilion Clique


Some notes:
- I'm at 61 cards, I'm considering cutting a single Stoneforge Mystic, but I'm worried I'll be threat light.
- I'm very excited about Liliana the Last Hope. I think she improves our control matchups (new Miracles, 4-color control) because she is a must answer that they will have to devote resources to. If she ever ultimates, we can work on preventing them from racing as the multiplying zombies will be incredibly hard for them to deal with.
- I chose to go light on main deck counter magic. It feels like combo is somewhat more sparse (in paper) right now. If anything, I would cut the two Collective Brutality for 2 Spell Pierce, but I think the discard ability of CB does a good job approximating Countermagic until you reach the post board games and it's versatility helps bolster other random matchups, like Burn.
- I wanted to run 2 Lingering Souls, but couldn't find the room. I might still run 2. The likely cuts would be -1 True-Name Nemesis and -1 Collective Brutality? Less sure about the CB.
- I wanted to run 2 Wasteland, but I decided that 2 colorless sources plus 4 Main Deck basics might screw up our first 2 or 3 turns. I tried to be resilient to wasteland and to be able to cast my True-Names and Jaces on T3 and T4.
- The 1x EE main and side feel very important. I am not the hugest fan of Supreme Verdict as we often have to wipe away a creature of ours. Maybe I'll go back to having Verdicts. My thinking is that we most typically want to clear away Angels, Monks and Elementals - all can be killed with a EE at zero, True-Names and Leovolds, which can technically be hit with an EE, and decks like Elves which EE is effective against, as well.
- I prefer Sorin, Lord of Innistrad to Gideon, Ally of Zendikar but I'm thinking that the Gideon emblem might be important to preserving our infinite x/1s. I will probably audible back to Sorin, because I love the lifelink, I like that Sorin ticks up to create a token creature and it's ultimate is corner-case awesome (mostly versus new Miracles).

First_Revenge
01-24-2018, 12:12 PM
Looking at your list, damn you must play a lot of creature decks. The reason I say this is you run 4 STP, 2 Fatal Push, 2 Collective Brutality, and 3 Baleful Strix. I find myself agreeing with the viewpoint that Baleful Strix is essentially a conditional removal spell that trades at 2-1. Essentially to me, this means your deck is running 11 maindeck kill spells, which is a very large amount.

I’ve found mixing in 1 or 2 inquitizitions with your thoughtseize suite is helpful, especially if you aren’t bumping into a lot of combo decks. The 2 life you pay with thoughtseize is really consequential, especially in esper where life margins can be razor thin.

Don’t really like karakas. I’ve moved away from it due to it being a non fetchable plains that is susceptible to wasteland/blood moon. Its real strong suit is strength against combo decks, but if you aren’t encountering those maybe this isn’t such a good idea?

I used to be on the 4 Brainstorm and 2 Ponder suite, I’ve since gone up to 3 ponder, it does give a lot of consistency and another way to shuffle yourself out of bad situations.

I’ve also cut down to 3 FoW. Like you I’m encountering less combo, so having 4 FoW is relatively unnecessary, considering moving the 4th copy to the SB.




- I wanted to run 2 Lingering Souls, but couldn't find the room. I might still run 2. The likely cuts would be -1 True-Name Nemesis and -1 Collective Brutality? Less sure about the CB.


I think you have an overabundance of killspells. I’d go -1 Strix and -1 Fatal push.



I am not the hugest fan of Supreme Verdict as we often have to wipe away a creature of ours. Maybe I'll go back to having Verdicts.


If you go back a page and look at my list you’ll notice that I run unearth, which is largely meant as a way around this very problem. I’m a huge fan of fire and forget spells like verdict given all the daze/pierce/FoW running around in delver decks. Unearth lets you bait the board then wipe it with a verdict from relative safety. Since most of our creatures are 2-1s, unearth is usually a 2-1 play.

First_Revenge
02-01-2018, 01:24 PM
Made some fairly significant changes based on some feedback I got.

I’m down to 1 thoughtseize largely as a meta call. I can’t remember the last time I encountered sneak and show in my meta. I am however, drowning in delvers/aggro decks so kozilek is better. If this changes, then the number of thoughtseizes shifts up.

Cut search for azcanta. Too many pyroblasts/wastelands running around. The land half of it was great, but more often than not I’d be staring at an opposing wasteland unsure if I should flip it. The impulse ability is great, but basically meant I was doing nothing else that turn. Card is fantastic in miracles, but it feels mediocre in stoneblade.

Down to 1 Jace in the main. Did this to make room for other threats. Not sure if this is right or not. Liliana acts as a “killspell” and Sorin will hopefully help stabilize. There are also a lot of pyroblasts running around so jace can be iffy to keep in play/resolve.

Intuition is another spice card I put in my list. It seems like we can generate a lot of value piles with the card with snapcaster/unearth/relevant card. Lingering souls could potentially add to this plan, but I couldn’t really find the space and I’m not sure if it’s worth it.

Supreme verdict is back as a 2 of maindeck, I missed it last week.

Gideon has been added to this list to combat grindy decks like pile or other blade mirrors. He’s fairly experimental though, not sure if he’ll be a permanent fixture.

Council’s judgment has shifted to the sideboard. It felt clunky in the main deck. If I need it do deal with random stuff in my opponents deck I’ll bring it in.


Lands-21
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-9
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-26
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Spell Pierce
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Thoughtseize
1 Unearth
1 Intuition

Artifacts-2
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

Planeswalkers-3
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Liliana, the Last Hope

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Fatal Push
1 Containment Priest
1 Path to Exile
1 Council’s Judgment
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Pretty poor 1-3 performance last night, feel like i got unlucky in a few spots, but definitely made some mistakes.

Match 1: Burn(0-2 Loss)
Same deck as previous weeks so I won’t go too much into detail. Game 1 I’m about to turn the corner and land jace to stabilize. But he topdecks sulfuric vortex. I’m at 5, he’s at 19, GG.

Game 2 I don’t remember much, he had a good hand and I guess mine was mediocre.

Match 2: UR Delver(0-2 Loss)

Game 1:
Heartbreaker, one where I definitely felt I got unlucky. We 1-1 a lot, and eventually I put him on a young pyromancer and a bunch of tokens. I get stuck on 3 lands for 3 turns with a supreme verdict in hand. Had I been able to deploy the verdict I’m pretty convinced I could have won that game.

Game 2:
-1 Thoughtseize
-3 Force of Will
-1 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
-1 Collective Brutality
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm

Not sure if boarding out jace is correct or not, I assume they bring in pyroblasts for him so I generally yank him. This game opens as normal I deal with 1 or 2 opening threats. He starts going wide with pyromancer again, but I’m not terribly nervous as I have verdict in hand with 3 lands in play. On his endstep I brainstorm to find the 4th. It’s a polluted delta, tundra, and something else. I end up putting a spell, then tundra on top. My intent is to draw the spell, crack the delta, then play the verdict to shuffle away the extra tundra. My major mistake is that I forgot he plays stifle. Polluted delta gets stifled and now I’m a turn away from deploying verdict. Had I just taken the tundra I could have deployed verdict and ignored stifle. I think he deploys a wasteland as well, knocking my verdict well out of reach.

Match 3: Storm(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
Haven’t played against this deck in a long time. Game 1 I roll him up on the back of two collective brutalities. I take his tutors and he can’t find anything else to keep himself going. Stoneforge and batterskull close it up from there.

Game 2:
-3 TNN
-2 STP(Keep in case he runs Xantid Swarm)
-1 Unearth
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Liliana the Last Hope
+2 Flusterstorm
+3 Surgical Extraction
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Sword of Fire and ice
+1 Force of Will

Probably one of the most miserable games of magic I’ve ever played. This game goes to probably turn 15. I fend off his initial onslaught and draw all the countermagic in the world, but I can’t find any sort of clock to pressure him. Eventually he rebuilds and busts through all my hate. I burn through 3 cantrips, literally seeing nothing but 3 lands each time.

Match 3:
Pretty much an easy win. My opponent mulligans down to 5, then gets mana screwed, he’s stuck on a single island and all his spells are black. SFM and Sword get there and wrap this one up.


Game 4: DnT(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
Ends up being a heartbreaker. Trade resources early, he has mom, batterskull(with germ), and revoker on jace. I’m at 3 life with 2 TNN on board I attempt to deploy sorin and create at 1/1 Token so the germ can’t attack profitably. His last card is a STP, enough to push the token through and end me.

Game 2:
-1 Thoughtseize
-1 Force of Will
-3 Collective Brutality(kinda clunky against thalia)
-1 Unearth(Bad against STP)
1 Fatal Push
1 Containment Priest
1 Path to Exile
1 Council’s Judgment
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives

True name gets to carry the jitte in. He attempts to cataclysm, but it doesn’t get TNN/jitte off the board.

Game 3:
Start out with a land heavy hand, which isn’t necessarily a problem against DnT. I burn through 2 killspells, but then topdeck essentially nothing but more land which is now a significant problem. Eventually some random assortment of creatures ends up running me over. While I stare at a pile of land.


Pretty disappointing week. I keep running into delver/dnt decks, so maybe I’ll add 2 persecution to the sideboard for even more sweepers. I do like Sorin a lot, he didn’t work out this week, but I feel that was more due to bad luck than him being a bad card. Definitely made 1 or 2 misplays, but some bad luck in there as well. This deck can be really unforgiving to pilot.

sagagx
02-02-2018, 11:08 AM
Lands-21
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-9
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-26
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Spell Pierce
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Thoughtseize
1 Unearth
1 Intuition

Artifacts-2
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

Planeswalkers-3
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Liliana, the Last Hope

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Fatal Push
1 Containment Priest
1 Path to Exile
1 Council’s Judgment
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Pretty poor 1-3 performance last night, feel like i got unlucky in a few spots, but definitely made some mistakes.

Match 1: Burn(0-2 Loss)
Same deck as previous weeks so I won’t go too much into detail. Game 1 I’m about to turn the corner and land jace to stabilize. But he topdecks sulfuric vortex. I’m at 5, he’s at 19, GG.

Game 2 I don’t remember much, he had a good hand and I guess mine was mediocre.

Match 2: UR Delver(0-2 Loss)

Game 1:
Heartbreaker, one where I definitely felt I got unlucky. We 1-1 a lot, and eventually I put him on a young pyromancer and a bunch of tokens. I get stuck on 3 lands for 3 turns with a supreme verdict in hand. Had I been able to deploy the verdict I’m pretty convinced I could have won that game.

Game 2:
-1 Thoughtseize
-3 Force of Will
-1 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
-1 Collective Brutality
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm

Not sure if boarding out jace is correct or not, I assume they bring in pyroblasts for him so I generally yank him. This game opens as normal I deal with 1 or 2 opening threats. He starts going wide with pyromancer again, but I’m not terribly nervous as I have verdict in hand with 3 lands in play. On his endstep I brainstorm to find the 4th. It’s a polluted delta, tundra, and something else. I end up putting a spell, then tundra on top. My intent is to draw the spell, crack the delta, then play the verdict to shuffle away the extra tundra. My major mistake is that I forgot he plays stifle. Polluted delta gets stifled and now I’m a turn away from deploying verdict. Had I just taken the tundra I could have deployed verdict and ignored stifle. I think he deploys a wasteland as well, knocking my verdict well out of reach.

Match 3: Storm(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
Haven’t played against this deck in a long time. Game 1 I roll him up on the back of two collective brutalities. I take his tutors and he can’t find anything else to keep himself going. Stoneforge and batterskull close it up from there.

Game 2:
-3 TNN
-2 STP(Keep in case he runs Xantid Swarm)
-1 Unearth
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Liliana the Last Hope
+2 Flusterstorm
+3 Surgical Extraction
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Sword of Fire and ice
+1 Force of Will

Probably one of the most miserable games of magic I’ve ever played. This game goes to probably turn 15. I fend off his initial onslaught and draw all the countermagic in the world, but I can’t find any sort of clock to pressure him. Eventually he rebuilds and busts through all my hate. I burn through 3 cantrips, literally seeing nothing but 3 lands each time.

Match 3:
Pretty much an easy win. My opponent mulligans down to 5, then gets mana screwed, he’s stuck on a single island and all his spells are black. SFM and Sword get there and wrap this one up.


Game 4: DnT(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
Ends up being a heartbreaker. Trade resources early, he has mom, batterskull(with germ), and revoker on jace. I’m at 3 life with 2 TNN on board I attempt to deploy sorin and create at 1/1 Token so the germ can’t attack profitably. His last card is a STP, enough to push the token through and end me.

Game 2:
-1 Thoughtseize
-1 Force of Will
-3 Collective Brutality(kinda clunky against thalia)
-1 Unearth(Bad against STP)
1 Fatal Push
1 Containment Priest
1 Path to Exile
1 Council’s Judgment
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives

True name gets to carry the jitte in. He attempts to cataclysm, but it doesn’t get TNN/jitte off the board.

Game 3:
Start out with a land heavy hand, which isn’t necessarily a problem against DnT. I burn through 2 killspells, but then topdeck essentially nothing but more land which is now a significant problem. Eventually some random assortment of creatures ends up running me over. While I stare at a pile of land.


Pretty disappointing week. I keep running into delver/dnt decks, so maybe I’ll add 2 persecution to the sideboard for even more sweepers. I do like Sorin a lot, he didn’t work out this week, but I feel that was more due to bad luck than him being a bad card. Definitely made 1 or 2 misplays, but some bad luck in there as well. This deck can be really unforgiving to pilot.

Hi,

As I feel like you for most cards you are currently playing, I am just sharing my actual thoughts and considerations to play more efficient cards. My remarks are not supported with tournament results but only with training sessions and experiences (I only have tournaments in march).

Supreme Verdict seems essential but proves being too hard to cast. Even if you think that you get unlucky, or that you should had turn around stifle to have 4 manas, I am currently switching my point of view. You can avoid being in such situation, I mean when the situation is Verdict or die by playing cheaper and more efficient cards (instant cards and cards that you can easily flashback with snap). You may play 1 fatal push instead of 1 brutality. I also think that with 3 colors Engineered Explosives is much better than Verdict, so you may want to replace one.

Burn is usually a good matchup, but I think you need cheap removal for their creatures.
From my experience, UR Delver is very difficult for esper. Discard is not that great facing cantrips, cheap instant spells and haste creatures. Cheap removals and EE for 1 (or 3 for their TNN) are great.
For your 2 other matches, you flood on 2 of them. You may consider to revert back to 2 Jace (even if against D&T in this particular moment of the game you also loose with Jace instead of Sorin). Stoneblade really needs Jace to keep control of the game in a long run. I understand that pyroblast is an issue, but you are playing discard spells so you can at least cast him and take advantage.

In my opinion, Search is also great for the deck, but I think you are right to not play it in Esper. Search seems really nice for reactive decks such as UWr blade but not with proactive decks.

shocked439
02-05-2018, 06:02 PM
Hey there blade control friends.

I’ve recently converted to esper blade from infect and ur delver. I’m having success against tier 1 decks but struggling with the random deck. I recelty went 4-1 irl, i 4-1’d 2 leagues online and followed them up with a solid 1-4. If I can avoid mono red sneak, and pox I feel great about my chances.

Here’s the list I’m running:

4 Flooded Strand
2 Island
3 Marsh Flats
1 Plains
3 Polluted Delta
1 Scrubland
1 Swamp
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Batterskull
4 Brainstorm
1 Counterspell
1 Fatal Push
1 Flusterstorm
4 Force of Will
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Liliana of the Veil
2 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Lingering Souls
2 Ponder
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Spell Pierce
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Thoughtseize
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Sideboard:

1 Council's Judgment
2 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Fatal Push
1 Flusterstorm
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Spell Pierce
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Zealous Persecution

I think I want to cut 1-2 ponder, 1 counterspell (of any of the three probably actual cointerspell), and 1 jvp. I want to add 2 lands and another discard card (lotv or thoughtseize iok) I’m worried about the blue count for fow if I do that.

I’m not a fan of collective brutality especially when I already have jvp to and lotv make me discard.

First_Revenge
02-06-2018, 10:52 AM
That’s an interesting list shocked439. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a list this planeswalker heavy. You’re right that collective brutality probably doesn’t fit in this spot due to all the discard you run. This list is different enough that it’s tough to give advice. I would say though that you probably don’t want to cut ponders, in fact I’d probably advocate for 3. I don’t think you need another discard effect, you already have 4 thoughtseize/inquisition plus your existing Liliana package. I find thoughtseize/inquisition are fantastic in the late game, but can make pretty miserable top decks late game. For this reason I’m hesitant to go up to 5 of them. Maybe a 3rd lingering souls would be good considering how discard heavy your deck is? Just curious why the 3-1 split with STP/fatal push? I’ve been seeing gurmag/tombstalker pop up a lot.


3-0’d tonight! And made some more changes to my list based on sagagx’s feedback. Biggest change was the removal of a copy of supreme verdict from the maindeck and the addition of 2 zealous persecutions to the SB. Engineered explosives got added to the maindeck as well, I’d like to find room for a 2nd copy if I can.

Lands-21
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-9
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-25
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Spell Pierce
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Thoughtseize
1 Unearth
1 Intuition

Artifacts-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Planeswalkers-3
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Liliana, the Last Hope

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
2 Fatal Push
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Containment Priest
1 Council’s Judgment
1 Disenchant
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will

Match 1: BR Reanimator(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
This guy is normally on elves or burn, so I keep a reasonable hand against those two decks. He plays swamp T1 and it’s pretty apparent I’m screwed. I have no countermagic. I ponder looking for some, don’t find it, and griselbrand gets reanimated. GG.

Game 2:
-1 Jace
-1 Sorin
-1 Liliana
-3 TNN
-1 Jitte
-1 Supreme Verdict
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Containment Priest
+1 SoFI
+1 Force of Will
Keep an okay hand, double spell pierce, SFM, batterskull, and land on the play. He shows chancellor essentially blanking my opening countermagic. His T1 is pretty explosive, thoughtseize taking a pierce, then lotus petal into faithless looting, pitching griselbrand and chancellor. My draw for the turn is STP. I end up piercing his exhume but he follows up with another and lands a griselbrand and draws 7. I swords griselbrand trying to keep the board under control. SFM gets played fetching SoFI. Batterskull gets cheated into play. My opponent reanimates chancellor and sire of insanity. Insanity is actually great for me, he is forced to toss away the advantage of his griselbrand draw 7. I plow the chancellor, glue SoFI to batterskull and win that way since his sire can’t block.

Game 3:
He mulligans to 5. My opening draws are very favorable, I find countermagic, extractions, and snapcaster mages. I end up just beating him down with snapcaster while stopping him from doing anything productive.

Match 2: Pox(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
Essentially I fetch basics, and we trade resources and eventually I have about 5 lands in play and we are both in topdeck mode. I win the race by drawing Sorin, and start creating an army with his tokens. The token spam gets out of control and I win. Perhaps potentially a mistake, I know his deck runs bridges, I created a sorin emblem to up my clock, but it’s very possible that that emblem could have prevented me from going in under a bridge. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.

Game 2:
-3 TNN
-1 Liliana the last Hope
-2 Collective Brutality
-1 Supreme Verdict
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Force of Will
+2 Fatal Push
+1 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment

This isn’t much of a game. His T1 is the classic swamp->dark ritual->LoTV. My hand can’t deal with it and I pretty much lose on the spot.

Game 3:
My initial hand is some countermagic and SFM. My plan is to develop my manabase and ride batterskull to victory. My plan is foiled when I inquisition his hand and see 3 ensnaring bridge. Yikes. I hang in there for a while and eventually ponder into my Jace. Jace is resolved and I eventually ultimate him to win.


Match 3: Hex Depths(2-0 Win)
Game 1:
I open with inquisition and see double pithing needle, elvish spirit guide, lotus petal and some lands. I have absolutely no idea what I’m playing against. I take one of the needles. He duresses, sees flooded strand in hand and I have another strand on the board. He attempts to resolve needle, I crack my strand in response. He names flooded strand. My next draw step is of course flooded strand, I now have two dead cards floating around in my hand. After that he kinda durdles around, I resolve a jace and start fatesealing to try and lock him out of the game and figure out exactly what he’s trying to do. One of my fateseals shows an expedition map and I’m pretty certain he’s on some flavor of dark depths at this point. In the meantime I’ve had a snapcaster+jitte pressuring his life total. He gets the dark depths combo to go off, but he does so at sorcery speed to block the snapcaster. Jace unsummons the token, and eventually I win.

Game 2:
-1 Sorin Lord of Innistrad
-1 Liliana the Last Hope
-1 Supreme Verdict
-3 Collective Brutality(Not sure if this was the right call or not)
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 SoFI
I’m gonna chalk this one up to my opponent drawing poorly. My opening is some countermagic, SFM, and lands. Figure I’ll try and stick an early SFM and try and ride out the storm with my countermagic. That plan goes up in flames with a double duress on T1, stripping me of countermagic. He manages to land a sylvan library and starts digging. He finds dark depths early, but luckily for me it seems like he can’t find the second half of his combo. He ends up wanting cards from the library and takes at least 8 damage from it. He deploys sylvan safekeeper to make his token not die to STP. He’s at 6 life when I deploy TNN. I hit him down to 3 and then he finds the vampire hexmage to make his depths go live. But it’s too late, TNN slides under his blockers and kills him.

First_Revenge
02-14-2018, 01:09 PM
2-1 this week, got pretty lucky in some matchups, but I think I played fairly solidly. Same list as last week. Got to see intuition a few times this week, even if its sub optimal I really do enjoy casting it.

Match 1: Burn (1-2 Loss)
Game 1, I kind of stabilize, but then I get nailed with a sulfuric vortex I can’t outrace.

Game 2:
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Thoughtseize
-1 Intuition
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Fatal Push
+1 Council’s Judgment(Marginal, but it can get rid of sulfuric vortex)
+1 Disenchant

He kind of floods out, I have enough discard to power out a SFM without it getting bolted. Game is over in very short order thereafter.

Game 3:
I’m fairly sure I made a mistake here. I don’t remember my hand exactly, but at some point I’m looking at 2 collective brutalities after brainstorming. I remember shuffling one of them away to keep an extra STP in hand. Partly because my hand was pretty good all-around and I couldn’t really figure out what to discard. In retrospect I probably should’ve just binned STP since brutality does most of what that card does anyway. Ends in a loss.

Match 2: BR Reanimator(2-0 Win)
Game 1:
Opener is Jace, ponder, brainstorm, inquisition, intuition, and some lands. Opening inquisition takes his only entomb and the only other card of consequence in his hand is unmask. I eventually resolve intuition and give him this choice:
FoW
FoW
Snapcaster Mage

He ends up giving me a FoW, which he can just unmask away. It’s not ideal, but not sure what else can be done here. Intuition piles are very interesting. Next I resolve a jace and +2, then he reanimates a griselbrand after unmasking my FoW away. The combination of renamimate+draw 7 puts him to 3 life. Jace has a pretty high loyalty count so i just start unsummoning his threats over the next few turns. Eventually he runs out of cards and at 3 life it’s difficult to reanimate anything. I think I eventually kill him with a snapcaster mage or something.

Game 2:
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Containment Priest
+1 FoW
+1 Containment Priest
My opener is 6 lands and a batterskull. Obviously, shipped that back. Next 6 is pretty reasonable, FoW, brainstorm, snapcaster, SFM, and lands. His opening is explosive, 3 Lotus petals, and land. His first play is an entomb, which I FoW pitching snapcaster. I’m fairly convinced that one of his cards in hand is a reanimate spell, so entomb is a must stop. He follows up with another entomb which resolves and griselbrand is in the yard. He has one card left in hand and 2 mana up, and he passes the turn. Lucky me. His last card ends up being a sneak attack and now he’s hellbent. If he draws a critter he cheats it into play, and if he draws a reanimate spell the griselbrand in yard is live. Thankfully he draws pretty dead. SFM+SoFI get in there for the win.
Match 3: UR Delver(2-0 Win)
Game 1:
Opponent mulligans to 5. I keep brainstorm, STP, brutality, FoW, and some lands. His opener is a grim lavamancer. I swords the lavamancer and he casts FoW pitching brainstorm to protect it, I FoW back, I’m ahead on cards, and investing this many cards(brainstorm especially) on a lavamancer signals to me his hand is pretty dead. Lavamancer ends up eating it. Brainstorm reveals some more lands and a Sorin. Collective brutality clears the way for Sorin, and when he resolves I start to use his +1. Opponent top decks a TNN. Sorin puts two tokens on the board before TNN+bolt kill him. The two tokens and TNN stand in a deadlock for a while. I eventually draw TNN and kill him with it.

Game 2:
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Thoughtseize
-2 Collective Brutality
-3 FoW
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Fatal Push
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice

Opponent mulligans to 5 again, unfortunate, but it happens sometimes. Opening 7 is keep able, Liliana, SFM, fatal push, SoFI, and some lands. I kill his opening threats and Liliana resolves. She ends up sitting there for a while, keeping my opponents critters in check. I try to resolve SFM, fetching batterskull. I manage to blink in batterskull at his EOT, but it gets abraded. On the next turn EOT SoFI gets blinked it. SFM carries it in for a big hit and an extra card. SoFI eats an abrade. TNN gets resolved on my opponent’s turn. My turn I can’t really do anything and pass it back. TNN connects with Liliana putting her to 2 loyalty. At his EOT I cast intuition and give him this pile with snapcaster in hand:
TNN
Unearth
Supreme Verdict
He ends up giving me verdict, which I use to clear the board. Liliana gets bolted. My next turn is Snapcaster, unearth, TNN. Those two eventually get in there for the win.

First_Revenge
02-20-2018, 10:40 AM
This week 2 tourney reports for whoever ends up reading these.

Some other plans fell through, so my weekly legacy ritual got doubled this weekend. Went to another shop to play, which is important to do from time to time. This particular shop really leans hard into the combo segment of the meta while my home shop is firmly in the fair camp.

Match 1: Turbo Depths(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
This one is pretty much over before it begins. Nothing really happens before T2, he has bayou and depths in play. I thoughtseize to take something relevant, and see 2x crop rotation, sylvan scrying, and hexmage. He’s basically one mana away from going off. I take the hexmage and pray he doesn’t draw land, it doesn’t work, and he draws his land for the turn and kills me.

Game 2:
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Unearth
-1 Collective Brutality
-1 True Name Nemesis
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will

Game 2, I keep a hand with STP and surgical extraction. Somewhere down the road he goes off, I plow the token and extract the depths.

Game 3:
I keep a very speculative hand. 2 Snapcasters, a surgical extraction, and some lands. I’m hoping to draw into some gas and start valuing out with snapcaster. But it doesn’t pan out. I draw blanks and he goes off eventually and kills me. In retrospect I probably should have taken a mulligan.

Match 2: 8 Moon(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
I know he’s on 8 moon, so I’m pretty happy to see some basics, a FoW, and fetches in hand. He never really does much other than cast some burn spells and a late game chalice which didn’t really matter much to me. Eventually I get a TNN+Batterskull to start connecting for the win. I allow a hazoret to resolve so I can keep FoW backup for an ensnaring bridge. My life total is 25+ so hazoret is irrelevant at this point.

Game 2:
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor(Assuming he has unlimited red blasts here)
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope(Doesn’t really have a lot of X/1’s, and the BB makes me play into blood moon)
-1 Intuition
-1 Collective Brutality
+2 Fatal Push
+1 Disenchant
+1 Force of Will
+1 Council’s Judgment(Lots of problematic permanents)
+1 Flusterstorm(Mostly for fiery confluence, I’m not really even sure if I should board this in)

Game 2 starts going my way, I get 4 basics in play before he manages to resolve a blood moon. My TNN sticks and starts beating him down. And just as I’m about to wrap it up, he topdecks stormbreath dragon while I’m at 4 life. I’ve never felt so dumb holding a STP. That’s a loss.

Game 3:
Hand to start is promising. Cantrips, spell pierce, FoW, and some fetches, about as good as it gets. I pierce and opening chalice, develop my manabase and deploy a TNN and a snapcaster to start beating down. I find a timely disenchant off the back of some ponders/brainstorms to deal with a resolved bridge so the beatdown can continue. He can’t deal with TNN and he dies not long after that.


Match 3: Slivers(2-0 Win)
This match I got paired down against a fairly new player, admittedly his deck was far from optimal. The concept seemed very neat, but my deck just had way too much removal for him to cope. Never encountered this deck before but here’s the cards I know he’s running, there’s definitely more to it though.
Thran Quarry, Gemstone Mine, Aether Vial, Cavern of Souls, Swords to Plowshares, Leeching Sliver, Sinew Sliver, Winged Sliver, Frenzy Sliver


Game 1:
I keep a hand with 2 removal spells and snapcaster and figure that’s probably good enough. His T2 play is a muscle sliver off a Thran Quarry. Brutality kills the sliver and forces him to sack the land. After that TNN sticks and my point removal is just too much.

Game 2:
-3 Force of Will
-2 Spell Pierce
-1 Unearth(He is running STP)
+2 Fatal Push
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Disenchant
Basically I dump all my countermagic(he’s running caverns) and pour everything I’ve got into my removal suite. It’s much the same story as Game 1. I just have too many kill spells for him to overcome.

Match 4: Omnitell(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
I know he’s on omnitell so I immediately mulligan into a hand with countermagic. FoW, spell pierce, blue card, and some lands. I hold off his initial onslaught, and get him down very low with TNN/snapcaster in play. But it’s not enough, sneak attack resolves and griselbrand ends it all.

Game 2:
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-1 True Name Nemesis
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope
-1 Unearth
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Force of Will
+3 Surgical Extraction
+1 Containment Priest
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment(probably marginal, but it can deal with sneak/omniscience in top deck scenarios)

Game ends up being a nail biter. Fend off his initial attack and manage to stick SFM+SoFI on the board. I end up drawing everything I need, and my opponent draws horrifically. I get there.

Game 3:
Essentially, it’s the same dance again. My opening is FoW, Flusterstorm, surgical extraction, cantrips, and land. I take out his initial show and tell with a FoW and a Flusterstorm. I try and extract the show and tell, but he casts FoW to protect it, essentially telling me he’s got a second SnT in his hand. I cast snapcaster mage snapping back extraction to get that second SnT out of his hand. He reveals the second SnT in hand with emrakul, and nothing else. His only out now is sneak attack. His next turn he deploys a defense grid, and now things get interesting.
At this point I have two pierces, brainstorm, and SFM in hand with 3 lands on board. My opponent only has emrakul in hand, so I’m only really worried about a sneak attack. Defense grid means I can only cast 1 pierce if I keep all my lands untapped. Or I could take a risk and deploy SFM to start putting a more severe clock on him. I elect to do the latter and deploy SFM fetching SoFI** to make him have it. He topdecks brainstorm, and of course he finds and deploys sneak attack. He doesn’t have the mana to deploy emrakul though so he passes the turn. It’s now do or die time for me, I cast the luckiest brainstorm I’ve ever gotten and find disenchant+surgical extraction. Disenchant the sneak attack and extract it for the win. A very unlucky break for my opponent, but he was a good sport about it.

**Fetching SoFI was a mistake, it should have been a batterskull. SoFI turns the shields off for two turns, one to deploy the SFM and another turn to equip it. Batterskull only turns off the shields for one turn.



End of a hot streak, was bound to happen, but it’s important to report your bad results along with the good. 1-2 for the night.

Pox(0-2 Loss)
Game 1:
I got for a T3 SFM with pierce backup knowing he has a deluge after I thoughtseize him. I forget what I took instead. I pierce the first deluge, but he topdecks another deluge and kills the SFM. He starts getting his pox engine going and I can’t draw more lands. I think I die with a lone island in play.

Game 2:
-3 TNN
-3 Collective Brutality
-1 Supreme Verdict
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Force of Will
+2 Fatal Push
+1 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment

Game 2 is going pretty well, I avoid his pox spells, then land a Sorin. He takes his turn to play night of souls betrayal. Sorin was my win plan and I don’t draw myself out of that particular hole.

Big Eldrazi(0-2 Loss)
I’m not breaking this matchup down by game, honestly the whole affair is a dismal matchup for blade decks. The deck is kinda like the old 12 post lists. My deck just can’t handle it. Eye of Ugin finds him all his fatties one after another and cards like glimmerpost keep him out of lethal range. UWR decks are probably better positioned in this matchup. He runs a lot of ancient tomb, so bolt can really sneak in those last bits of damage. Blood moon is definitely a huge pickup in this match as well. But my deck doesn’t even have wasteland since I cut those slots for more basics. It’s a decision I still stand by, but this is one of those cases where it comes back to bite me.

Playing this deck however did force me to re-evaluate my sideboard, more on that later.

Game 3(Infect 2-1 Win)
Game 1:
I have some killspells, but ultimately an inkmoth nexus connects with a bunch of pump spells behind it.

Game 2/Game 3:
-3 Thoughtseize(Infect is pretty redundant so not a lot of value in this card IMO)
-1 Jace(too slow)
-1 Sorin(too slow)
-1 Unearth
-1 TNN(Probably not the best since his critters routinely trample)
-1 Batterskull(lifelink is worthless)
+2 Fatal Push
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Disenchant
+1 Force of Will

Infect is a pretty linear deck so there’s not a lot of play decisions IMO. About the only real oddity is that you really do need to kill their creatures on YOUR turn. Yes, STP’ing during your main phase something that we almost never do, but it can force out a vines of the vastwood without giving them the opportunity to attack.
I do break this rule once with zealous persecution. I’m fairly confident I can get a 3-1 out of it, and I have pierce/force backup in case something goes sideways. It ends up working out and nets me a game.
Both games play out similarly, I have more removal than he has critters and I eventually kill him with some random guy.


End Notes: I’ve decided to make room for back to basics in the sideboard. I’ll try out 2 for now and see if 3 ends up being justified. I probably wouldn’t advise this for most stoneblade builds, but I run an abnormally high basic land count so I think I can swing it. Additionally, I think I’m going to try going down to 20 land from 21. This is mostly for 2 reasons, I play so many basics for the most part I get to ignore wasteland anyway, and I play 7 cantrips which really smooth out my draws. I'm going to do some serious retooling and repost my list next week.

Mkr 2.0
02-20-2018, 08:10 PM
I didn't get to play much Magic last year, but I'm having more luck this year so far in getting free time to go into tournaments. Sad thing though that I had to create a new account here as I lost my old email! Here's a small tourney report for a local tourney a week or so ago.

I felt like playing Meddling Mages instead of slogging around with Czech Pile, so I just tuned my Moonblade list from last year (http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=23145&iddeck=179316). Reduced some of the grindy cards to have more fun against combo.

Moonblade (UWr Blade) 2.0 (http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=26679&iddeck=209838)

Round 1 - Turbo Depths
G1 I was able to handle the first major threats (kill Bob, counter an early Crop Rotation) and he was not able to recover. G2 Blessed Alliance nuked an early Marit Lage and then Meddling Mage locked out Crop Rotation. Vendilion Clique comes out a few turns after to ice the game. Blood Moon was MIA both games.
1-0

Round 2 - Dredge
G1 my opponent was extremely unlucky and was not able to find a dredger. G2 I was able to counter an early Breakthrough resulting in a huge tempo swing. He had Silent Gravestone out but I did not see any Surgicals anyways. Meddling Mage on Faithless Looting and then a few turns after I found Containment Priest.
2-0

Round 3 - ANT
G1 I just died. G2 he dropped a T0 Leyline of the Void. I had Canonist in play but I got overconfident and made a major play mistake by tapping out to cast Jace - he was able to go around the hatebear via LED LED Tutor Helm. Sad.
2-1

Round 4 - BR Reanimator
G1 my single counter was not enough since he had duplicates of both parts of the combo (Faithless Looting, Entomb, Reanimate, Exhume). On G2 and G3 my opponent was not able to T0 Chancellor and that makes the matchup a whole lot easier as I had enough time to deploy my hatebears while still having counters/surgical in hand.
3-1

Round 5 - ANT
I got paired down so had to play. G1 he was able to sculpt a very resilient hand: picked me off with some early discards and was able to go through a Counterspell. Both G2 featured double Meddling Mages. I countered a Swarm to ensure the victory. G3 I got out an Canonist early but unfortunately ran out of time (was one attack short of winning the game).
3-1-1

QF - Sea Stompy
First time to see Sea Drake in action, it was very amusing! G1 Opponent had a quick start with T1 Sea Drake and T2 Serendib Efreet. He had no disruption though, so a T3 Batterskull (the bane of Stompy decks) plus an STP and Jitte made it easy for me to win. G2 he had a T1 Chalice (FoW nicely appears on my draw) but I got out a turn 2 SFM -> T3 Batterskull again. I countered his Jitte and then he just drew bricks.

SF - MUD
G1 I got hit by a turn 1 Chalice (FoW again shows up on my draw), ate a few Wastelands and got facerolled by Blightsteel via Kuldotha tricks after a few durdle turns. G2 an early SFM->Batterskull plus Blood Moon was able to finish the job pretty quick. G3 he mulled to 5 with first turn Metalworker. I had the removal though and that slowed him down by a lot. After that it was just cleanup with some slow beats plus counters and removal - Blessed Alliance ate a Steel Hellkite.

F - Lands (Opp POV (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?32268-2nd-Place-with-RG-Lands-at-Kick-Engines-Manila-2-11-2018&p=1037220#post1037220))
G1 plan: Survive any early Marit Lages, find Blood Moon, deal with Molten Vortex (if any). Unfortunately Blood Moon was on vacation. One TNN dealt 57 damage and another chipped in for a clutch 3 (He was 2014 Ray Allen) for a total of 60, eventually winning me the game. G2 I drew some of my SB tech, Blood Moon finally comes back from the beach, and it was over quick.

Darkness
02-22-2018, 07:21 PM
A friend is trying to decided to play UWr UWb or UW Stoneblade and sell off his other duals. What impact does the lack of a third color make? Is UW still good enough or do you need the splash to compete?

First_Revenge
02-22-2018, 09:38 PM
A friend is trying to decided to play UWr UWb or UW Stoneblade and sell off his other duals. What impact does the lack of a third color make? Is UW still good enough or do you need the splash to compete?


UW's biggest strength is its manabase. Its rock solid and you get to run 4 wastelands/back to basics. If your meta is full of greedy decks trying to jam 4 colors together this is a very good route to go. UW's biggest weakness is that it leans pretty heavily on countermagic. Without the tools in red/black you will need more counters than usual to stop threats.

Red elemental blast is essentially THE reason to be playing UWr. Blood moon/lightning bolts are also solid cards. Its really difficult to oversell the impact that REB offers. Its a 1 mana counterspell/vindicate against much of the format. Its weakness is a slightly more difficult manabase as you have to incorporate a 3rd color. Playing non blue decks can also be somewhat awkward as it obviously nerfs the power of REB.

UWb's biggest strength is thoughtseize. UWb gets to play magic proactively via hand hate. You an eliminate cards from an opponents hand and sculpt a gameplan based off perfect information. The other blade variants can't do this and they are largely reactive decks, dealing with threats as they come up rather than anticipating them. The printing of fatal push also helped us out, for us it effectively lets us run more of our best removal spell, STP. In a delver infested meta, more 1 mana instant killspells are just what the doctor ordered. UWb's biggest problem is that black definitely tends to be less of a "splash" color so your manabase is definitely the most complex and susceptible to wasteland issues. Its not UWb, its UWB. Another problem with UWB can be life total, UWB places a lot of pressure on its own life, fetchland into thoughtseize is basically bolting yourself. UWB is also pretty unforgiving, but IMO this variant has the most play to it.

QKisMyName
02-23-2018, 04:54 PM
The only thing UW has going for it is the strong mana base and the potential to play wasteland/back to basics

UWR is like UW except it trades power for a slightly weaker mana base

UWB has the weakest mana base because black isn't a splash color. In return, it gets to play: discard/disruption, deathrite shaman, zealous persecution, and baleful strix

First_Revenge
02-27-2018, 04:26 PM
Another solid finish at 3-1 tonight, things changed in the decklist a bit. In a nutshell, I cut a land, added another Jace, pushed Liliana to the sideboard, cut council’s judgement from the board for being too clunky, added search for azcanta to the main, cut containment priest and 1 fatal push in the board, and added 2 back to basics in the board.

Search is back at least on a temporary basis. I’m not sure I gave it a fair shake last time, I still have reservations about its viability in such a wasteland heavy meta, but I’ve been impressed by its ability to run away with games in miracles decks.

I’m also trying back to basics, it’s typically not seen in esperblade, but I’m running an absurd number of basics so I’m pretty sure I can swing it.

Lands-20
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-9
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-25
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
3 Thoughtseize
2 Spell Pierce
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Unearth
1 Intuition
1 Search for Azcanta

Artifacts-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Planeswalkers-3
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Fatal Push
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Back to Basics
1 Disenchant
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
1 Liliana the Last Hope

Match 1: UR Delver(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
This is my loaner deck so I knew exactly what I was playing against. Apparently the poor guy went 0-3 with it so I’ll have to do some serious re-tweaking. Game 1 he flips a delver and gets his pyromancer going. I can’t find enough killspells and eventually I get overwhelmed.

Game 2:
-3 FoW
-3 Thoughtseize
-1 Search for Azcanta(too slow, wastelands and pyroblasts galore)
-1 Jace, the Mindsculptor(slow, and a lot of pryroblasts)
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Fatal Push
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Liliana the Last Hope
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
Ends up being a long grindy game. We trade removal early and eventually I resolve a TNN and kill him with it. Opponent makes a critical mistake by boarding in more price of progress, not realizing I’m running 6 basics. He ends up dying with 2 of them in hand.

Game 3:
Not much of a game, he floods out really badly. Mixed feelings about winning this way, but he top decks 6 lands in a row and dies to a batterskull.

Match 2: Grixis Delver(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
Close game, Much the same deal as the other delver decks, early game I establish a manabase and kill his stuff along the way. Sorin resolves and starts sticking lifelinkers on the board to stabilize my life total. Sorin gets bolted twice and dies which I’m ultimately okay with, he did his job. I resolve a TNN and eventually kill him with it. I’d estimate I probably gained 6 life off the tokens, Sorin soaked up 6 damage(2 bolts) so I probably net gained 12 life off him.

Game 2:
-3 FoW
-3 Thoughtseize
-1 Search for Azcanta(too slow, wastelands and pyroblasts galore)
-1 Jace, the Mindsculptor(slow, and a lot of pryroblasts)
-1 Intuition
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Fatal Push
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Liliana the Last Hope
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice

I choke on mana pretty hard, I eventually get going, but by the time I do, the game is all over but the crying. Game 1 took a long time so in the interest of having a full game 3 I concede.

Game 3:
Not much of a game, opponent mulligans to 4 so he’s way behind the 8 ball. I reanimate the same SFM twice, once with unearth and another time with Liliana, the Last Hope. It’s just too much value for his 4 card hand to keep up with. Eventually a TNN+equipment gets there.

Match 3:UWr Stoneblade(0-2 Loss)
Game 1:
Always dread this matchup, I feel like UWr blade is the grindier version of UWb blade. Normally I can win the long game, but I can’t seem to get it done here.
He answers a TNN/Sorin/Jace in game 1 then kills me with a jace of his own.

Game 2:
-3 Collective Brutality
-1 FoW(I pretty much lose to resolved Jace)
-1 Thoughseize
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Fatal Push
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Disenchant

Games 2 and 3 feel terrible thanks to pyroblast. The card is the stone cold nuts against me. Couple that his playset of snapcaster mages and I really struggle to resolve anything. He blasts jace and TNN, then brainstorms to victory with a jace of his own.

I’m fairly convinced this matchup is just straight bad for me. Doesn’t help that this particular pilot is really good.

Match 3: Burn(2-0 Win)
Game 1:
My starting 7 is decent, TNN, SFM, fetches, pierce, and STP. Best I can figure I’m just gonna ride TNN+Jitte to victory. That ends up being pretty much what happens. Plow his opening dude, SFM fetching jitte. He bolts the SFM which is probably a mistake considering I can just hardcast the jitte anyway. TNN resolves then connects and the game pretty much ends.

Game 2:
-3 Thoughtseize
-1 Search for Azcanta(too slow)
-1 Intuition
2 Flusterstorm
1 Fatal Push
1 Disenchant
1 Force of Will

Game 2 ends up being a pretty close. With a brutality in the opening 7 and the rest of the hand being average, it’s pretty much a snap keep. T2 Brutality gets escalated twice revealing an awkward hand. Bolt(I take this one), rift bolt, double sulfuric vortex. He’s on two lands, so one more land and vortex resolves. My hand is FoW, TNN, Jace, STP. He blanks on land the next turn and TNN resolves. He blanks again and now I’m left with a choice, his hand is 2 vortexes with 2 land in play. My hand is FoW, Jace, and some non blue cards with 4 land in play at roughly 6 life. My TNN is putting a clock on him, but I’m low enough on life that I’m probably not winning through one vortex, let alone two. So here are my lines as best I can tell:

Do nothing->If he draws land #3 FoW pitching Jace stopping the first vortex->Pray to find solution to vortex #2
Resolve Jace->+2 put jace out of bolt range, pray he doesn’t draw land #3 since FoW won’t be live
Resolve Jace->0 brainstorm, find a blue card to make FoW live, accept that jace dies if they draw a burn spell

I ultimately take the jace brainstorm route, I have no idea if this is the right play. I find my blue card, and my opponent draws land #3 and I FoW it. After that I brainstorm into an answer for the second vortex. TNN finishes things up from there.

Mkr 2.0
02-27-2018, 06:07 PM
^Why do you side in Fatal Push against the Blade semi-mirror?

First_Revenge
02-28-2018, 03:47 PM
^Why do you side in Fatal Push against the Blade semi-mirror?

Honestly, you're probably right. I have enough STP, and fatal push doesn't add that much to my plan. I'd probably leave push in the board and keep a thoughtseize maindeck.

QKisMyName
03-01-2018, 12:33 AM
I have a tournament report from GP Las Vegas 2017. If you guys are interested, i can post it. I played all 15 rounds

sagagx
03-01-2018, 06:01 AM
I have a tournament report from GP Las Vegas 2017. If you guys are interested, i can post it. I played all 15 rounds

Yes of course. Was you playing UWr ?
Thanks

First_Revenge
03-06-2018, 11:35 AM
Revised List this week, went 2-2. Definitely could have gone 3-1, but such is life.

Lands-20
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-10
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Spells-24
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
3 Thoughtseize
2 Spell Pierce
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Unearth
1 Intuition

Artifacts-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Planeswalkers-3
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Sideboard:
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Fatal Push
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Back to Basics
1 Disenchant
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
1 Liliana the Last Hope

Match 1: New Miracles(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
This is where no wastelands really bites me in the ass. My thoughtseize T1 sees 2 search for azcanta. I can’t stop them from resolving. Essentially, the game goes long, but he flips search and wins off the back of that card alone.

Game 2:
-1 Tasigur
-2 Collective Brutality
-2 Swords to Plowshares
+1 FoW(Jace/Search are must stop cards)
+1 Disenchant
+1 Supreme Verdict
+2 Surgical Extraction

We both trade resources for a while, I get a Sorin to stick an eventually win from there. Having walkers that can sidestep pyroblasts is really valuable in this spot.

Game 3:
Much the same story as game 1, he gets down a search that I can’t stop, he runs away with it. This matchup honestly feels really bad. I struggle to grind them out early, but at the same time I just don’t beat them in the long game.

Match 2: Big Eldrazi(2-0 Win)
Game 1:
Historically, this is an atrocious matchup for reasons similar(ish?) to miracles. They just play tremendous threats, eye of ugin gives them inevitability, and I don’t play wasteland to keep them in check. Game 1 I expect to lose, but I get lucky. He draws nothing but chalices/trinispheres in the face of a SFM and its batterskull. I’ll take any win I can get against this deck.

Game 2: Back to Basics or Bust!
-2 Spell Pierce
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-3 Collective Brutality
+1 Force of Will
+1 Disenchant
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Back to Basics

I get a really awkward hand. Double brainstorm, STP, Ponder, back to basics, scrubland, and swamp. I know he’s a chalice deck. No blue mana and no FoW against a chalice/trinisphere deck essentially forces me to decide whether scrubland, swamp, and back to basics are good enough. I figure they probably are and I’ll just spend my next 3 turns praying for a blue source, one of the more reasonable requests I’ve made in my prayers. Basically it pans out as I assume it would. He gets off a slower T2 chalice on 1, but I don’t have a blue source yet so it doesn’t particularly matter, back to basics is literally the only live card left in my hand. His T3 play is the trinisphere, and he taps out for it! I think the previous turn I’d gotten my island, in any case, my T3 play is the back to basics which locks up his lands. He never recovers and eventually TNN pushes him into the 0-2 bracket.

Match 3: Elves(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
I actually get TNN+jitte and manage to lose. TNN was a bit slow getting to the party and pendelhaven made jitte way less powerful than it would normally be. In a nutshell he goes wider than me, and pendelhave ensures that jitte can only kill 1 critter a turn.

Game 2: Removal/Sweepers.Deck
-2 Spell Pierce
-2 Jace the Mind Sculptor(too slow)
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad(Way too slow)
-1 Batterskull(lifegain is mostly irrelevant in this match)
-1 Unearth
-1 Thoughtseize
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Fatal Push
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Force of Will
+1 Liliana the Last Hope

In the early game I’m doing fairly well I think I ZP/Verdict him into oblivion. Then he nails me with a card I don’t see coming Nissa, Vital Force. Without FoW I’m caught flat footed and she starts beating me down with 5/5 Lands. I do have STP in hand and snapcaster so I can hold off the lands. Eventually I find TNN. I kill Nissa after I snap back plow killing her land and presenting 5 power on the board. Nissa eventually dies, but he’s now at 35ish life since I’ve been plowing his 5/5 lands like a madman. I draw pretty well and eventually TNN/Snap beat him down to zero. I have a pretty difficult time believing I actually won this one.

Game 3:
Much the same story here, early ZP/EE knock him off his early game and put him low on cards. I brainstorm and find Liliana. I deploy her, and he never recovers from her +1 machine gun. Liliana actually ultimates and wins eventually.


Match 4:Pox(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
We trade resource for a while and I eventually get him in a very awkward position. I get a SFM+Jitte(with counters)online. He has bridge and cursed scroll in play. His last card in hand is night of souls betrayal. Jitte counters means that he can’t kill SFM with cursed scroll. It also means his bridge does nothing. Even if he casts the last card in his hand, night of souls betrayal, SFM is 0 power, and can swing under the bridge, and get pumped pre-damage. SFM eventually kills him, I think I flash in a snapcaster at some point to stop a sacrifice effect.

Game 2:
-1 Tasigur(Can’t swing under a bridge)
-3 Collective Brutality
-1 Supreme Verdict
-2 Thoughtseize
-1 TNN(Can’t swing under bridge, and tons of -1/-1/sacrifice effects)
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Fatal Push
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Disenchant
+1 Force of Will
+1 Engineered Explosives

Not much of a game, I keep a kind of land light hand with some cantrips. I ponder and blank, then brainstorm and blank. I pretty much lose on the spot. Pox in particular is a deck you can’t get behind in lands against.

Game 3:
I’ll admit to tilting pretty hard this game. I survive the early game with 3 basics so I’m in decent shape. I think we’re both down to 1 card. He knows the last card in my hand is JTMS. We spend 3 turns awkwardly drawing and not finding anything. Eventually I top deck a brainstorm and absolutely brick. No lands, no fetches, no shuffle effects. I put JTMS 2nd from the top to hide him from discard effects. My opponent is wise to this and he draws a therapy while I’m busy drawing myself out of a horrific brainstorm. When I draw Jace, he therapies it away and I pretty much lose. And of course my next draw is a flooded strand. He resolves a Liliana and wins from there. Definitely a game I could have won with a resolved jace. But can’t win em all I guess.


After today I’m pretty convinced that intuition isn’t worth it. It’s a trap that I’ve fallen in before, a sweet tutor card that ultimately doesn’t work because your opponent gets to pick what you get. After again being reminded of the inevitable power of Search of Azcanta I’ll probably run 2. Another note, I don’t think 2 surgical extraction is correct. Without DRS kicking around it really should be 3. So yet again more adjustments.

CptHaddock
03-06-2018, 12:40 PM
Some of your sideboarding seems a little weird to me.

For Miracles i'd cut the swords entirely and also bring in the EE, Sword and Last Hope. Verdict doesn't make much sense normally, I think that a lot of lists have swapped to EtA and you're rarely going to catch that card with a verdict. If you see a bunch of mentors i'd probably bring in the 2nd. Swords and Last Hope are basically just resilient threats. I'm a little iffy about Tasigur but I feel like if you don't want him in these grindy matchups what do you actually want him in your deck for?

In the big eldrazi matchup i'd keep in the pierces, they counter some of the early lock pieces/mana acceleration pieces. I don't think i'd bring in verdict, they're very rarely committing more than 1 threat on the board and most of their threats are game ending upon resolution anyways. Swords takes care off all of their creatures efficiently.

I'm not really sure why you are bringing in removal for the Pox matchup. I don't know if anything has changed but pox has traditionally only played the 2/2 that comes back from the yard everytime and sometimes bloodghasts as creatures. Fatal push isn't really good any of those, and swords is going to be a dead draw.

First_Revenge
03-06-2018, 02:10 PM
Some of your sideboarding seems a little weird to me.

For Miracles i'd cut the swords entirely and also bring in the EE, Sword and Last Hope. Verdict doesn't make much sense normally, I think that a lot of lists have swapped to EtA and you're rarely going to catch that card with a verdict. If you see a bunch of mentors i'd probably bring in the 2nd. Swords and Last Hope are basically just resilient threats. I'm a little iffy about Tasigur but I feel like if you don't want him in these grindy matchups what do you actually want him in your deck for?

So game 1 I did see mentor, so I didn’t feel that cutting swords entirely was the right call. I never got to see EtA, he very well could be running it though. Verdict was largely an effort to contain an out of control mentor. I’ve seen the deck burn through 2-3 cantrips in a turn. STP doesn’t address this, and is counterable vs a deck full of counters. I could very well be wrong, but I like verdict because it’s an unconditional middle finger to mentor and his students.

I agree with your Liliana call. I didn’t put her in because I didn’t see what she could kill. Her just being a board presence that must be dealt with is a reasonable assessment. I’ll have to revisit my sideboard choices here.

IMO Tasigur gets cut because he’s pretty bad against a deck with 4x STP. Tasigur is in there to give me a diversity of threats, in this case miracles just has the perfect answer.

-1 Tasigur
-3 Collective Brutality
-2 Swords to Plowshares
+1 FoW(Jace/Search are must stop cards)
+1 Disenchant
+1 Supreme Verdict
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Liliana




In the big eldrazi matchup i'd keep in the pierces, they counter some of the early lock pieces/mana acceleration pieces. I don't think i'd bring in verdict, they're very rarely committing more than 1 threat on the board and most of their threats are game ending upon resolution anyways. Swords takes care off all of their creatures efficiently.

I think you’re pretty much spot on with this assessment. Verdict probably doesn’t address the underlying problems in this matchup. My knee jerk reaction to remove pierce was probably just due to the massive amount of mana this deck produces in the first place. I’ll try this next time

-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Unearth
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-3 Collective Brutality
+1 Force of Will
+1 Disenchant
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Back to Basics




I'm not really sure why you are bringing in removal for the Pox matchup. I don't know if anything has changed but pox has traditionally only played the 2/2 that comes back from the yard everytime and sometimes bloodghasts as creatures. Fatal push isn't really good any of those, and swords is going to be a dead draw.

Hmm I guess we’re seeing two different versions of pox. The pox deck I’m encountering doesn’t run bloodghasts, or at least I haven’t seen them over the 3-4 matchups I’ve played against him. His primary threats are mishra’s factory and I think 2 tombstalkers. Given this threat suite I feel like I’m sideboard appropriately.

Mkr 2.0
03-07-2018, 11:23 AM
Unless they are playing the next level subgame, competent Miracle players will typically side out STP against UWx Stoneblade. It does nothing against TNN, and they don't need to plow SFM/Snaps in most cases.

kahboom0225
03-07-2018, 03:30 PM
How feasible is it to play Jeskai Stoneblade with only 1 copy of volcanic Island? I am interested in mainly playing red for the pyroblast and blood moon in the sideboard.

QKisMyName
03-07-2018, 06:42 PM
How feasible is it to play Jeskai Stoneblade with only 1 copy of volcanic Island? I am interested in mainly playing red for the pyroblast and blood moon in the sideboard.

Not possible and/or competitive

FGCmtg
03-08-2018, 08:14 AM
How feasible is it to play Jeskai Stoneblade with only 1 copy of volcanic Island? I am interested in mainly playing red for the pyroblast and blood moon in the sideboard.

I've played some Miracles lists with a single volcanic main, and a mountain in the sideboard. The last blade deck I tried had 2/3 volcs and a mountain main, but it was playing 2 bolts main in addition to the post board blasts and moons. Try playing 1 volc with a mountain main, or sideboard, fetch accordingly. I suspect this will be fine if you only have red cards post board (ofc this requires you to have scalding tarns and arid mesa).

Emiljho
03-12-2018, 05:12 PM
Hello,

First time posting, so apologies to the Mods in adavance.

I started playing Legacy with a UW stoneblade list I found online and modified it over the past months after playing a few local and regional events.

I am currently playing UW out of budget restraints, with only 2 Tundra and without Wastelands.

This weekend, I will play my first bigger event at the JK Series in Maintal, Germany, and wanted to ask for some advice on my Main- and Sideboard. My current List looks like this:

//Maindeck

4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendillion Clique

2 Jace the Mindsculptor

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Counterspell
1 Council's Judgment
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Force of Will

1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

2 Back to Basics

4 Flooded Strand
5 Island
1 Karakas
3 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
2 Tundra
1 Windswept Heath

//Sideboard

1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Disenchant
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Meddling Mage
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Nahiri, the Lithomancer
1 Pithing Needle
1 Rest in Peace
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

I'm looking to streamline and tune my sideboard for a bigger event with a more open meta, for which purpose I like the Meddling Mages, as they provide game against almost any deck. Previous builds included 1 Preordain in the Maindeck, which I've since cut in favor of a third TNN, as it's proven to be one of the most crucial cards in many a matchup. Originally the list included an Elspeth, Knight, which I now opted to drop for more control magic in the form of the one-of spell Snare, which has game against most games, and Elspeth, although she was strong, never felt like she provided enough meat for a 4 drop. compared to Supreme Verdict or Jace. I've been considering bumping supreme verdict to 2, because worst case it pitches to force, and can even be a decent answer to a single creature that isn't Marit Lage in the lategame, but I'm unsure on that (any feedback regarding this is also welcome) .

I'm specifically seeking advice on the following things:

-A replacement for the fun-of Nahiri, the Lithomancer in the sideboard, which is kind of a pet card, but feels inappropriate for a larger tournament.

-What to Cut/replace in the sideboard to improve the matchup against (Grixis) Delver, and Sneak and Show, and storm. I'm intending to pick up a flusterstorm if budget allows it until the weekend, as well as a 2 Surgical extractions to replace the faerie Macabres, which against any Matchup other than BR Reanimator with Chancelor of the Annex seme to be just inferior to the aforementioned 1 Mana answer.

-If I should, and if yes, how to, make room for a second Rest in Peace, Blue Elemental Blast (or Hydroblast).

As an off-note, has anyone tried Terminus in the Sideboard? I haven't tried it out yet, but it seems like it could provide some game against Empty the Warrens decks and creature decks like Delver, Maverick and DnT.

Any advice is apreciated, and thanks in advance!

First_Revenge
03-12-2018, 08:30 PM
Hello,

First time posting, so apologies to the Mods in adavance.

I started playing Legacy with a UW stoneblade list I found online and modified it over the past months after playing a few local and regional events.

I am currently playing UW out of budget restraints, with only 2 Tundra and without Wastelands.

This weekend, I will play my first bigger event at the JK Series in Maintal, Germany, and wanted to ask for some advice on my Main- and Sideboard. My current List looks like this:

//Maindeck

4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendillion Clique

2 Jace the Mindsculptor

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Counterspell
1 Council's Judgment
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Force of Will

1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

2 Back to Basics

4 Flooded Strand
5 Island
1 Karakas
3 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
2 Tundra
1 Windswept Heath

//Sideboard

1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Disenchant
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Meddling Mage
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Nahiri, the Lithomancer
1 Pithing Needle
1 Rest in Peace
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

I'm looking to streamline and tune my sideboard for a bigger event with a more open meta, for which purpose I like the Meddling Mages, as they provide game against almost any deck. Previous builds included 1 Preordain in the Maindeck, which I've since cut in favor of a third TNN, as it's proven to be one of the most crucial cards in many a matchup. Originally the list included an Elspeth, Knight, which I now opted to drop for more control magic in the form of the one-of spell Snare, which has game against most games, and Elspeth, although she was strong, never felt like she provided enough meat for a 4 drop. compared to Supreme Verdict or Jace. I've been considering bumping supreme verdict to 2, because worst case it pitches to force, and can even be a decent answer to a single creature that isn't Marit Lage in the lategame, but I'm unsure on that (any feedback regarding this is also welcome) .

I'm specifically seeking advice on the following things:

-A replacement for the fun-of Nahiri, the Lithomancer in the sideboard, which is kind of a pet card, but feels inappropriate for a larger tournament.

-What to Cut/replace in the sideboard to improve the matchup against (Grixis) Delver, and Sneak and Show, and storm. I'm intending to pick up a flusterstorm if budget allows it until the weekend, as well as a 2 Surgical extractions to replace the faerie Macabres, which against any Matchup other than BR Reanimator with Chancelor of the Annex seme to be just inferior to the aforementioned 1 Mana answer.

-If I should, and if yes, how to, make room for a second Rest in Peace, Blue Elemental Blast (or Hydroblast).

As an off-note, has anyone tried Terminus in the Sideboard? I haven't tried it out yet, but it seems like it could provide some game against Empty the Warrens decks and creature decks like Delver, Maverick and DnT.

Any advice is apreciated, and thanks in advance!

Okay, first off I’m curious about cutting wasteland. If it’s a budget thing I understand completely. However, understand that wasteland/back to basics are the big reasons to be in UW in the first place. Not running 4 wasteland probably hurts this deck severely. Without wasteland this list is inferior to the other 3C blade lists that trade in wastelands for the utility of a 3rd color. Please understand I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just difficult to see the upside of this decision if there is one at all.

I’d probably try Gideon, ally of zendikar instead of nahiri. He produces dudes and is a sizeable clock.

Honestly, I don’t really like RIP in this deck. It’s pretty slow, you’ll more than likely be dead before you actually cast it in matchups that matter. It also shuts off your own snapcasters which is nonbo. I’d just do 3 surgical extractions, it’s free and it has extreme synergy with snap.

You seem fine against sneak and show, you have a ton of countermagic and land hate. Wastelands help this matchup if you can knock them off sol lands. They also run boseju which can be a real problem without wasteland.

Regarding grixis delver, looking at your sideboard I see why you struggle. In your SB only blue blast and supreme verdict really help. In general your sideboard is seriously bent towards combating combo/grind matchups. I’d try adding in some EE for more removal. If you’re feeling spicy you could also try path to exile. Its functionally another STP, against grixis delver they don’t even get to fetch a basic. On top of this is the problem of you not running wasteland to punish a very land light deck.

I’d try this:
1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Disenchant
2 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Meddling Mage
1 Path to Exile/Engineered Explosives
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Pithing Needle
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Sword of Fire and Ice


I’ve never played this deck before though so take everything I’m saying with a grain of salt.

Emiljho
03-13-2018, 04:35 AM
Okay, first off I’m curious about cutting wasteland. If it’s a budget thing I understand completely. However, understand that wasteland/back to basics are the big reasons to be in UW in the first place. Not running 4 wasteland probably hurts this deck severely. Without wasteland this list is inferior to the other 3C blade lists that trade in wastelands for the utility of a 3rd color. Please understand I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just difficult to see the upside of this decision if there is one at all.



I am currently runnig 0 Wastelands because I don’t own them yet, yes. How many would you play, and what would you cut? Would you go up to 22 lands, or even more? Is there any guide how to utilize Wasteland against different decks, or some general guidelines, i.e., just always fire it off, etc.?

Also, absolutely no offense taken; a benefit that I felt in some games was that I could fetch more basics, thereby not being soft to opposing wastelands due to spending my land drops on mana producers instead of denial, but I feel like playing Wasteland myelf could bring a bigger upside. I’m trying to lend a playset for the weekend.

What I don’t quite understand is how Wasteland and B2B synergize; is it just about having more sources of Mana Denial to limit my opponents? Without any play experience, the only direct Synergy seems to be that Wasteland prevents them from stacking up a few non-basics to cast a removal spell over a few turns once you’ve already got a B2B in play.

First_Revenge
03-13-2018, 10:54 AM
Not being soft to basics is really valuable in this meta. I design my lists to basically ignore wasteland effects. You get to basically blank 4 cards in opposing decks which always feels great.

But again, you are a two color manabase, this limits the angles that your deck can attack from. One of your better angles is wasteland. A 2 color deck like yours can't afford to sit there and watch 3 or 4 color decks develop their manabase. Their spells are just flat out more powerful than yours. Thats why manabases get greedy.

You need to slow down their mana development as much as humanly possible. B2B is slow, against delver decks for example they've probably deployed all their meaningful threats already, and resolving a 3 mana enchantment against a deck full of daze/pierce/REB can be a daunting proposition. Wasteland gives you "free" instant speed land destruction they can't do anything about.

In terms of when you use it, that is something you will have to figure out over time. In general if you're not hurting for land you should probably just fire it off. Try to aim at colors they need. For example, BUG delver decks need BB for a lot of their spells. So in that matchup you would prioritize underground seas for removal. MTGTOP8.com is a great resource with tons of competitive decklists, this will give you a feel for the meta.

With only 20 land though we may have to cut a spell or two to cram 4 wasteland in.
-2 Island
-1 Karakas(its an unfetchable, nonbasic plains thats only relevant in one or two matchups)
-1 Spell Snare(Not sure about this one. Wasteland just seems to have more uses than a spicy one of)


Meh kinda day today, 1-2, definitely could have been better. List changed this week, wanted to test out search for azcanta.

3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-10
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-24
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
3 Thoughtseize
2 Spell Pierce
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Unearth

Enchantment-2
2 Search of Azcanta

Artifacts-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Planeswalkers-3
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Back to Basics
1 Disenchant
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
1 Liliana the Last Hope

Match 1: Lands(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
Not the matchup I wanted to start my day on. Lands is a matchup I’ve essentially written off. It’s a deck designed to prey on fair blue decks. It’s not really worth wasting sideboard slots on TBH. Best plan is to probably try and dodge this matchup.

Game 1 I get really lucky. I FoW his exploration and I guess he just draws really badly. I end up deploying 2 snapcasters to the board without flashing anything back in a desperate bid to apply some sort of clock. TNN eventually resolves and my opponent topdecks poorly and loses.

Game 2:
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-3 Collective Brutality
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Unearth
+3 Surgical Extraction
+1 Disenchant
+2 Back to Basics
The game actually starts off great. I keep some countermagic and a surgical extraction. He pitches DD to mox diamond I promptly surgical it. The next turn he deploys tireless tracker and starts beating me down. I dig though my deck for an STP and can’t find it. I end up dying a turn or two later.

Game 3:
Mulligan to six off a 5 lander. My starting 6 is okay, but it doesn’t contain any yard hate. I ponder/brainstorm looking for some, I can’t find it and his loam engine eventually gets online. I plow his first marit lage. And he promptly sets up for another. My draw for the next turn is back to basics which was great a turn or two ago, but now just seems too little too late. I end up scooping em up.

I was advised by the guy next to me that back to basics might have been able to make a game out of it. Opponent might have hesitated in cracking off his marit lage since he wouldn’t get his lands back. I didn’t see the same out he did I guess.

Match 2: Grixis Delver(2-1 Win)
Match 1:
I basically run out of removal to deal with his stuff. My TNN clogs up the ground, but his second or third delver flies over its head and kills me. Talked with him after the game, there was probably a way out if I deployed my SFM a bit earlier, but I prioritized TNN instead.

Match 2:
-3 Thoughtseize
-3 Force of Will
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Search for Azcanta
2 Flusterstorm
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Back to Basics
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Liliana the Last Hope
No really sure what happened. My hand was decent, but he probes me twice then snap concedes. Best guess is he kept a very greedy hand and couldn’t draw out of it.

Match 3:
My opening hand is some fetchlands and a pile of removal spells. Pretty much exactly what I want. I develop my mana, and kill his first 3-4 threats. At some point I use CB’s duress mode and see his hand is just Daze/land. I resolve a TNN and follow up by equipping it with SoFI. He can’t deal with TNN and the game ends.



Match 3:DnT(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
DnT has been really frustrating for me to play against. I’m probably 0-5 against it. I lose by pretty narrow margins. On paper it shouldn’t be this bad, but in practice it’s probably my worst personal matchup. Came into this match looking to kill a personal demon, just didn’t get it done this time around. Maybe next go.

Keep Island, 2x polluted delta, thoughtseize, collective brutality, TNN, and SFM. Not a bad start. One weakness I see right away is no ponder/brainstorm and no way to fetch a basic plains. Figure I’ll just hope to draw my way out of it.
T1 Thoughtseize reveals mom, 2 wastelands, 3 plains, and an aven mindcensor. Mindcensor is unusual, but it seems a ways off and I can crack some basics to get around it. Mom ends up being the pick. After that the game gets awkward fast. I deploy the TNN off 2 islands and swamp to stall out the ground game. CB kills the first mindcensor, but he has a second mindcensor. I draw a second brutality, and a scrubland. I use those to kill mindcensor #2, but promptly get wasted off my only white source. The board state stalls to an acceptable condition. My TNN staring down a lonely thalia. I have SFM in hand, I only need to draw white mana to cast it find a jitte, and win the game. My next 4 draw steps end up being agonizing, thoughtseize, FoW, batterskull, and to add insult to injury my final draw of the game is jitte. By the time I draw the jitte it’s too late. He’s been slowly developing his board and going wide and had lethal on board.

Game 2:
-3 Thoughtseize
-2 Search of Azcanta(too many wastelands)
-1 Unearth
+1 Supreme Verdict
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Liliana, the Last Hope
+1 Disenchant
+1 Engineered Explosives

Goes about as textbook for me as it can go. TNN gets suited up with a jitte and connects on T4. He tries to make a game out of it, but jitte is just too much in the long run.

Game 3:
The mulligan monster strikes. 1 lander, and it’s a non basic. I think there’s one brainstorm in there. Too much potential to get wastelanded or brainstorm locked out of the game. My 6 is another 1 lander, this time with no cantrips. My 5 is about as good as 5’s get, brainstorm, island, marsh flats, polluted delta, EE. I kind of make a game out of it, but it end up getting blown out by flickerwisp. I had put EE on 2 to nail a jitte, SFM, and a thalia, but flickerwisp helpfully reset my EE to 0. Pretty much lose on the spot.

First_Revenge
03-20-2018, 11:00 AM
Awful night with a lot of mulligans, 1-3 sadly. I’m pretty sure I saw my swamp as the only mana source in hand at least 3 times tonight. Same list as last week.

Match 1: Sneak Attack(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
This guy is normally on lands so I keep a decent hand with STP. He switched it up this week and instead shows me a T2 SnT off of a volc island/ ancient tomb. I don’t have countermagic so I scoop em up.

Game 2:
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Unearth
-2 True Name Nemesis
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Disenchant
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will

My opener is 5 lands, snapcaster, batterskull. Yikes. My six are snapcaster, thoughtseize, surgical extraction, ponder, swamp, and FoW. So clunky. I figure I’d best just hope to draw a blue source. I don’t draw a blue source for 2 turns, but my thoughtseize/FoW are enough to keep him from getting out of control. Eventually I find land #2 and start beating him down with SFM+SoFI for the win.

I also see 2 basic islands and realize that back to basics is a terrible card against him. Whoops.

Game 3:
-2 Back to Basics
+2 True Name Nemesis

Game 3 comes down to the wire. My opening 7 is a no lander, and my 6 is again a swamp, thoughtseize, surgical extraction, and some cantrips. I figure my 5 isn’t getting any better and I hope that my scry and being on the draw will net me a land down the line. This hand is also extremely clunky against leyline of sanctity, which I know he plays. He doesn’t reveal a leyline so I let out sigh of relief.
Opening thoughtseize sadly doesn’t reveal any combo pieces. He’s kept 4 lands, 2 ponders, and a FoW. I take the FoW with the intent of extracting it when he tries to go off to strip his countermagic. He tries to jam a SnT the next turn without protection, I counter that, then snap caster extract it. His hand then reveals Sneak Attack and a land. He resolves a sneak attack and we start a top deck war, I get SFM+SoFI out again and start hammering away. On his last turn at 4 life his final draw is of course the griselbrand. Nailbiter, these matches always suck to lose.

Match 2: Aggro Loam(0-2 Loss)
Game 1:
Opening 7 is a six lander, mulligan again. My six is STP, cantrips, brutality, and lands which is fine. I run out of answers to his creatures, eventually he gets a Bob to stick and starts drawing cards. His 2 knights of the reliquary get massive, as does his tireless tracker. It does get to a point where I have TNN+Batterskull. My opponent swings in with 2 Knights(9/9), Scavenging ooze(5/5), and a tireless tracker(4/3). Tireless tracker is the only thing I can actually kill so I go to block it. I forgot that Maze of Ith is a thing, he mazes his own tracker out of the way so that I don’t get the TNN lifelink. His remaining power on board is enough to kill me.

Game 2:
-1 Unearth
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-2 Search for Azcanta
-3 Thoughtseize
-2 Collective Brutality
+3 Surgical Extraction
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Disenchant
+1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Liliana the Last Hope

A non game sadly. Opening 7 is 5 lands, batterskull, jace. Ship it back. My six is swamp, ponder, brainstorm, STP, and some other stuff. I figure I’ll just roll the dice and hope that the scry is enough to find me a land. It isn’t, in fact I don’t draw a land for 4 turns before I just scoop em up.

Match 3: Pox(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
Another clunky hand. My opening 7 is underground sea, ponder, brainstorm, FoW, and some other stuff. A one land hand against pox is never great, but with ponder/brainstorm it’s not the end of the world. But that’s not the kind of night I’m having. Underground sea into ponder reveals 3 non land cards, I shuffle them away, and draw my 4th card which is a batterskull. Oh happy day. Of course I get wastelanded turning off the brainstorm. I don’t draw another land for 5 turns and just concede.

Game 2:
-3 Collective Brutality
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Search for Azcanta
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Disenchant
+1 Liliana the Last Hope

2nd verse, same as the first. Opening 7 is a no lander, going down to 6. I think my six was 4 fetchlands and 2 cantrips, totally fine for this matchup. The game ends up being grindy, I win the topdeck war and slam a jace down. I +2 him out of the game and eventually a jace ultimate kills him.

Game 3:
No third mulligan this time, but again the hand is really clunky. Swamp, Tundra, jace, SFM, and some cantrips. I figure I’m all in on jace at this point. The problem ends up being that I can’t find an STP to protect jace after he is resolved and he ends up dying to some attacking factories. I end up dying not too long after he does.
Match 4:(BR Reanimator)
Match 1:
I know what this guy plays, my opening 7 is 5 lands, TNN, and engineered explosives. Yuck. My next six is a no lander. Double yuck. My 5 is 3 lands, FoW, thoughtseize. End up just keeping it. Opponent is on the play and opens with thoughtseize taking my FoW. It doesn’t end up mattering, my topdeck is a land. I thoughtseize and see a redundant hand I can’t stop. He goes off next turn and I can’t do anything about it.

Match 2:
-2 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Unearth
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Engineered Explosives
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will

My opponent essentially ends up being too greedy and loses to himself. My opening hand was pretty good, but he manages to go off through it. He puts a griselbrand in play with reanimate and draws 7 putting himself down to 4. At this point I have nothing on board so it’s pretty clear I’ve lost in all reasonable scenarios. But he then attempts to go off a second time, he thoughseizes himself down to 2 and puts an elesh norn in the graveyard, and shortly thereafter into play. All the while I’m staring at what is now a golden collective brutality. I show him the brutality the next turn and win. Won this one purely off the back of his greed, but at this point in the night I’ll take what I can get. Explained his mistake after the game, he accepted his mistake and learned from it.

Game 3:
My opening 7 is really good. Double surgical, search, FoW, and some lands. I figure I’ll hold him off with surgicals and win once my azcanta comes online. Ends up playing out more or less exactly like that, once search flips the game is all over but the crying.



Pretty rough night all in all. A lot of it was really terrible openers, but I’m sure there were some play mistakes mixed in too. Next week I want to find room for ponder #4. At this point I’m also fairly convinced that search is a 1 of. Too many wastelands running around for it. It also doesn't help that my list is loaded with basics so more often than not my opponent is sitting on a wasteland or two they can't use.

Until next week.

First_Revenge
03-27-2018, 11:54 AM
Kind of the same list. I’ve upped the number of disenchants as I keep running into problematic artifacts/enchantments. Other than that azcanta has been pushed to the board for grindy non-wasteland matchups. It’s a great card, but I’m less and less convinced this is the appropriate shell for it, UWR is probably better since its more reactive. Maybe it leaves altogether in the future?

Lands-20
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats

Creatures-10
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-24
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
3 Collective Brutality
3 Thoughtseize
2 Spell Pierce
2 Supreme Verdict


Artifacts-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Planeswalkers-4

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Gideon Ally of Zendikar
1 Liliana, the Last Hope


Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Back to Basics
2 Disenchant
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Force of Will
1 Search for Azcanta


Match 1: BYE
We have an odd number of players and I’m the odd man out. Spend the time scouting out opponents and playing on my Switch.


Match 2: R/W DnT(2-0 Win)

Game 1:
Get to face a slightly different version of the deck I’ve struggled with in the past. The difference appears to be the inclusion of magus of the moon for additional mana denial. My opening 7 is terrible, a bunch of blue spells and only a single marsh flats. My opening 6 isn’t much better, only a single land, some cantrips, and some removal. The only catch is that land is a scrubland. I keep it on the draw, hoping that my scry+draw will yield me something that gets blue mana. The game ends up being very back and forth. I EE to catch two of his opening vials, and eventually land a TNN in play. He makes a critical mistake however that turns the game in my favor. Basically he has a Mirran Crusader+SoFI and Thalia vs my TNN+Jitte and SFM. He attacks with crusader, which gets chumped by SFM, then for some reason he passes the SoFI to the Thalia. This ends up exposing the Crusader, the next turn TNN attacks and the Jitte counters get used to kill Crusader. I’m able to tank a hit or two from thalia and eventually I manage to stabilize with jitte. The game comes to its grindy conclusion after his thalia+SoFI+jitte loses to my TNN+batterskull+jitte. Pretty bizarre voltron battle, but TNN wins out. I get lucky in two ways this game, first my opponent makes a big mistake, and second my awkward mana doesn’t get punished by either wasteland or blood moon.

Game 2:
-3 Force of Will
-2 Spell Pierce
-1 Collective Brutality
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Disenchant
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice


Opening 7 is alright. Tundra, underground sea, fetch, TNN and some removal. I’m not thrilled by the number of non basics, but I’m not convinced my 6 is going to be any better. I plow his opening mom, and then get double wastelanded. I’m able to cantrip into some more basics and white spells. But the board is awkward, I have two islands, a swamp, and TNN in play. The problem ends up being that I can’t find a white fetch to get a plains into play, and he has a thalia on board. I’m staring down wasteland #3 on board so I’m really not going to fetch another non basic. TNN can’t really do much either as he’s holding back the white horde. I get lucky, off the top the draw is jitte, a turn later jitte is equipped and the game ends.
Get through red and taxes with a bit of luck, felt pretty good to break a long losing streak.


Match 3: Grixis Delver(2-0 Win)

Game 1:
Another awkward hand that doesn’t get punished too badly. Double tundra, polluted delta, STP, and some other stuff. I lose the die roll and his opener is delver. I decide to play around possible stifle, and just play delta and crack it for swamp. My draws end up being pretty good, I get a solid mana base going, and I’ve got 3 SFM and a jace in hand. My plan is to just keep dropping SFMs and running him out of cards, jace will be the knockout punch. The first SFM gets bolted, the second has its search ability stifled(woohoo I was right about him playing stifle), but the third sticks with me at around 5 life. Batterskull and jitte get cheated in play. In the meantime he manages to topdeck TNN which kinda holds off my well-armed swarm of kor and germ tokens. Once jace lands the game pretty much ends. I think we have one final fight over some jitte triggers, he tries to stifle a jitte lifegain activation. But I’ve been sandbagging a FoW for this or a potentially lethal lightning bolt. I FoW his stifle and the game ends.

Game 2:
-3 Thoughtseize
-3 FoW
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor(Not sure if correct, jace is not so great against pyroblasts sadly)
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice

Another weird hand, but probably my most interesting game of the night. Tundra, Underground Sea, fetch, back to basics, and some cantrips/removal. I’m normally thrilled to see B2B in my hand, but with 2 non basics it’s defiantly awkward. His opening DRS gets plowed and eventually we get to my opponent’s turn 3 end step. He’s tapped out to deploy a young pyro and make 2 tokens. In the meantime I’ve got my tundra, underground sea, and island in play, untapped. My hand is Snap, plow, B2B, EE, and verdict. At his end step I have some thinking to do.

Line 1: The Risky Route
Snapcaster mage, snap back plow to bait out a potential daze. On my turn deploy B2B trapping all his lands except 1(bounced by daze) beneath it. It’s important to note that 2/3 of my lands also get trapped beneath the B2B. But i’m 100% he doesn’t have basics at all, and he has a thinner land count, so I’ll likely draw out of it before he does. He does have a lot of 1 mana critters though, including gurmag angler that could kill me before I dig myself out.

Line 2: The Safe Route
Just plow the pyromancer and continue to remove his creatures until I’m in a position to better leverage my own B2B. But, I’m also passing up on a golden window for B2B. As the game draws on longer and longer its less and less likely I’ll ever see him tap out to cast anything again.

*Cue Kenny Loggins Music*
I opt to gamble a bit and take the risky route, I attempt to snap plow presenting him with a daze opportunity. He takes the bait and bounces a tropical island. This is great news for me, if he had bounced a volcanic island, pyroblast would be a live card next turn. My topdeck for the turn is polluted delta, so it turns out the daze bait was unnecessary, but whatever. Delta fetches swamp, B2B resolves pretty much telling me 100% he doesn’t have a daze in hand. I use my final land, tundra, to plow his pyromancer with impunity. He’s left with 2 pyro tokens and board that won’t untap. We durdle for a turn or two, I’m furiously digging for white mana, and he’s trying to find a way out. Somewhere in there I’m forced to use EE to clear his two tokens out. Eventually he gets a gurmag angler to stick which hits me twice, and he goes for a DRS to try and fix his mana. At this point though I’ve managed to dig myself out. With swamp, island, plains, and polluted delta(had to get another non basic), I cast supreme verdict and the game pretty much ends. He tries to make a game of it by casting ancient grudge against my batterskull, but he taps out to do it and I have pierce to stop him.


Match 4: Lands(0-2 Loss)
Based on records the last match of the night would either be UR Delver or Lands. I’d take delver in a heartbeat, but lands is instead waiting for me in the finals.

Game 1:
We both stall out, he gets his punishing fire engine going, but eventually I get a TNN to stick. I accidentally blow through a tabernacle trigger and am forced to sac it. Think he makes a lage token after that. Either way, the clock was too slow.

Game 2:
-2 Supreme Verdict
-3 Collective Brutality
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Liliana the Last Hope
-3 Thoughtseize(This may have been wrong)
+3 Surgical Extraction
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Back to Basics
+2 Disenchant
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will

Game 2 is pretty dismal as well. My opener is Gideon, extraction, brainstorm, and some lands, definitely good enough. I open with a surgical taking out his punishing fire, which is a promising start. I land a Gideon and he shows his last card in hand to be maze of ith. He makes three copies of it with thespians stage and my soldiers never connect. He also gets his tabernacle into play so it’s constantly taxing my resources. The game ends when he starts getting his loam/ghost quarter loop to go off. I get a snapcaster to flashback surgical extraction to try and get the loams out, but he has the cycle land in hand to get his loam out of harm’s way.

Still pretty happy on the night, 3-1 is still a good record, just wish I’d gotten to play delver in the finals.
Manabase needs some tuning. My deck is really hungry for WW thanks to supreme verdict/Gideon. I’m probably going to have to make some edits to the manabase. Scrubland seems more of a liability lately, and I don’t need 4 polluted deltas. Maybe cut scrub and a delta for 2 marsh flats?

First_Revenge
04-03-2018, 11:54 AM
Same list as last week, I think I’m beginning to settle in. Although I went 3-1 it was more draining than usual for reasons you’ll find out later.

Match 1: Elves!(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
Opponent wins the die roll, I’ve seen him multiple times on DnT and my opener is fine against that. Some fetches, a cantrip, SFM, and some killspells. His opening forest into DRS catches me off guard, and it’s pretty easy to surmise he is on elves. My opening thoughtseize immediately presents a difficult decision. He has some random elves, reclamation sage, symbiote, cradle, and glimpse of nature. Reclamation sage basically turns my jitte off, but leaving him with glimpse + cradle seems more immediately threatening. I opt to take glimpse and figure I’ll try and bait his sage with a batterskull, this also means I save one of my killspells for symbiote so he can’t keep bouncing sage back to hand. He does end up taking the bait two turns later, even better for me he also forgets that batterskull can be bounced back to hand blanking his sage. Having killed his symbiote earlier, his sage is now trapped on board. A second SFM gets cast, jitte gets tutored up and starts connecting. Explosives on 1 kills 4 of his dudes as extra icing on the cake.

Game 2:
-2 Spell Pierce
-1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Batterskull
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will

Game 2 starts out well enough, I keep his board under control, but I’m also sandbagging a supreme verdict in hand. He keeps bouncing stuff back to his hand via symbiote so I never get the opportunity I’m looking for. This comes back to bite me, ultimately he goes with a relatively weak craterhoof behemoth putting 9 power on board with 2 creatures. But I’m at 9 life, so it’s good enough for him to win. Should have cast the verdict earlier.
In the course of the game I get this weird sense he’s running choke so I SB accordingly. Looking at lists now it seems like all elves decks run it, but still, I’m happy to have recognized that possibility mid match. SB gets adjusted accordingly.

Game 3:
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Thoughtseize
+2 Disenchant

Assuming he has choke, scrubland is now the most valuable land in my deck. I keep a reasonable opener and the game begins. I try to fetch around choke which is relatively easy since most of my killspells push me in that direction anyway. Eventually I do fetch 2 islands to cast a TNN with 2 SFM in hand. He immediately chokes me, locking me on scrubland and plains, enough for my purposes. I deploy SFM, glue jitte to TNN and go to town. He deals with the jitte, then SoFI comes out and he has a harder time of it. With opponent at 16 life I swing with TNN+SoFI, putting him to 9. My draw is Brutality, which along with TNN gives me lethal next turn. Opponent basically assumes he has one more turn than he actually does and dies to the brutality the following turn.


Match 2: The Epic Storm(2-1 Win)
Just through hearing the players around me talk, we had 3 newcomers to the store, all on storm apparently. So when I get paired against a new face I’m guessing the odds are pretty good he’s on storm.
Game 1:
He starts off behaving a lot like grixis delver to my confusion. I get probed, he ponders some, and then he casts cabal therapy against my partially known hand naming Force of Will. At this point the jig is up, if he were a delver deck he would have taken the known 2 STP in my hand in a heartbeat. He goes off and puts 18 goblins into play. I try and dig for my only out, engineered explosives, but I don’t find it.

Game 2:
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope
-1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-2 Swords to Plowshares(Xantid Swarm is definitely a card storm decks play)
-3 True Name Nemesis
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will

My opener contains ZP, cantrips, some countermagic, and some other stuff. He therapies me and I brainstorm in response. It’s a tough brainstorm, I decide to hide ZP on top and expose my countermagic to his removal. I’m basically praying that he goes the empty the warrens plan as I’m dead in the water to tendrils. He does go the warrens route and happily empties his hand to plop 18 goblins on the table. I flip over ZP, a card he hasn’t encountered before apparently, and the game ends with SFM closing it up.

Game 3:
On his turn 2 he starts going off, my hand is double zealous, brainstorm, and some lands. At this point he had stripped away my spell pierce. He goes through his entire hand, with infernal tutor being the last card cast, given that he knows about the ZPs in my hand he can only really be going for tendrils. I brainstorm miraculously finding the blue card and FoW to win it.


Match 3: ANT(1-2 Loss)
Next pairings are announced, I see a name I vaguely remember and when he starts walking over I recognize him as a semi-regular attendee, who of course, plays storm... I let out a private groan.

It’s a rare occasion that I play TES and ANT on the same night, so it’s probably worth explaining some key differences between the two. TES is a far more “all in strategy,” you’ll recognize it because it plays cards like chrome mox and rite of flame, these cards are low cost so they’ll lead to explosives starts or horrific blowouts should the pilot fail. ANT is a more long range strategy, you’ll recognize it because it plays cabal ritual, a slower spell that gives them more mana. They use that additional mana to cast stuff like past in flames, a high cost card that TES can’t support. As a result, TES has a tougher time “reloading” than ANT does.

Game 1:
It’s kind of a blur, but game 1’s against storm aren’t very favored, I lean really heavily on G2 and G3. I probably run out of countermagic and just die to tendrils.

Game 2:
On a bright note, sideboarding was very easy, same thing! A combination of countermagic, and a snapcaster mage+surgical extraction taking his tutors was enough to kick the legs out from under him as he tried to go off.

Game 3:
Same thing, snapcaster mage+surgical take his tutors and another relevant spell. But lady luck giveth, and lady luck taketh away. With the storm counter at 15 or something, he has 5 black and 1 blue in his mana pool. He uses his last blue to cast brainstorm and rips tendrils, his only way out, right off the top of the deck. I’ll consider it even given the absurdly lucky brainstorm I’d gotten earlier.


Match 4: ANT(2-0 Win)
I look at the pairings board.... And it’s another name I don’t recognize, but it’s a face that I do. He’d been jamming some games against a friend and so I knew he was on storm. Wanted to get paired against one of the 3-4 delver decks in the room, but here we are...

Game 1:
Opening hand is a 5 lander with batterskull and brainstorm. I think about it for a second, I’m on the play so it’s risky, but I elect to not do it. Brainstorm is really good, but I don’t think it can fix 5 lands and a batterskull. My 6 is a no lander, and my 5 is pretty miserable too, but I keep, a land, two brainstorms, and 2 SFM. A good cabal therapy would ruin me, but at this point I don’t have much of a choice but to roll the dice. I play my land and pass. He duresses and I’m presented with a choice. I can brainstorm in response, but if I do I risk locking myself out of the game if I don’t draw a land. Also if I brainstorm now, I can only go 3 cards deep as I don’t get my drawstep to help dig further into the deck. Ultimately I just let duress resolve and he rips a brainstorm out. Next turn I do brainstorm and find FoW, jace, and land, about as good as I can ask for. He attempts to go off the next turn and empties his hand, the last card being an infernal tutor. I FoW it, stopping him for the time being, but sitting pretty in his yard is a past in flames with 2 lands in play, so I’m far from out of the woods. SFM+Batterskull deploy to start clocking him. In the meantime I’ve been drawing pretty hot and find another FoW+blue card. He moves to go off again, but I FoW the past in flames and he concedes.

Game 2:
At least my SB is easy. This game he probes and sees me with double FoW and no other blue cards with SFM as a clock. The problem for him ends up being that he doesn’t have discard spells so he just has to sit there until he gets a way to deal with FoW. SFM gets deployed and suited up, cards start getting drawn, and eventually I get into a spot where I have 2 FoW with 2 blue cards for backup. The killing blow ends up being a brutality to duress him, revealing a bunch of LEDs and rituals along with 2 infernal tutors. There isn’t much of a choice here, I yank one of the tutors, then surgically extract the other one from his hand. He now has a bunch of accelerants that storm into nothing. He draws dead and SFM kills him.


Can’t complain overall, fighting 3 storm decks was unpleasant, but I did learn a lot. Looking back I realize that I beat 2 storm decks out of 3 without ever seeing a single thoughtseize...? Do I get a prize for that??

LucaT
04-08-2018, 05:25 PM
Hi to everyone! :D
This is my Jeskai Stoneblade list.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/378670306484551685/432652003152494646/Jesaki_Stoneblade_1.0.png

Anyone else plays this deck?
I would like to create a discussion for the best side in/out for this list with all metagame huge decks ;)

I'm waiting for your replies! :D

ItsCliche
04-13-2018, 11:45 AM
Hi to everyone! :D
This is my Jeskai Stoneblade list.

Anyone else plays this deck?
I would like to create a discussion for the best side in/out for this list with all metagame huge decks ;)

I'm waiting for your replies! :D

http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=118334

The above list was mine I played at a team SCG event back in January, I still run the exact 75 through a league on MTGO a few times a week with fine results.

I think we're playing 73/75 same cards actually. How has explosives been for you in the main deck? With how many fair decks I've been playing lately, having the Sword of Fire and Ice main deck has been great to be able to tutor up game 1.

As for the sideboard, I'm playing a Grim Lavamancer and Nahiri in the board over an extra Disenchant and SoFI. Grim Lavamancer is about as lights out against DnT and other small creature decks as a Jitte is, and have loved it in the board. The Nahiri is more of a personal pet card that I've always loved, but you rarely lose a game where Nahiri is left on the board and have won a surprising number of games with a Nahiri ultimate :laugh:

Qweerios
04-13-2018, 02:30 PM
Just to comment on the last 2 posts....

I too play a nearly identical 75 with a few exceptions. I don't play much Stoneblade these days but I did play many variants for several years and UWr was always my preferred version. So here are some points that you might find interesting for the sake of discussion about this nice streamlined list you posted.

-Basic Mountain mainboard with only 2 Bolts is a wasted slot. I usually play the singleton Mountain as a SB card along with the other red SB cards that would be brought in against Wasteland decks. Playing 19 Lands mainboard with 10 fetches, 4 duals and 5 basics is enough with 8 cantrips. The 20th land comes in postboard when necessary.

-4 basic Islands is a lot. I never needed more than 3 Islands and 2 Plains to have more basic lands than my opponents can care for. The 4th Island could easily become a 10th Fetch (2nd Mesa).

-I think there is no good reason to omit the 4th Ponder. Playing 4 Ponders is as basic as playing 4 Brainstorms in a UWr control deck. As a hipster, I have been on the 8 cantrip suite years before it became mainstream :P . I won't go into details as to why 4 Ponders is a no-brainer but let's just say it makes your maindeck better/consistent and virtually expands your SB (postboard games > pre-board games). Ignore those who say cantrips are clunky and suck against Thalia and Chalice... Mulligans, land shortages/floods and color screws are clunkier. It doesn't matter what your opponent plays against you if you lose to your own draws...

-Clique is such an underwhelming card compared to its alternatives. I love Clique and it's a shame it is no longer a fraction of what it used to be. Clique is a jack of all trades, master of none. Being particularly good at nothing is what makes Clique subpar to TNN and Snap. If you use it for additional disruption, more counterspells are better... I think you would be better off with a 4th Ponder here as a starting point.

-Supreme Verdict is a fine card with it's own merit. However, I don't think it is nearly as good as EE as a mainboard card. EE is applicable to way more situations and matchups, has a more flexible cost, and retains its blowout potential while being able to dig you out of more dire situations. EE has value where Verdict has none. I would 100% play a 2nd mainboard EE over a singleton Verdict. Verdict is better at bringing you back from an insurmountable board position while EE prevents you from getting into an insurmountable board position (AKA: handles Chalice, EtW, explosive elves, sweeps Mom + Vial or DRS + Delver openers, and more!). Hell, you can even break from a Liliana choke-hold with an EE... Verdict is a fine SB card though.

-As Cliche mentioned, Grim Lavamancer is not to be underestimated as a SB option. I personally think you can't go wrong with a single copy.

-I am not a fan of the 2nd Priest in the SB. The effect of Priest is narrow and doesn't stack. If you want more GY hate, diversifying with RiP or playing something cheaper at 0-1 mana is more effective. Given that Elves is already quite positive, I would believe that a 2nd Priest is a concession to Sneak n Show.

Just my 0.02$

BigBopper
04-14-2018, 12:24 PM
Has anyone experience with wasteland in that (jeskai) build? Mainly dealing with utility lands as blinkmoth, cradle or busaiju. Now that turbo depths is a real thing, its more protection where counterspells fail. I see 2-3 of them in esper builds now and then.

I guess grim lavamancer and izzet staticaster compete for the same sb slot? Staticaster has haste but can't be cast in early turns, but takes care of tokens and doesn't dissynergize with snapcaster nor is affected by drs.

First_Revenge
04-16-2018, 10:49 AM
Has anyone experience with wasteland in that (jeskai) build? Mainly dealing with utility lands as blinkmoth, cradle or busaiju. Now that turbo depths is a real thing, its more protection where counterspells fail. I see 2-3 of them in esper builds now and then.

I guess grim lavamancer and izzet staticaster compete for the same sb slot? Staticaster has haste but can't be cast in early turns, but takes care of tokens and doesn't dissynergize with snapcaster nor is affected by drs.

Regarding wasteland, here’s my bit.

Generally, I’m of the opinion that wasteland is something you play 4 of or you play none of. I’d also say that most of the time wasteland almost locks you into playing DRS thanks to the insane synergy you can get there.

I’ve run esper deathblade in the past and now I’m on esper stoneblade. I used to run 2 wastelands in deathblade, but honestly I found it underwhelming. As a 2 of it never really constitutes a mana denial plan. It’s just too inconsistent. You could argue that it snipes utility lands, but again as a 2 of it’s not that reliable. Look at infect, they run 4 inkmoth nexus. You might waste the first nexus but they’ll grind through you on sheer numbers alone. In fact, given the sheer number of wastelands floating around in the meta, I’d argue that there just aren’t that many 1 or 2 of utility lands kicking around anymore. Non basics for the most part are duals or 3-4 of game critical pieces like cradle.

Second big lesson, not all wastelands are created equal. Wastelands from a delver(grixis in particular) and DnT decks are just flat out better than ours. Their entire deck is built around wasteland, in ours wasteland is a tacked on afterthought. Without a fast clock like delver or a DRS to abuse the mana advantage, I’d estimate our wastelands are only about half as effective as a wasteland from a delver deck.

When I made the jump down from esper deathblade to esper stoneblade, wasteland was one of the first things to get cut. First because DRS was going good bye. Second because I became convinced that based on the delver heavy meta I live in, basics were really where I wanted to be.

And here’s the obligatory know your meta footnote. If your meta is infested with depths combo, then yeah, it’s probably worth running wasteland. If it isn’t, I’d say you’re probably just better off running basics.

QKisMyName
04-16-2018, 03:32 PM
I disagree with almost everything Qweerios argues in favor of.

1) Basic mountain mainboard with 2 bolts in the main board is not a wasted slot. It gives 1 more slot to an already tightly packed side board. It serves to increase resilient to opposing mana denial plans. 19 lands is not nearly enough.

2) There is in fact good reason to omit playing a 4th ponder. No, it is not as 'basic' as playing 4 brainstorms in a UWr control deck. UWr stoneblade requires action cards. As such, it is acceptable to omit a copy to play a card that actually does something. It also decreases vulnerability to chalice on 1 (potentially) & thalia (assuredly).

3) Clique is not an underwhelming card. It is uniquely suited for different circumstances than true-name nemesis. It is disrupts combo decks where TNN is useless. It draws out counter spells & attacks planeswalkers at instant speed in control & midrange match ups.

4) Supreme verdict is better at different things compared to EE. It clearly pitches to force of will whereas EE does not. Supreme verdict cannot be countered & cannot be stifled. EE also requires more mana to destroy creatures of converted mana cost 3. Supreme verdict does not require on field creatures to align converted mana costs to completely wipe the board. Yes, EE does different things like destroying chalice, but that does not down play the mana benefits of supreme verdict. It is simply a matter of card preference

5) Containment priest is the complete opposite of the asserted notion that it is "narrow & doesn't stack". The card attacks aether vial decks, natural order decks, green sun's zenith decks, sneak attack, show & tell, dredge, and reanimator. The fact that the card has flash is also hugely relevant in the match ups you board the card in

First_Revenge
04-24-2018, 11:56 AM
It’s been a while, been busy with work/finals/other obligations so I haven’t had time to keep updating. Do have some time this week so here we go(again). Decklist remains the same as last week, thinking of some minor tweaks coming up, but nothing too substantial.

Match 1: Grixis Pyromanger(1-1 Draw)
Game 1:
I keep a hand of some removal, SFM, brainstorm, and jace. He starts the game off looking a lot like Czech pile. He eventually resolves a pyromancer and probes me which tells me that’s not the case. For the first 4-5 turns of the game I’m mainly trying to keep the board under control and get to the point where I can cast the jace that’s sitting in my hand. On T4 I cast a brainstorm hunting for a 5th land so I can cast jace with pierce backup. I find the land, I decide to put back a thoughseize and a leave jace on top. I know he plays cabal therapy and I’m not too fond of getting my jace stripped out. He does end up playing therapy naming jace, but that card is hidden on the top of my deck now. I resolve jace the next turn and brainstorm to victory. He dies under the weight of card advantage.

Game 2:
-3 Force of Will
-3 Collective Brutality(No delvers, his main threat appears to be pyromancer)
+1 Search for Azcanta
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Flusterstorm

He wins this game off the back of a T3 blood moon. He sticks me on an island and a plains with 2 SFM in hand. He has swamp, island, DRS. If I could plow the DRS I think I could have won this game and locked him off mana. Instead he resolves jace and runs away with it much the same way I did game 1. We go to turns and I try to basically survive, but he wins on T5 with 2 snapcasters and a DRS beating me down. We clearly don’t have time for a G3 and leave it at a draw.


Match 2: ANT(2-0 Win)
Game 1:
I’ll just say my opponent drew horrifically. My hand is alright, pierce, FoW, cantrips, and a gideon. For the first two turns we play draw go, then he duresses me. My hand hasn’t changed that much. Pierce and 2xFoW are the only relevant threats, but brainstorm/ponder represent some potential goodies. I figure I’m assuredly losing a FoW in this case, but instead he yanks the Gideon...? It’s an odd play that signals to me he’s got nothing going on in his hand. The next turn ponder finds a jace which resolves, and then I get to live every blue mage’s wet dream by untapping with jace. Repeated brainstorms give me all the tools I need to win from there.

Game 2:
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope
-1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Supreme Verdict
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
+3 Surgical Extraction
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will
+1 Search for Azcanta
+2 Zealous Persecution

I get pretty lucky here. I forget what the opener here is, but T2 or T3 I CB him and see a pile of rituals and a tutor, which of course I take. A turn or two later all I’m sitting on is 2X FoW and an engineered explosives. He decides to therapy me which is a disaster. I decide to let it resolve and force him to make the right call. He does and 2xFoW hit the dumpster. He passes the turn, I draw a land for turn and since I can’t hide my explosives, I run it out on 0. I figure I’m probably dead at this point, 1 card in hand is a land so it’s time to start praying. He goes off, and somewhere in that chain he resolves ad naseum. He goes through a lot of his deck, but fails to find a tutor or tendrils and goes down to 1. He gets chunked pretty hard by flipping a worthless empty the warrens. He brainstorms to get a bit deeper in to his deck but still comes up empty. TNN kills him next turn.


Match 3: Grixis Delver(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
Nothing too spectacular here. I get enough early removal to control his board, while getting enough basics to develop my own. As the game goes longer the game inevitably tilts in my favor. TNN and SFM get resolved, and eventually TNN carries a batterskull in for the win.

Game 2:
-3 FoW
-3 Thoughtseize
-1 Jace, the Mindsculptor
-1 Collective Brutality
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+2 Back to Basics

This game goes off the rails pretty quickly. He leads on volc, I go plains and pass, he plays a sea and resolves pyromancer. I play island and try to plow the pyromancer and he double dazes the plow picking up two tokens in the process. I start getting beat down for 4. I do sort of stabilize, but it’s too late. I’m at 1 when I finally clear the board, and I just cast sword of fire and ice hoping to connect with something down the road. We enter the awkward top deck phase. I rip 2 TNNs off the top but he has a FoW for each of them. Eventually he just plays a 1/1 delver I can’t answer and slips in there for lethal.

Game 3:
The planeswalker special. My opener is some land, Liliana, STP, and cantrips. I keep his board under control early, and on T4 I resolve a Liliana playing around a daze. He eventually deals with Liliana by bolting her twice, but somewhere along the line I’ve drawn my Gideon. Gideon resolves and starts pumping out 2/2s. He actually manages to stick 2x gurmag anglers and surgically extracts my STP, so the fish are quite literally a big problem. TNN helps hold back the fish and Gideon just keeps being a knight factory. Eventually SFM resolves, I get batterskull and pass. I’m very conscious of my opponent’s potential artifact hate. As long as this game has gone, I’m pretty much assuming he has an abrade. Equipping batterskull to TNN is not a great idea, he just abrades the batterskull after the equip. I need 8 mana to make it work, but I’m not that far off at 6, and I do have some cantrips. I decide to just blink the skull into play to represent a potential threat and to allow my opponent to make a mistake by trying to abrade it. He ends up falling for the trap and abrades a batterskull against 3 untapped lands. Batterskull gets bounced, replayed, and then glued to a TNN to break the stalemate.


Match 4: UB Omnitell featuring Lim Dul’s Vault(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
I roughly know what this guy is on having seen him play occasionally before, never actually sat down and faced him though. Game 1 my hand is alright, a CB a piece of countermagic, and a ponder. It ends up not being enough, my CB eats a FoW and he resolves SnT through the countermagic to win.

Game 2:
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope
-1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Supreme Verdict
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
+3 Surgical Extraction(Really screws with vault stacks)
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will
+1 Search for Azcanta
+1 Disenchant(its pretty bad, but maybe I can disenchant omniscience at an awkward time for him)
He leads off on a boseju which is really good. Thankfully I have enough discard to keep him at bay. I strip his hand and start beating down with a snapcaster. Apparently he draws pretty dead and concedes.
Game 3:
Pretty frustrating game. He starts on boseju again(only 1 in his deck). I start stripping his hand out leaving him on 2 lands, omniscience, and emrakul. Its T3 and I’m stuck on an underground sea and tundra in play. My hand is spell pierce, search, and I think a CB. I figure that vault is pretty much his only way out at this point, and I really do need to get my deck going. I decide to cast the search and hope for the best. And right off the top rolls a lim dul’s vault. He casts it, finds SnT, and resolves it off the back of boseju. Womp Womp.

Qweerios
04-29-2018, 12:52 PM
I disagree with almost everything Qweerios argues in favor of.

1) Basic mountain mainboard with 2 bolts in the main board is not a wasted slot. It gives 1 more slot to an already tightly packed side board. It serves to increase resilient to opposing mana denial plans. 19 lands is not nearly enough.

2 Volc is more than enough to cast 2 Bolts pre-board. Arguing for more SB space at the expense of MB space implies that your SB is more important than your MB, which is not the case. If you care about hypergeometric distributions and choose that 20 lands is better than 19 with 8 cantrips and 3-4 mana curve toppers in a 5+ turn deck, basic mountain remains the worst possible 20th land you could draw.

2) There is in fact good reason to omit playing a 4th ponder. No, it is not as 'basic' as playing 4 brainstorms in a UWr control deck. UWr stoneblade requires action cards. As such, it is acceptable to omit a copy to play a card that actually does something. It also decreases vulnerability to chalice on 1 (potentially) & thalia (assuredly).

Ponder is one of the best ways to give you more action. It in fact increases your odds of giving you the right action for the right circumstance. Arguing that shaving a Ponder makes you more resilient to CotV implies that you won't replace it with a CMC1 spell, which likely increases your curve and makes the deck statistically clunkier, therefore giving you less time to react (AKA less business gets played).

3) Clique is not an underwhelming card. It is uniquely suited for different circumstances than true-name nemesis. It is disrupts combo decks where TNN is useless. It draws out counter spells & attacks planeswalkers at instant speed in control & midrange match ups.

I concede to you that Clique does radically different things than TNN. However, against PW, Midrange and Control TNN is clearly superior so your argument is moot. Clique only shine against slower combo variants and the occasional Miracle trigger on an already favorable board.

4) Supreme verdict is better at different things compared to EE. It clearly pitches to force of will whereas EE does not. Supreme verdict cannot be countered & cannot be stifled. EE also requires more mana to destroy creatures of converted mana cost 3. Supreme verdict does not require on field creatures to align converted mana costs to completely wipe the board. Yes, EE does different things like destroying chalice, but that does not down play the mana benefits of supreme verdict. It is simply a matter of card preference

yes they are different but their differences mean a lot. Pitching to FoW is one of the poorest argument for card quality IMO and relevance in #of Matchups outweighs any of the points you proposed. Stifle is a Relic and only sees play in RUG against which reaching 4 mana is much more difficult than landing and activating a 3 mana wrath over 2 turns.

5) Containment priest is the complete opposite of the asserted notion that it is "narrow & doesn't stack". The card attacks aether vial decks, natural order decks, green sun's zenith decks, sneak attack, show & tell, dredge, and reanimator. The fact that the card has flash is also hugely relevant in the match ups you board the card in

The effect of the 2nd Priest on the board doesn't offer much more than the first... they don't stack very well. Splitting 2 Priests into 1 Priest and 1 Rip for instance gives you a lot more matchup coverage and the same amount of total GY hate. Nearly all of the cards you named are played in a very limited amount of decks. Priest shines against Sneak n Show and Elves mostly. that's 2 major Matchups at best. Dredge is marginal and 2 mana GY hate in Creature form against Reanimator variants is splash hate at best. Also the only Vial deck in the meta worthy of consideration would be DnT and you don't want to bring in Priest in that matchup because of Flickerwisp...

QKisMyName
04-29-2018, 10:01 PM
1. Two volcanics is more than enough to cast, but not sustain. Gets destroyed via wasteland. Your mentioning of hypergeometric distribution really doesn't mean anything tbh. You didn't describe K, unless you mean for us to assume that K is drawing the 4th ponder or 20th land is to be included in which case drawing the mountain is still not bad generally. For example, in a 5 card hand + mountain + flooded strand, you play the mountain on turn 2 instead of being forced to ponder if an additional land is not drawn. SB is in fact more important than MB. Half of a stoneblade deck is useless in any given match up. For example, TNN is useless against combo & spell pierce has minimal value against DnT in the first game. Thus, the SB is necessary to bring in a lot of tailored cards post board & removing the less than useful cards. In fact, every match will have the same or more post board games.

2. Ponder costs mana, even at 1. Drawing the 4th ponder vs drawing a card that does something. Adding ponder reduces the number of cards that do something in the deck. There is an argument for simply playing more cards that do things, like additional catch-alls, threats, etc. More cantrips increases looks but decreases the number of "do something" cards. It is possible to lose can-tripping into more while being pressured. 7 is just as a reasonable of a balance as 8.

3. Clique is good against control of all types, and in a lot of instances better/more flexible than TNN. Flash is significant as is being able to play a threat on the opponent's turn. Getting a sorcery speed TNN countered is typically game losing because the opponent can simply play their own threat of do whatever they want on their proceeding turn.

4. EE requires opposing CC's to align. Also loses out to revoker and flickerwisp. Verdict does not care. UW and UWr decks have a lot of basics so getting to 4 mana is usually not an issue. It wins when no other card can. It gives you a card to use can trips for in bad spots.

5. All the cards I named may be play in a limited number of decks, but in the aggregate comprise of a significant number in a large tournament. Priests can be split, one on field and one in hand thus avoiding the possibility of removal. The flash aspect is hugely significant. Lastly, the idea is to wait for flickerwisp to target their own creature, not to simply run it out against vial.

First_Revenge
05-01-2018, 11:11 AM
Same list, pretty meh night. Ended up not making any changes, the list feels really tuned. I do still want to add stuff, but I’m just not sure where. I thought I could cut disenchant for something else in the board, but week after week it pulls it weight and then some. It says for now.

Match 1: Maverick(1-2 Loss)
Game 1:
His first land drop, windswept heath, gives him away. I was actually looking forward to this matchup as maverick is a deck I’m building towards. I manage to keep him under control for a bit with TNNs, but eventually he finds the SoFI in his deck and his KoTR start walking past my TNNs. I don’t have an answer and I die.

Game 2: I’ve never played this deck before, so first time sideboards are always interesting
-3 Force of Will
-1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar(Just doesn’t seem to do that much...)
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope(his key threats are huge, he does have some X/1s though so potential mistake)
-2 Collective Brutality(Not sure if correct, again his key threats are huge)
-2 Thoughtseize
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Back to Basics(I see a ton of non-basics)
+2 Disenchant
My deck works as advertised against wasteland heavy builds. Tons of basics, some STP, and eventually I wipe the board with verdict. Jace gets resolved and takes me to the promise land. I think at one point I’m just snapping back verdicts which feels great. He sees the writing on the wall and concedes.

Game 3:
My deck doesn’t work as advertised. I see nothing but duals, and my cantrips fail to find a STP or fetchlands. He catches on pretty quickly, lands a KoTR, and immediately wastelands me out of the game. I never recover. It’s pretty frustrating to lose games like this, especially when I design my manabase to not put me in this position, but it happens.

Match 2: BYE

Match 3: R/W Painter(1-2 Loss, 2-1 Win(Technically))
A brief summary, for those who are newer, this already fringe deck more or less died out a year ago when top got banned. When people talk about the collateral damage of the top ban, this deck is part of it, without the consistency of top it has really struggled. This deck is a combo deck that uses painter’s servant and grindstone to mill you out in one go. Typically they name blue with painter’s servant, so when grindstone gets activated, all your cards are blue thanks to servant. Hence they mill you out in one go. Imperial recruiters help find the servants. Pyroblast is nuts with servant as yes, ALL of your spells are blue. Goblin welder helps them get combo pieces out of the yard. They also run sol lands for a fast blood moon.
Game 1:
Opponent mulligans to 4 so I know out the gate things are very much in my favor. I find out that this build of painter is runs smugglers copter which tries to imitate the effect that top had. I didn’t seem that successful though, but my judgment probably isn’t worth much. The mull to 4 does him in, I strip his hand apart and start clocking him with SFM+Jitte. I almost end up losing this one, he gets both painter’s servant and grindstone out, but doesn’t have the 3 mana to active grindstone, giving me a 1 turn window. I think on his endstep I blink in a snapcaster for more damage and punch in for lethal that way.

Game 2: Another one of those first time sideboards.
-3 Collective Brutality(1/3 servant makes this awkward, and their combo pieces are artifacts)
-1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor(Not so great against a pile of pyroblasts)
-1 Liliana, the Last Hope(Fetching BB against fast blood moon deck seems bad)
-2 Supreme Verdict
-1 True Name Nemesis(Tapping out against combo is dangerous and they have a ton of pyroblasts)
-1 Batterskull
+3 Surgical Extraction
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution(Goblin welder is busted, also other small X/1s that could be a problem)
+2 Disenchant
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will
I throw everything and the kitchen sink at him, but it’s not enough. I think there’s 2 grindstones and 2 painter’s servant in his yard when he sticks a goblin welder on about T4 I just can’t deal with. He buys both his combo pieces back and I get milled out. I really needed surgical extraction to show up here, but it doesn’t.

Game 3:
Before Game 3 starts we both agree to split the prize, which is essentially just our admission fee. And we play Game 3 out for fun. Opening hand is cantrips, counter spells, and a scrubland.... Scrubland is either the best land in my deck or it’s just the absolute worst. My mulligan to 6 is a no lander, as is my mulligan to 5. I pretty much concede deciding that going to sleep early is likely preferable to starting the game on 4 cards. Since we are playing for fun though, opponent just lets me draw 7.
This time it’s much better, I manage to find both thoughtseize and surgical extraction and I rip away half of the combo. Now that he’s forced to play fair his deck just doesn’t stand a chance against stoneblade. I have the inevitability and eventually just kill him.


Side Note: Since we ended early that night I decided to stick around and play with an aluren player who wanted practice. Game 1 ended up taking an hour, probably the most interactive/interesting game of magic I’ve played in a long time.

lasseu
05-06-2018, 07:17 AM
Are we doing it wrong?

Can you take Esper through 15 rounds without getting wasted/stifled out?

Can you take UWR through 15 rounds without getting crushed by combo on the way or outvalued by Kolaghan?

We are doing something wrong and need to adapt to the current meta..

We have in TNN the best creature in fair matchups.

We have Back 2 Basics!

We have the best manabase with Wastelands IF we go 2 colours!

We have Flusterstorm main! All we want to do is resolve TNN while not die to Hymn or combo in the proces!

#Stopmakingthesamethingwrong

All of this is of course bullshit If Miracles come back.. Then we are doomed😊

QKisMyName
05-06-2018, 07:06 PM
Are we doing it wrong?

Can you take Esper through 15 rounds without getting wasted/stifled out?

Can you take UWR through 15 rounds without getting crushed by combo on the way or outvalued by Kolaghan?

We are doing something wrong and need to adapt to the current meta..

We have in TNN the best creature in fair matchups.

We have Back 2 Basics!

We have the best manabase with Wastelands IF we go 2 colours!

We have Flusterstorm main! All we want to do is resolve TNN while not die to Hymn or combo in the proces!

#Stopmakingthesamethingwrong

All of this is of course bullshit If Miracles come back.. Then we are doomed😊

I don't understand what you are trying to say. Could you rephrase it?

Megadeus
05-11-2018, 11:20 PM
Been playing a straight up UW list with some local success. A couple Mishras Factory have been nice (helped me beat humility + night of souls betrayal + needle naming Jace last night). Ojutai singleton has also been a great closer. Honestly Stoneforge has felt pretty mediocre overall. Crazy how this card used to be stupid powerful

meite
05-16-2018, 02:15 PM
Played UW Stoneblade last week, with 3-1 result.

List:
Lands-23
5 Island
3 Plains
2 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Windswept Heath
4 Wasteland

Creatures-11
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
4 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-20
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Ponder
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
2 Council’s Judgement
2 Counterspell

Artifacts-2
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

Planeswalkers-2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Enchantments-2
2 Back to Basics

Sideboard:
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
2 Containment Priest
2 Disenchant
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Karakas
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Pithing Needle

R1 - 2-0 vs Deathblade
G1: hose him with Back to Basics
G2: he counters my B2B, discards all my equipments, but eventually 2 TNN is too much for him to handle.

R2 - 2-1 vs Elves
G1: he rolls me over
G2: Jitte takes over the game
G3: 2 Engineered Explosives and TNN handles it

R3 - 0-2 vs Sneak and Show
G1: he has T2 Sneak Attack with activation mana and FoW backup on the play. My single FoW is not enough
G2: variance gets me, I keep a mull to 5 with only lands being 2 x Wasteland. I draw a third Wasteland and those are my only lands. He FoW's my T1 Pithing Needle and he "only" has T3 SnT into Emrakul. I had Council's Judgment in hand, if only I had white mana sources..

R4 - 2-0 vs Turbo Depths
G1: I stop 2 Marit Lage tokens, but SFM+Jitte and BSkull are quite fast clock anyways.
G2: Long game where he needled Wasteland and I needled Thespian's Stage. Fate sealing Jace bottomed all his outs and SFM+Jitte rode to the victory.

List felt good, considering to move the SB Karakas to MB and replace one Wasteland and add maybe another Pithing Needle to SB.

First_Revenge
05-17-2018, 10:13 AM
Hey its been a while since my last report. I've been playing but been busy so haven't had time to do my usual writeup. My local shop did just start doing streaming w/ commentary, and there were two blade lists on stream this week! Figured i'd plug my local store as we're trying to step up our legacy support.

I got the feature match in round 1, and a jeskai stoneblade player got it in round 4.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/261518579##

lasseu
05-21-2018, 06:33 AM
Played UW Stoneblade last week, with 3-1 result.

List:
Lands-23
5 Island
3 Plains
2 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Windswept Heath
4 Wasteland

Creatures-11
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
4 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-20
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Ponder
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
2 Council’s Judgement
2 Counterspell

Artifacts-2
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

Planeswalkers-2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Enchantments-2
2 Back to Basics

Sideboard:
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
2 Containment Priest
2 Disenchant
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Karakas
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Pithing Needle

R1 - 2-0 vs Deathblade
G1: hose him with Back to Basics
G2: he counters my B2B, discards all my equipments, but eventually 2 TNN is too much for him to handle.

R2 - 2-1 vs Elves
G1: he rolls me over
G2: Jitte takes over the game
G3: 2 Engineered Explosives and TNN handles it

R3 - 0-2 vs Sneak and Show
G1: he has T2 Sneak Attack with activation mana and FoW backup on the play. My single FoW is not enough
G2: variance gets me, I keep a mull to 5 with only lands being 2 x Wasteland. I draw a third Wasteland and those are my only lands. He FoW's my T1 Pithing Needle and he "only" has T3 SnT into Emrakul. I had Council's Judgment in hand, if only I had white mana sources..

R4 - 2-0 vs Turbo Depths
G1: I stop 2 Marit Lage tokens, but SFM+Jitte and BSkull are quite fast clock anyways.
G2: Long game where he needled Wasteland and I needled Thespian's Stage. Fate sealing Jace bottomed all his outs and SFM+Jitte rode to the victory.

List felt good, considering to move the SB Karakas to MB and replace one Wasteland and add maybe another Pithing Needle to SB.


I like your list.

How is the combomatchup in general?

My list rund 22 lands 4 Waste and 1 Tundra 2 Flusterstorm main with 1 Counterspell and 2 Spell Snares(Probably wrong though)

My SB is 2 additional Flusterstorm, 2 Ethersworn, 2 Priest, 1 Blue Blast, 2 Disenchant, 2 EE, 3 Surgical and 1 Gideon..

lasseu
05-23-2018, 02:36 AM
UW Stoneblade

I have brought UW Stoneblade to the last 2 FNM’s. Going 5-0 and 4-1.. Still a lot of work to be done with the deck If it at all is good enough on the long term.?

List:
Lands-22
5 Island
3 Plains
1 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Arid Mesa
4 Wasteland

Creatures-10
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage

Spells-21
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Ponder
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Snare
2 Flusterstorm
2 Council’s Judgement
1 Counterspell

Artifacts-2
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

Planeswalkers-2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Enchantments-2
2 Back to Basics

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
2 Containment Priest
2 Disenchant
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Ethersworn Canonist

The deck has a really nice package in Disenchant and EE plus 2 CJ in main against lockpiece decks. Not to mention B2B which WINS GAMES.

I’m still afraid of Miracles though. So my SB might not be correct yet.

kramer733
06-02-2018, 05:11 PM
UW Stoneblade

I have brought UW Stoneblade to the last 2 FNM’s. Going 5-0 and 4-1.. Still a lot of work to be done with the deck If it at all is good enough on the long term.?


Where do you live that has legacy events as FNM?

lasseu
06-03-2018, 06:39 AM
Where do you live that has legacy events as FNM?

Tuesday Legacy Copenhagen.

Just called it FNM. 😊

Freddy1985
06-06-2018, 06:35 AM
Where do you live that has legacy events as FNM?

Siegen in Germany. Legacy Fnm with ~10 every friday. Wednesday Open Training Rounds and every 3-4 Weeks we Drive to bigger tournaments togehter.

IamHANDSOME
06-08-2018, 05:21 AM
Hello guys,

I am looking into an UWr Blade list but I am not experienced at all with SFM decks so I dont really know the character and "way to go" for it. What is the best list exactly? Midrange, control or with Delver and Wastelands? How good is UWr right now? For what do you splash red or is Uw superior? Do you play 3 or 4 Tundra? I am very experienced with Delver decks so I would actually like playing Delver + SFM and a red splash for YP and Bolt. But I didnt work out yet, sometimes it is missing reach and also SFM is so easy on removal spells that the deck feels slow and clunky. Can anybody help me out who is playing this deck a lot? My card pool currently: I have the important blue cards with FoW and fetches, 3 Volcanic Island, 2 Tundra (I could buy a 3. one if needed, but not a 4th).

Thank you

First_Revenge
06-08-2018, 10:51 AM
Hello guys,

I am looking into an UWr Blade list but I am not experienced at all with SFM decks so I dont really know the character and "way to go" for it. What is the best list exactly? Midrange, control or with Delver and Wastelands? How good is UWr right now? For what do you splash red or is Uw superior? Do you play 3 or 4 Tundra? I am very experienced with Delver decks so I would actually like playing Delver + SFM and a red splash for YP and Bolt. But I didnt work out yet, sometimes it is missing reach and also SFM is so easy on removal spells that the deck feels slow and clunky. Can anybody help me out who is playing this deck a lot? My card pool currently: I have the important blue cards with FoW and fetches, 3 Volcanic Island, 2 Tundra (I could buy a 3. one if needed, but not a 4th).

Thank you

There isn’t strictly speaking a “way to go.” Blade decks are essentially amorphous, they take whatever shape their pilot wants. I once tried UWr stoneblade with delver, I found the two simply don’t work that well together. Stoneblade decks want to take it slow and easy whereas delver decks want to blow the opponent out as quickly as possible. They’re just trying to do two different things and tying them together makes them both worse off. Additionally, blade decks don’t have the density of spells needed to support YP and delver. The blade shell of the deck probably sits where your git probes/bolts/therapies used to be. Delver never flipped consistently enough for me. And your YPs will probably look weak relative to their peers.

The stars of the red splash are red elemental blast/pyroblast, with bolts/blood moons being solid supporting additions. REB/pyroblast are insane against blue decks, they’re basically 1 mana counterspells/vindicates that you can also flash back with snapcaster mage pretty easily.

Just straight UW stoneblade exists because back to basics is a ridiculous magic card. It’s manabase is virtually unassailable. The problem is it lacks the utility of a 3rd color. If you look at your meta and see a ton of non-basics back to basics might be a good choice.

That being said, SFM is in pretty bad spot right now. The problem isn’t necessarily that SFM dies to removal, even if they say bolt her you still get 2-1 value out of it. You really shouldn’t be deploying her until you can protect her, I rarely if ever deploy her on T2. The problem is that decks like 4C control are on the same grindy value plan that we are, and in a lot of ways they’re better at it. Leovold, Liliana, hymn, kommand, and baleful strix make our lives pretty miserable.

It’s hard to give specific build/play advice. Here’s a solid local player’s list from gp vegas a few years back.
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=15926&d=298117&f=LE

Neo900
06-08-2018, 03:50 PM
There is one player in Germany, his name is Niklas Krull. He plays Esper Delver Blade always in the top ranks of tournaments.
2017 we sit together in the top 8 and had a little talk the rounds before. You can find his list here: http://series.magiccardmarket.eu/coverage-mkm-series-prague-2017-legacy/#top8decks
It should be the first one on the page.

I play Esper Deathblade quite successfully. I have the feeling that deathrite shaman gives you extra spees and aggression to your play or it might be that I just play very aggressive xD

First_Revenge
06-08-2018, 05:39 PM
I’m finally back with another report. I’ve been running cold lately and been busy, so my motivation to sit down and do one of these things has been pretty low. The list has changed bit since I last left it as result of the tinkering. Thoughtseize #4 replaced collective brutality #3, Tasigur replaced Liliana to increase the number of threats in the deck, pierce replaces a Flusterstorm in the side to help deal with planeswalkers, and council’s judgment gets added to the MD as a catchall.

Lands-20
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Marsh Flats

Creatures-11
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Spells-24
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ponder
3 Force of Will
2 Collective Brutality
4 Thoughtseize
2 Spell Pierce
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Council’s Judgment


Artifacts-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Planeswalkers-3

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar


Sideboard:
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Flusterstorm
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Back to Basics
2 Disenchant
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Force of Will
1 Containment Priest
1 Spell Pierce
1 Liliana the Last Hope


Match 1: BR Reanimator featuring Worldgorger Dragon(2-1 Win)
It’s much less common now, so in case you aren’t familiar, Worldgorger Dragon + animate dead/dance of the dead creates and infinite loop. Animate dead brings world gorger into play, when worldgorger ETBs it exiles all other permanents including the animate dead. When animate dead leaves play worldgorger goes back to the graveyard getting all permanents back. Animate dead re-enters the battlefield targeting worldgorger dragon, the player then taps all their lands that just reentered the field for mana. Worldgorger dragon ETBs and exiles everything again and the process repeats. It ultimately generates infinite mana that gets used to do all sorts of nasty things. In my case he generated an infinitely large walking ballista and shot me to death. Or he can just use sunscorched Desert...
Of note for us, STP is very relevant in this matchup. With Worldgorger’s leaves the battlefield exile trigger on the stack you can STP it to break up the loop.


Game 1:
I know he’s on his weird build of BR from the get go. I don’t know what’s the exact composition is though since he is almost always running some wacky off the wall stuff. My starting 7 is great, if I were facing a creature deck. I go down to 6 with a thoughtseize, SFM, TNN, and lands. My scry is a land which I ship to the bottom. Thankfully he goes down to 6 as well. My thoughtseize takes his only entomb and I start deploying threats. I end up getting lucky as his faithless lootings just never find him anything productive. TNN+SFM deal lethal. Probably stole this one.

Game 2:
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
-1 Council’s Judgment
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-2 True-Name Nemesis
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Flusterstorm
+2 Disenchant(I’ve seen him run Azor’s gateway in the past)
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Force of Will
+1 Containment Priest
+1 Spell Pierce

Keep a reasonable opener, thoughtseize some countermagic and a SFM to clock him. We trade countermagic and hand disruption but he gets a good faithless looting off and puts both worldgorger and griselbrand in the yard. My last two cards in hand are land and collective brutality. I fire off brutality praying to see a reanimate, but it’s an animate dead. Womp womp. He goes off the next turn and domes me with huge walking ballista. As much as I love the card, brutality can be really awkward sometimes.

Game 3:
I get to play defend the queen, in this case that queen is containment priest. I stick her when my opponent taps out for a thoughtseize. I spend the rest of the game fending off brutalities and kommands to defend her. Eventually priest+snapcaster mage beatdowns put him out of the game.


Match 2: Dnt(2-1 Win)
My old nemesis.... I recognize this guy, so I know what he plays. I buckle up for a rough ride.
Game 1:
Game 1 goes very smoothly. I get all the basics in the world and he never sees a rishadan port so my mana is entirely unharrased. TNN wears a jitte, and once that jitte gets counters on it I’m probably 90% favored to win. A jace gets resolved and my opponent concedes to the inevitable.

Game 2:
-1 Tasigur(A bad joke in this matchup)
-3 Force of Will
-1 Gideon Ally of Zendikar
-2 Spell Pierce
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Disenchant
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Liliana the Last Hope

This game I end up keeping a decent white heavy hand. And it starts off well enough, I keep his board in check, but I run into problems in the late game. Despite getting 5 basics, but my opponent finds 2 rishadan ports and locks me off of white. I end up dying with Gideon and supreme verdict in hand. Which got me thinking, should I play back to basics? I figured I had nothing to lose so I gave it a shot.

Game 3:
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Thoughtseize
+2 Back to Basics

My opener ends up being an island, 2 fetchlands, cantrips, EE, and B2B. Well time to test some science I guess. I kill his opening mom+vial with EE, and on T3 when he taps karakas+plains to deploy thalia I see my window. I pay 4 to resolve B2B with 4 basics in play and the rest of the game goes perfectly for me. He does get 3 plains in play so he’s not dead in the water, but he can’t interact with my manabase at all. I get to play all my powerful color intensive spells without a care in the world. My better cards eventually prevail and I win.

Match 3: Dnt(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
No idea what this guy is on, I keep fetches, STP, ponder, and some other stuff. He opens on basic plains and Aether vial and it’s obvious I’m going in for DnT round 2. The game ends up being really interesting and takes about half of the match time. We go back and forth, we both enter top deck mode with my batterskull racing his flickerwisp in the air. Which I’m usually fine with, except he finds a mirran crusader and proceeds to stomp my ass with it.

Game 2:
Well I guess I get to try the B2B plan again...
-1 Tasigur
-3 Force of Will
-1 Gideon Ally of Zendikar
-2 Spell Pierce
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Thoughtseize
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Zealous Persecution
+2 Disenchant
+1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+1 Liliana the Last Hope

My opener is really awkward. Underground sea, polluted delta, STP, and cantrips. I can’t deploy the STP without exposing myself to wasteland, but if I fetch the plains I could be cutting myself off cantrips needed to find mana. I hate these kinds of hands since they really put you at the mercy of your cantrips. He opens on rishadan port pass, a good start. I do underground sea, ponder and brick. He wastelands me then passes. I crack the polluted delta, find a tundra, and ponder again, I get a fetchland! And he wastelands me again.... I play my fetch and pass and he spends his next 3 or 4 turns discard to hand size as he hits the manascrew very hard. I start drawing my lands and win with some random critter. No colored mana and no vial means his deck doesn’t function. Free win I guess.

Game 3:
Another basic/fetch heavy hand with some removal and cantrips. Snapkeep. On T3 or so I ponder or draw in to B2B again and deploy it after he taps out leaving him with a solitary plains. He never recovers. I get 4-5 basics online to start throwing haymakers at him and he just can't keep up.


B2B vs DnT is an interesting discovery, I’m not sure if it’s correct or not though. On paper I get why it’s easy to think it’s bad. They run 8-9 basics and Aether vial. You can’t use B2B to manascrew your opponents out of the game like you normally would so it should be left out.
But in this case I’d argue you play B2B defensively to protect your own manabase. Once you deploy it, they really can’t mess with your mana if you have enough basics. Also consider they run a lot of non-basics of their own. Karakas, port, wasteland, cavern of souls, and horizon canopy are all one shots now. Additionally consider that even though they run a ton of basics, they go through their deck way slower without any cantrips/card draw. It’s very possible that you force them to operate on only 1-2 plains. And if you can keep vial off the board they really suffer as they’re forced to play their creatures out honestly 1 at a time.

Isre Morn
06-10-2018, 06:59 AM
What are your thoughts about Brightling? I think it fits at best in a straight UW shell, but for Esperblade lifelink is nice, too. Nonetheless in general the many W activation costs are a bit problematic for a 3 colour mana base. I'd like to test it at least as a 1 of. Has anyone of you tested the card so far?

Secretly.A.Bee
06-10-2018, 11:37 AM
Do you think it's better than TNN?

Maybe it goes in the side for when you face miracles and whatever else it ends up being good against?

Isre Morn
06-10-2018, 01:47 PM
No, I don't think it's better than TNN, but maybe just worth as an additional critter. I only stumbled across this non-tournament based Esperblade list yesterday and was interested: https://decks.tcgplayer.com/magic/freeform/first-revenge/esper-stoneblade/1313836. I like the card's pure control aspects, but don't know if it's just too mana intensive when you want it to be flexible enough every turn. Probably it really shines only as a sideboard card for a matchup like Miracles. I'll give it a try soon.

First_Revenge
06-11-2018, 10:13 AM
No, I don't think it's better than TNN, but maybe just worth as an additional critter. I only stumbled across this non-tournament based Esperblade list yesterday and was interested: https://decks.tcgplayer.com/magic/freeform/first-revenge/esper-stoneblade/1313836. I like the card's pure control aspects, but don't know if it's just too mana intensive when you want it to be flexible enough every turn. Probably it really shines only as a sideboard card for a matchup like Miracles. I'll give it a try soon.

Lol you found my decklist. I haven't tested it yet though, i'll probably grab a copy today and test it out next week?

The card seems like it will be at its best in dnt. I mean once you get vial on 3 and you blink this in with 2-3 plains open, how exactly do you kill this thing?

In our deck it will probably be less good, but still decent. Flat out, it's not a replacement for TNN. TNN is likely still the best equipment bearer ever printed. Its a very difficult card to answer. That being said, because its so common everyone and their mother is ready for it. Any deck interested in playing magic beyond T3 needs(and has) an answer to this guy. And that's a key weakness to TNN. Brightling covers some of those weakness, it trades in TNN's evasiveness for some additional survivability.

Here's my thoughts on the card having not tested it.

The good:
Very flexible. Especially relevant in esper is the lifelink.

Assuming you cast him with at least 1 mana up, he's actually still really good. For example, look at the average grixis delver decklist. How exactly do they kill it? Lets assume you cast brightling with 1 mana up. Well bolt doesn't work unless they want to trade 2-1. The -X/-X effects don't really work either. They do have diabolic edict as a 1-2 of which could be unreliable and only works on certain board states. With all the red based removal running around in general, just being able to pump him to 4 toughness is really relevant. Of course the story gets better after you untap with him and he starts getting unkillable.

It's also worth pointing out that at least in my local meta, point and shoot killspells which would require a bounce to deal with such as fatal push, STP, and AD are at all time lows.

The bad:
I see him being awkward in combat. It's likely brightling ends up in a lot of staring matches. You force your opponent to keep their angler/TNN back, but at the same time you aren't doing anything either. Stoneblade needs someone to carry the equipment and brightling might not be able to do it.

WW is a lot to ask, WWW to deploy and fully protect him is also asking even more. In a wasteland heavy meta our 3 drop threats costing 1UU and 1WW does stretch the manabase somewhat.

QKisMyName
06-12-2018, 07:29 PM
Brightling seems terrible. It is mana intensive in both the white mana it requires and the amount of mana necessary to deploy it. It doesn't carry a weapon as efficiently as true-name nemesis. It does not block as effectively as true-name nemesis. It is cute conceptually and on its face but grossly underpowered in actuality

Secretly.A.Bee
06-13-2018, 12:44 AM
It's not underpowered, it's ill-suited to this deck.

QKisMyName
06-13-2018, 04:33 AM
It's not underpowered, it's ill-suited to this deck.

Brightling is a converted mana cost 3 creature that does less or similar things worst than any other three drop. That in and of itself is being under powered. Examples of 3 mana creatures that have a greater impact for 3 mana, thus not being under powered: mentor, leovold, true-name nemesis, etc.

This isn’t to say any of these creatures or brightling serve the same role, but to illustrate the type of impact a 3 srop creature needs to have. Brightling lacks this type of impact for its cost

Secretly.A.Bee
06-13-2018, 09:57 AM
Brightling is a converted mana cost 3 creature that does less or similar things worst than any other three drop. That in and of itself is being under powered. Examples of 3 mana creatures that have a greater impact for 3 mana, thus not being under powered: mentor, leovold, true-name nemesis, etc.

This isn’t to say any of these creatures or brightling serve the same role, but to illustrate the type of impact a 3 srop creature needs to have. Brightling lacks this type of impact for its cost

You are entitled to your opinion. There were 0 facts in that last post (other than it being 3cmc). Not a convincing argument.

Brightling is being tested by us DnT players, and to good success already. I say again, it's only ill-suited for your deck. It's a house in DnT.

If I am misunderstanding your post, I apologize, it's somewhat poorly articulated but I think I got what you were trying to say.

QKisMyName
06-13-2018, 01:31 PM
You are entitled to your opinion. There were 0 facts in that last post (other than it being 3cmc). Not a convincing argument.

Brightling is being tested by us DnT players, and to good success already. I say again, it's only ill-suited for your deck. It's a house in DnT.

If I am misunderstanding your post, I apologize, it's somewhat poorly articulated but I think I got what you were trying to say.

This is the stoneblade section so it should be obvious stoneblade is the context, not DnT

Megadeus
06-13-2018, 09:06 PM
It's definitely better in a deck where you can bounce and replay it (with Vial) for free. Here there are better options especially when you get blue. I feel like even Spell Quell might be better here.

Secretly.A.Bee
06-13-2018, 11:42 PM
My statement was made within the context of stoneblade. As such, your statement that brightling is ill-suited for stoneblade only substantiates my position. You state your assertion was made within a stoneblade context yet you included a discussion involving DnT. Any comparisons beyond the context of stoneblade is irrelevant as it is not at issue. I could agree with you, but then we would both be wrong.

You would lose any battle of wits with me, plain & simple. I would elaborate, but it this isn’t the place to further continue.They are both stoneblade lists. They are both control decks. They have comparisons and share similarities.

Anyway, I'm not going to argue with you any more. Good luck on your future endeavors.

bomberman32
06-14-2018, 01:10 AM
Hey everyone, so I have been playing Infect and BUG stuff for the last three years. I'm interested in a switch and looked at Stoneforge decks. Seeing as how I have all the duals for Bant Deathblade I was wondering everyone's thoughts on the deck. It is better or worse than the other variants? It is worth building?

Neo900
06-14-2018, 04:33 AM
Death 'n' Taxes and Stoneblade are not the same kind of decks just for playing stoneforge mystic. They are both control decks but doing it totally different.
Dnt is creature based (they play around the double amount of creatures) and can use aether vial. that makes brightling viable.

I don't think it's good enough in Stoneblade decks for some reasons.
First of all it's mana intensive. dnt has vial to cheat it into play and all the mana up. dnt can play it safely because the deck protects creatures with other creatures and doesn't have to spend mana for spells to do so. you can protect it with mother of runes, flickerwisp or indirectly with thalia because your opponent can't cast enough spells.

As a control deck we want creatures which can win the game by it's own while we play our game along. Brightling doesn't allow this because we need constant mana to work with it.
Look at other control decks.
Miracles has Monastery Mentor. You play Mentor and just by playing your game you get an army of monks and huge creatures. Removal for Mentor? counter it and get another token.
4c control has Leovold (sometimes with Gurmag Angler etc). Leovold hits for 3 and kills kind of slow by damage but it his ability makes him a win condition. you draw cards only for attempting to remove him or any other permanent and hinders you to find any answers.

and we have normally True-Name Nemesis. Nemesis hits for 3 like Leovold but unlike leo your opponent just can play against it; cantrips, removal; Nemesis doesn't generate card advantage just by sitting on the battlefield. So, our equipment is important. Nemesis fuels Jitte and triggers Sword of X and Y or is with Batterskull an unraceable killing machine.
And birghtling ? Can be blocked; you have to bounce it to protect it so you lose an equipped creature. If I have to play another creature than Nemesis I would either go with Mirran Crusader of Geist of Saint Traft.
Crusader has at least some protection (green and black are quite good) and with double strike some kind of pseudo unblockable.
Geist has hexproof but can be blocked. on the other hand he is a faster clock with the angel. Another important fact is that he is blue which allows you to pitch him into force of will.

CptHaddock
06-14-2018, 10:39 AM
Hey everyone, so I have been playing Infect and BUG stuff for the last three years. I'm interested in a switch and looked at Stoneforge decks. Seeing as how I have all the duals for Bant Deathblade I was wondering everyone's thoughts on the deck. It is better or worse than the other variants? It is worth building?

Bant's very different when it comes to stoneblade. Most variants of UWx stoneblade/deathblade are control/midrange decks where as bant is an old school tempo deck. That's not to say that is a bad trait, it's just very different. You're basically a delver deck that goes "bigger". I think that overall the deck is fine but certainly does have problems in a competitive metagame. I primarily play on MTGO where there is a lot of Miracles/Czech Pile and those matchups are atrocious as Bant. It's not a bad investment though, if you don't like Bant it shouldn't be that hard to transition to other UWx blade variants.

Isre Morn
06-15-2018, 07:24 AM
Death 'n' Taxes and Stoneblade are not the same kind of decks just for playing stoneforge mystic. They are both control decks but doing it totally different.
Dnt is creature based (they play around the double amount of creatures) and can use aether vial. that makes brightling viable.

I don't think it's good enough in Stoneblade decks for some reasons.
First of all it's mana intensive. dnt has vial to cheat it into play and all the mana up. dnt can play it safely because the deck protects creatures with other creatures and doesn't have to spend mana for spells to do so. you can protect it with mother of runes, flickerwisp or indirectly with thalia because your opponent can't cast enough spells.

As a control deck we want creatures which can win the game by it's own while we play our game along. Brightling doesn't allow this because we need constant mana to work with it.
Look at other control decks.
Miracles has Monastery Mentor. You play Mentor and just by playing your game you get an army of monks and huge creatures. Removal for Mentor? counter it and get another token.
4c control has Leovold (sometimes with Gurmag Angler etc). Leovold hits for 3 and kills kind of slow by damage but it his ability makes him a win condition. you draw cards only for attempting to remove him or any other permanent and hinders you to find any answers.

and we have normally True-Name Nemesis. Nemesis hits for 3 like Leovold but unlike leo your opponent just can play against it; cantrips, removal; Nemesis doesn't generate card advantage just by sitting on the battlefield. So, our equipment is important. Nemesis fuels Jitte and triggers Sword of X and Y or is with Batterskull an unraceable killing machine.
And birghtling ? Can be blocked; you have to bounce it to protect it so you lose an equipped creature. If I have to play another creature than Nemesis I would either go with Mirran Crusader of Geist of Saint Traft.
Crusader has at least some protection (green and black are quite good) and with double strike some kind of pseudo unblockable.
Geist has hexproof but can be blocked. on the other hand he is a faster clock with the angel. Another important fact is that he is blue which allows you to pitch him into force of will.

Thanks for your deeper analysis, I appreciate that. The point that Brightling still fits best in DnT is a fact, which I also support from the beginning. My greatest doubt of its usage in UWx Stoneblade is absolutely that its too mana intensive for a creature, that should run the game on its own for us, while we have the mana open to cast our control spells. I also see, that it's not an equipment carrier at first sight. As QKisMyName already pointed out "it is cute conceptually and on its face but grossly underpowered in actuality". And in other UWx control variants without the stoneblade package mentor seems still the better choice.

How2Punt101
06-19-2018, 01:13 PM
You are entitled to your opinion. There were 0 facts in that last post (other than it being 3cmc). Not a convincing argument.

Brightling is being tested by us DnT players, and to good success already. I say again, it's only ill-suited for your deck. It's a house in DnT.

If I am misunderstanding your post, I apologize, it's somewhat poorly articulated but I think I got what you were trying to say.

I have to agree with QKisMyName here and just say that the argument for Brightling in a UWx Blade list is poor. The mana is way to intense and power far to underwhelming for it to make it as a 3 drop in our style of deck. Not to say it may not find a home elsewhere but if I were to see Brightling in the mirror I would be stoked to say the least because it isn't very threatening.

Zilla
06-19-2018, 08:37 PM
Alright fellas, all done. Don't make me clean up any more of this shit please. Thanks.

kramer733
07-02-2018, 11:48 AM
Deathrite Shaman + Gitaxian Probe are now banned. I think this deck just shot up to tier 1 status again.

CptHaddock
07-02-2018, 11:58 AM
Deathrite Shaman + Gitaxian Probe are now banned. I think this deck just shot up to tier 1 status again.

I don't know about tier 1, it's certainly nice for this deck to be playable on MTGO again though. Running into Czech every other match is not a fun experience.

First_Revenge
07-03-2018, 10:26 AM
Deathrite Shaman + Gitaxian Probe are now banned. I think this deck just shot up to tier 1 status again.

Certain versions of it could possibly Tier 1.

If I had to guess just straight UW benefitted the most. While I don’t know what the format going forward looks like, I do think that mana denial strategies got a ton better. UW blade doesn’t need to change its mana base much, its basic heavy build is already pretty resistant to most mana denial except for stifle. UW blade will probably run 4 wasteland going forward since that card is now bonkers. I’m not sure if back to basics gets better or worse. I think that in general a lot of decks are going to have to do a combination of cutting a color, playing more basics, or playing less greedy spells. Or maybe we just get a ton of greedy 3 color shells running around that B2B can hurt? Wait and see I suppose.

UWR vs UWB is unclear. Both decks have usually been pretty close imo, and it usually ends up coming down to personal preference. Red gets pyroblast and black gets thoughtseize. Which if any is better is just going to depend on whatever meta rises out of this.

Interestingly if UWBg deathblade survives, it would now be a UWx list right? I’m talking about the 4x DRS 3-4x hierarch builds. You could maybe just slot in 4 birds of paradise and just lean the deck solely on the power of T2 TNN/Leovold. Personally, I don’t think it’s enough so I’m calling this deck a goner.

Megadeus
07-07-2018, 12:10 AM
Got UWB sleeved up for Thursday. 3 Lingering Souls, 2 Therapy, 2 Thoughtseize, 2 Brutality after the "normal" stuff. Also gonna try out cliques over true name in anticipation of combo getting popular. I also am a bit worried about goblins and elves coming up and I want to be able to play engineered plague. I just think black side board cards are better in a more open meta

JackaBo
07-07-2018, 05:41 AM
Got UWB sleeved up for Thursday. 3 Lingering Souls, 2 Therapy, 2 Thoughtseize, 2 Brutality after the "normal" stuff. Also gonna try out cliques over true name in anticipation of combo getting popular. I also am a bit worried about goblins and elves coming up and I want to be able to play engineered plague. I just think black side board cards are better in a more open meta

Sounds reasonsble. The red splash is best in a superblue meta. Goblins may actually be a hard deck to beat now.

Hrothgar
07-07-2018, 09:46 AM
Here a Discord invite.
In this days after ban we talk about Blade

https://discord.gg/wtehtyY

Megadeus
07-08-2018, 05:27 PM
Fwiw I nailed down a list to start off with. Ojutai and Kambal might be bad, but eh we'll see. 20 lands with Karakas also might be greedy. Might need to go up maybe another dual. I don't like 2 Plains + Karakas, but I think with the list having Judgement and Verdict and Gideon I need 2 plains. I could see maybe cutting the WW color requirements just to be able to go down to 1 plains though by maybe playing like the 3 mana instant Vindicate for non lands and playing a Sorin of some sort main.

Esper Mentor Blade:

Maindeck (60)
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Brainstorm
2 Cabal Therapy
4 Ponder
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Force of Will
2 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality
3 Lingering Souls
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Council's Judgment
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Flooded Strand
3 Island
2 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
1 Scrubland
2 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Swamp
1 Karakas
1 Marsh Flats

Sideboard (15)
2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Flusterstorm
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Disenchant
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
2 Engineered Plague

DrRuler
07-09-2018, 10:33 AM
Esper Mentor Blade:

Maindeck (60)
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Brainstorm
2 Cabal Therapy
4 Ponder
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Force of Will
2 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality
3 Lingering Souls
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Council's Judgment
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Flooded Strand
3 Island
2 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
1 Scrubland
2 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Swamp
1 Karakas
1 Marsh Flats

Sideboard (15)
2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Flusterstorm
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Disenchant
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Force of Will
2 Engineered Plague

You call it Mentor Blade but I don't see Mentors. Just that bad that you cut them and didn't name swap or the list is incorrect?

Hanni
07-09-2018, 11:37 AM
I see no reason to run Mentor over TNN without Probe, unfortunately. Mentor still has a home in Miracles, but it doesn't make sense in an Esper Stoneblade shell anymore.

Megadeus
07-09-2018, 02:39 PM
You call it Mentor Blade but I don't see Mentors. Just that bad that you cut them and didn't name swap or the list is incorrect?

Yeah I edited an old list. Ignore the name I'm lazy. I do think Mentor versions might have some play. Unearth might be "good"

Admiral
07-10-2018, 12:36 PM
I played this list (https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/04-05-17-uw-stoneblade/?cb=1531235626) for my first post-ban event yesterday. It's my normal list except I went -1 Path to Exile +1 Manriki-Gusari in the sideboard since I expected a lot of taxes (there was, but I never paired against it).

Round 1 vs UR Delver (2-1) (with Chain Lightning and Stormchaser Mage):
G1 - I don't remember too much, but I know he won the die roll, dazed my t1 ponder, and flipped his delver blind. I fell too far behind to win and conceded before I showed what I was on.
Sideboard: -2 Back to Basics, -1 Supreme Verdict, -2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor, +2 Meddling Mage, +2 Path to Exile, +1 Ethersworn Canonist. I boarded out jaces since it seems poor vs a deck running ~8 lightning bolts plus hasty creatures
G2 - I swords'd his t1 delver and played a stoneforge to get jitte. I ended up with a meddling mage on Lightning Bolt (after which I got chain lightninged 3 times) and ended up winning with like 3 counters left on the jitte. The turn before I won, I played 2nd Meddling Mage on Snapcaster Mage (which it turns out he doesn't run) - I think it might have been better to go for redundancy and also named lightning bolt.
G3 - He went turn 1 fetch into volc into delver. I wasteland his volc (he hadn't seen any yet this match) and he's kept on no lands for turns 2 and 3, after which I just have too much of a lead for him to fight back through.

Round 2 vs Depths (1-2):
G1 - I'm on the draw without a force, and he lands a t1 chalice on 1. My Karakas keeps him at bay for a long time, but eventually he starts dredging loam until he finds a wasteland. I eventually just die to Marit Lage.
Sideboard: -1 Umezawa's Jitte, -1 Sword of Fire and Ice, -1 Batterskull, -4 Stoneforge Mystic, -1 Supreme Verdict, -1 Force of Will, -1 Ponder, +1 Back to Basics, +2 Disenchant, +3 Surgical Extraction, +2 Path to Exile, +2 Meddling Mage. I'm pretty sure my board strategy isn't 100% correct here, but I just rolled with it.
G2 - This game ends up being a big grind. He taps out to loam t2, which I surgical. He gets a Liliana, the Last Hope out, but I get a Jace out to match pressure. Lili gets to 6 counters before I've brainstormed enough to find the council's judgment. Once that happens, I start fatesealing him out of the game - he gets marit lage once, but I have the swords and he concedes to Jace at 13 counters
G3 - I mull to 4 and have to force a t2 chalice. This was not a win for me.

Round 3 vs Goblins (2-1):
G1 - I win the die roll and open with ponder. He has the lackey t1, but I have stoneforge fetch jitte. He plays chieftain his t3 and swings with the 2/2 lackey - I end up playing a naked snapcaster and trading. On my turn I stoneforge in SoFI and equip, praying to just dodge Warren Instigator. Unfortunately, he has it, but all he cheats in are 2 ringleaders. On my turn, I play and equip jitte, and then swing, killing the chieftan and the instigator with my equipment. He can never catch up from here, and I close it out in short order.
Sideboard: -2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor, -2 Back to Basics, -1 Spell Pierce, -2 Force of Will, +2 Meddling Mage, +2 Path to Exile, +1 Supreme Verdict, +2 Disenchant
G2 - I don't remember much of this - I just know I had to force a t1 Instigator and eventually died to getting overwhelmed.
G3 - This game ended up being pretty grindy. Eventually, I get to play verdict out with a Gideon at 2 counters, and he ends up providing enough value. Also, a meddling mage on Goblin Matron ends up being a powerhouse, since he had 2 sitting in his hand (and the turn he died, his vial had only gotten to 2).

Round 4 vs High Tide (2-0):
G1 - I don't see much by turn 2 (only basic Island and Brainstorm), so my stoneforge finds SoFI. Once he forces my true-name t3 pitching High Tide, I know what I'm up against. I have a t4 True name to keep the pressure up, and he has to try and combo off pretty quickly. I attempt to force his first High Tide, but he ends up countering it with a pretty interesting line that involved playing High tide, turnabout, cunning wish for pact of negation. At this point though, he's down too much mana to go off after his Meditate and scoops it up.
Sideboard: -1 Supreme Verdict, -4 Swords to Plowshares, -1 Umezawa's Jitte, -2 Back to Basics, +2 Meddling Mage, +3 Surgical Extraction, +1 Ethersworn Canonist, +2 Disenchant.
G2 - I land a t2 stoneforge finding Batterskull. When he taps out t3 for cunning wish, I surgical his brainstorm and see a hand of Turnabout, Force, Time Spiral, Flusterstorm. I end up spell piercing the wish, to which we trade forces. He ends up having to use another force on Meddling Mage, at which point he's too many cards behind. I did end up finding out that he boarded in Defense Grid, making me feel justified in bringing in the Disenchants.

Overall, I finished 3-1, and took 5th (Sadly, the bigger payout is to top 4). I walked away with my money back.

mr_tolkien
07-12-2018, 06:13 AM
Hello everybody,

With the latest bannings, it looks like mana denial is back on the menu, and I feel like a UW deck can be pretty strong at doing it.

I am looking to play a Stoneblade-like list with 4 Stifle, 4 Snapcaster, and 4 Wasteland, but am unsure of what I should include.

For example, since I'm going for early interaction and wasteland, I feel like I don't really want 3+ drops, then maybe I should be playing UW delver?

Does anybody of you have some experience playing Stoneblade with Stifles?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Hanni
07-12-2018, 09:22 AM
If you're going the Stifle/Waste route, I would consider looking into UWR Delver.

JackaBo
07-12-2018, 11:20 AM
Eventhough wasteland is great, being a zero mana stone rain, it also hampers your mana development, making it harder to play three- and four drops. The same goes for daze.
Stifle on the other hand doesnt cost a land drop and is "Something to do with your mana" in the early game being a midrange/control deck.
It is possible that T1 Stifle the fetch into T2 SFM into T3 TNN is a good play. The stifle setting opponent on back foot paving the way for the following plays.
Stifle must of course be coupled with pierces and flusterstorms.

matunos
07-12-2018, 07:31 PM
Eventhough wasteland is great, being a zero mana stone rain, it also hampers your mana development, making it harder to play three- and four drops. The same goes for daze.
Stifle on the other hand doesnt cost a land drop and is "Something to do with your mana" in the early game being a midrange/control deck.
It is possible that T1 Stifle the fetch into T2 SFM into T3 TNN is a good play. The stifle setting opponent on back foot paving the way for the following plays.
Stifle must of course be coupled with pierces and flusterstorms.

As someone who played a lot of Stoneblade back before Miracles and Deathrite Shaman, when RUG Delver and Maverick were all the rage, I think this analysis is right. UW Stoneblade does not make for a great mana denial deck because it's primiarly a control or control-aggro (at best) deck that wants to hit its land drops. You're not playing super-cheap threats like Delver of Secrets, after which you can sit back on two lands and use the others to wasteland your opponents, Daze their magic, or Brainstorm away like RUG does. You're also not playing mana accelerants (Noble Hierarch, GSZ, Knight of the Reliquary for the late game) like Maverick does.

With the control path comes the inevitable Jace the Mind Sculptor (I mean, obviously you would drop Jaces if you're looking to play Stifle, etc., but Jace is actually pretty good), and he costs 4 mana (5 if playing around Daze). Snapcaster Mage costs more than 2 mana if you want more than an ambush viper. Verdict, etc. Losing that land drop in order to wasteland your opponent is almost always a bad move, except in very specific circumstance (usually: you think they're mana-screwed and you can keep them out of the game, or they have a very problematic land you need to get rid of, like Grove of the Burnwillows.)

In summary, IMO if you want to play mana denial, RUG Delver seems absurdly well positioned for that (it always has been); if you want play mana denial and Stoneforge Mystic, then Death and Taxes is better at that game. I'm skeptical of Wasteland altogether in Stoneblade (and certainly of 4 of them), and would be looking at more the Back To Basics route, Mishra's Factory, or playing a couple of my own utility lands, or just more basics and fetches in those slots.

mr_tolkien
07-12-2018, 08:30 PM
I see, thanks a lot for the answers.

The appeal, to me, was more about playing Stifle with Snapcaster. Snap wants as many 1-mana interaction as possible, and I feel like Stifle should complement it well, like Swords does.

I'll continue searching for a good Stifle Snap list, and maybe it's indeed UWR delver instead!

kramer733
07-12-2018, 09:36 PM
Is the maverick deck 50/50 against esper stoneblade? What fair decks are 50/50 against esper stoneblade? I'm trying to build another deck so my friend can play legacy with me.

SRADracer
07-15-2018, 11:26 AM
I played this list (https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/04-05-17-uw-stoneblade/?cb=1531235626) for my first post-ban event yesterday. It's my normal list except I went -1 Path to Exile +1 Manriki-Gusari in the sideboard since I expected a lot of taxes (there was, but I never paired against it).

What is the reason you are playing 4 wasteland and 2 back to basics? Isn't that a bit overkill and makes your mana worse, playing only 18 lands (If you don't count wasteland as a land)?

First_Revenge
07-19-2018, 10:23 AM
Is the maverick deck 50/50 against esper stoneblade? What fair decks are 50/50 against esper stoneblade? I'm trying to build another deck so my friend can play legacy with me.


Should be close to 50/50. Honestly, almost any deck is pretty 50/50 with esper stoneblade. Noteably i think big mana decks have a huge advantage though.


With all the brewing going around I took a look at my list to see what I could adjust. I eventually landed on this list. I really wanted to test brightling and spellstutter sprite. The sprite performed very well, but due to matchups brightling never had a chance to shine.
Lands-19
2 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
3 Marsh Flats

Creatures-15
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 True Name Nemesis
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Brightling

Spells-22
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Force of Will
3 Thoughtseize
2 Ponder
2 Collective Brutality
2 Spell Pierce
1 Council’s Judgment
1 Preordain


Artifacts-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Planeswalkers-2

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor


Sideboard:
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Back to Basics
2 Meddling Mage
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Disenchant
1 Thoughtseize
1 Force of Will
1 Containment Priest
1 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Pierce

Match 1: Bizzaro Storm??(2-1 Win)
Game 1:
I have no idea what he’s on and my opener is very open ended, a triple brainstorm, 3 lands, and swords. His opening plays confuse the hell out of me. He leads on a scrubland into thoughtseize taking a STP from my hand. I’m thinking deadguy ale. I just land pass, and then he plays watery grave, so esper death’s shadow? But then he puts a griselbrand in yard so I now know he’s reanimator of some flavor. He fooled me badly at this point, I’d been brainstorming to get critter hate, not reanimator hate. He eventually gets his magus of the mind combo to go off and I force him to play it out so I can see how it works. His combo ends with me getting tendriled for a lot.

Game 2:
Okay, well that was unorthodox but it’s a graveyard deck like any other so I assumed my plan didn’t change much.
-2 Brightling
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Jace the Mind Sculptor
-1 Engineered Explosive
-1 Council’s Judgment
-2 Swords to Plowshares
-1 True Name Nemesis
+2 Surgical Extraction
+2 Meddling Mage
+1 Thoughtseize
+1 Force of Will
+1 Containment Priest
+1 Flusterstorm
+1 Spell Pierce

I think this game his deck either imploded or he missed a line of play. Early game I have thoughtseize/FoW/spellstutter to keep him from doing anything productive. We go T4 and I’m in a pretty good position. He’s only got 2 lands in hand and a griselbrand in yard. My hand is good, I’ve got jace, my 4th land, and my draw for turn is containment priest. I can either windmill slam the jace or hold back for a containment priest. I decide to put him in a do or die position and slam jace. Once jace resolves I have another choice. I could brainstorm, but I’m not sure what I could possibly find. FoW+ blue card would be ideal since I don’t have the mana for pierce/fluster. But I only have containment priest in hand and I’ve already used 2 FoW. It just doesn’t seem likely I’ll find anything good. The +2 isn’t spectacular either, he has a fetchland in play so no matter what he’ll have a live draw to find a reanimation spell. I opt to +2 him and bottom a silence, in retrospect I should have brainstormed. In either case his next draw is of course shallow grave. He blinks grisel in, punches me for 7, draws 14 cards and fizzles, apparently he was missing firemind’s acquisition to tutor a wincon from his SB. I have no idea how the deck works, but I probably shouldn’t have won this one.

Game 3:
I mulligan into a decent hand. 2 Lands, brainstorm, pierce, SFM, thoughtseize. My scry on top is surgical. Opponent’s opener is a thoughtseize taking pierce. I retaliate with a thoughtseize of my own, I see griselbrand, careful study, and some instant speed reanimation spells. Reanimation working at instant speed is new to me, I opt to take the griselbrand and extract it before his reanimate spells pop online. From there it isn’t particularly close. I get a meddling mage naming shallow grave to turn off a lot of his reanimate spells. SFM starts apply pressure and the game closes out.

Match 2: Dredge (2-1 Win)
Game 1:
I know he’s on dredge, I figure a FoW, pierce, thoughtseize hand is likely as good as it’s going to get for me. He’s on the play, I FoW his opening LED, but he immediately follows up with breakthrough putting a ton of dredgers in the yard. I give it another turn in case he fizzles, but the game effectively ended on T0.

Game 2:
Exact SB as Match 1. This game goes grindy. I hold off his early game with spellstutters/countermagic/thoughtseize, but on T3 or so eventually he manages to resolve a LED and place some dredgers in the yard. He starts going off, but he can’t attack profitably since killing a spellstutter would nuke his bridges. SFM comes down and launches a batterskull into play. I use brutality to kill my own SFM to nuke his bridges anyway. Batterskull gets equipped to spellstutter and eventually puts the game away.

Game 3:
FoW, surgical and some other stuff, it’s definitely keepable. He starts off a lot like Game 1, I FoW his opening LED, but he casts faithless looting and puts troll/thug in the yard. For lack of a better option I surgically extract his troll. His next two or three dredges are pretty anemic, taking troll hurt him way more than I thought it would. Batterskull gets cheated into play and puts the game away.

Match 3: Infect(Draw)
Game 1:
He starts on a glistener elf telling me whats up right away. He has 3 or 4 infecters, I deal with them, until he plays a blinkmoth nexus. I’m out of removal and thin on countermagic. He goes off through a Flusterstorm and KOs me with a become immense.

Game 2:
-1 Council’s Judgment
-2 Jace the Mind Sculptor
-2 Brightling
-1 True Name Nemesis
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Disenchant
1 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Pierce

Spellstutter sprite has its day in the sun, it stops 2 crop rotations cold. The rest of my removal suite is enough to deal with his infect creatures so he never gets going. SFM gets batterskull and clocks him out very quickly.

Game 3:
Ends up being a draw on time. Opponent goes down to 4 cards and actually ends up being able to do lethal damage to me off a noble hierarch+2x invigorate+berserk. I have a Flusterstorm for the berserk though so he just fizzles. Unfortunately we were on turns at this point and I didn’t have enough time to finish the job. I’m convinced I would have won if the game continued though.

I still have to test brightling, I’m reasonably convinced it’s a great card for us, but the matchups weren’t conducive to testing it. Spellstutter sprite felt really good, it did way more than I gave it credit for. It definitely earned its keep this week.

Sulamies
07-29-2018, 03:41 PM
Guess i have lurked this site long enough to write something here.
I've tried to gather as much information as possible from UW Stoneblade and i have to admit it there isn't that much info out there really. To me it seems Miracles just takes the cake over stoneblade in peoples minds.

This is probably my fifth year of playing legacy in tournaments, but just now i actually own a deck of my own. I previously played mostly mono U omnitell and after that i changed to Food Chain which i still LOVE to play.
The fact is that the deck is a little more expensive because of the amount of duals you have to play, so i skipped it and decided i go for stoneblade or miracles.
Later on i can invest more on the duals if i decide volcanics or UG Seas are needed.

I grinded Xmage with stoneblade and i quite like it so far. Midrangey to controlish deck that lets you actually play magic and not only finish the game on turn 3.
About 50 games behind me at the moment. I started to record my wins after i decided i want to learn this deck and my stats are now 18-2-11.
My losses have been mostly to combo decks like reanimator, storm, infect, aluren and enchantress.


My deck at the moment:

Lands 20:

1x Arid Mesa
4x Flooded Strand
6x Island
3x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
2x Tundra

Creatures 10:

4x Snapcaster Mage
3x Stoneforge Mystic
2x True-Name Nemesis
1x Vendilion Clique

Instants 16:

4x Brainstorm
1x Counterspell
4x Force of Will
2x Spell Pierce
1x Spell Snare
4x Swords to Plowshares

Sorceries 6:

1x Council's Judgment
4x Ponder
1x Supreme Verdict

Rest 8:

1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Batterskull
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Umezawa's Jitte
2x Back to Basics

Sideboard 15:

2x Containment Priest
1x Disenchant
1x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Flusterstorm
1x Hydroblast
2x Monastery Mentor
1x Path to Exile
1x Spell Snare
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Terminus
1x Vendilion Clique

My first list had 21 lands and stuff like teferi in the mix and not that many one of's to round the main deck for different threats.
I also first had only one Back to Basics main because i thought it isn't that important, but game 1 BtB can really surprise the opponent if they play carelessly.
If the opponent doesn't have that many non-basics it still can buy you a lot of time and/or make them use a removal to it.
1 is too random where 2 seems just the right amount that you find it on turn 3 more often so you can check if you can win the game on the spot or win some turns - yet they won't clog your hand with useless multiples.

Spell Snare seems really clutch in some matches that might grind out of spell pierce's reach, but game 1 spell pierce seems way better because i feel this deck is really soft to combo decks. Clique main is also for that reason.
3 Stoneforge is something i'm pondering about. Maybe cut to 19 lands or put gideon to SB, but then again gideon is better against some of the harder matchups since it's a faster clock or just a harder to answer threat.

Should stoneblade have mentors in main? It seems a little too nutty not to be in main. But what to cut out in that case...

Cave
07-29-2018, 07:30 PM
Should stoneblade have mentors in main? It seems a little too nutty not to be in main. But what to cut out in that case...

This has been rarely seen, the reason being the two plans are completely opposite.
SFM+Equip+TNN is a huge investment in the "going big" direction, while Mentor+storming cheap spells is a huge investment in the opposite direction (going wide). I'll provide two examples.

1. You don't want a blockable and easily killable creature (mentor or a monk token) to carry your powerful equipments. TNN does the job much better, and playing both mentor and tnn looks sketchy.
2. When you cast Monastery Mentor, you want untapped mana and cheap disruption to protect him. Moreover, when you eventually untap with your Monastery Mentor in play, you want to look at your hand and see a bunch of useful cc1's to combo with. You don't want to see those heavy cc3+ cards like Back to Basics and PW's that this deck runs.

That being said, both plans are really powerful in the current metagame and, while being "opposite", they're not stricly nonbo.
If I was to run mentors, i'd cut some other heavy cards (e.g. PWs and/or TNN) and maybe find some space for a sea and a couple of therapies.

First_Revenge
07-30-2018, 11:09 AM
Regarding miracles, personally I don’t like/refuse to play it for what amount to personal reasons. I just find miracles far too durdely/do nothing for my taste, it does have its devout followers though. The only concrete downside I can bring against it is that it is SLOW and mentally taxing to play. Unless you know the deck/play quickly you will end up drawing a lot.

I’m not that big on B2B in the main. With the ousting of DRS most decks are now reliably packing 2-3 basics which really hurts the effectiveness of B2B. I think wasteland is probably a better card and you should be trying to jam 4 in your list if possible. B2B could still be great against big mana decks like cloudpost/eldrazi if those come to prominence.

Spell Snare seems too cute for my taste. It makes sense in RUG delver because that deck operates on extremely low mana, and they concede the long game anyway. You want to play the long game and spell snare just has too much potential to rot in hand. I’d go with a counterspell instead.

-1 Spell Snare
-2 Back to Basics
-1 Island
-1 ???
+1 Counterspell
+4 Wasteland

IMO, monastery mentor is a build around card, not a drop fit into any random UWx blade shell. There were old deathblade lists that ran it, but they sacrificed a lot of utility cards to run things like git probe. On its own I don’t think you have the spell density to run it, although it’s a good thought. I’d consider slotting in meddling mage in the SB instead.

Secretly.A.Bee
07-30-2018, 12:14 PM
Spell Snare is close to the best it's ever been due to the number of relevant 2-drops in the current meta. If you don't think it's good now, I don't think the card is for you.

Sulamies
07-30-2018, 02:44 PM
Regarding miracles, personally I don’t like/refuse to play it for what amount to personal reasons. I just find miracles far too durdely/do nothing for my taste, it does have its devout followers though. The only concrete downside I can bring against it is that it is SLOW and mentally taxing to play. Unless you know the deck/play quickly you will end up drawing a lot.

I’m not that big on B2B in the main. With the ousting of DRS most decks are now reliably packing 2-3 basics which really hurts the effectiveness of B2B. I think wasteland is probably a better card and you should be trying to jam 4 in your list if possible. B2B could still be great against big mana decks like cloudpost/eldrazi if those come to prominence.

Spell Snare seems too cute for my taste. It makes sense in RUG delver because that deck operates on extremely low mana, and they concede the long game anyway. You want to play the long game and spell snare just has too much potential to rot in hand. I’d go with a counterspell instead.

-1 Spell Snare
-2 Back to Basics
-1 Island
-1 ???
+1 Counterspell
+4 Wasteland

IMO, monastery mentor is a build around card, not a drop fit into any random UWx blade shell. There were old deathblade lists that ran it, but they sacrificed a lot of utility cards to run things like git probe. On its own I don’t think you have the spell density to run it, although it’s a good thought. I’d consider slotting in meddling mage in the SB instead.

With 4 snapcaster mages the deck is mana hungry and that's why i don't like wasteland, but i can see wasteland being better in a different way and in a different build.
Back to Basics just gives me a way to check if i can win the game on the spot that wasteland rarely does and in my testing i've liked it so far - the fair deck has a way to cheat wins.
You don't always have to get all their lands it's also about the attrition where you get 3 lands and it might be enough to get a win since now your spell pierces are relevant in the mid to late game and they can't counterproof their plays.

Spell Snare has been really good for me, but the biggest dissappointment is that it does nothing against sneak and show.

Miracles is favored against uw stoneblade, but with 2 spell snares you can catch counterbalances, snapcasters (really relevant since they usually play pyroblast), counterspells, search for azcanta all of which are relevant in every step of the match.

Chalice decks can find a back breaking chalice, but you still have a 1 mana answer to it any stage of the match. Many of the chalice decks seem favored for uw stoneblade just as long they don't get the chalice to stick.

Storm has 2 really relevant main deck cards at two mana. Infernal Tutor or Burning Wish. From SB you can answer echoing truth and defense grid. Again, no matter how the try to manouver, you can keep one mana up and it doesn't matter how many turns they wait.

And Counterspell is really clunky. I like 1 because it gives me another option for snapcaster mage, but 2 seems really greedy.

battousai555
07-30-2018, 10:52 PM
With 4 snapcaster mages the deck is mana hungry and that's why i don't like wasteland, but i can see wasteland being better in a different way and in a different build.
Back to Basics just gives me a way to check if i can win the game on the spot that wasteland rarely does and in my testing i've liked it so far - the fair deck has a way to cheat wins.
I agree with this 100%. I haven't been playing Stoneblade for very long at all, but in my playtesting with Wasteland, I lost too many games because I was unable to utilize SCM, and I only run 3 SCM. I can see why some people don't like maindeck B2B, but a surprising number of people don't respect it. Yesterday I stole G1 from a Bant Stoneblade player who tapped out with all 5 of his lands being duals+Wasteland. Even post-board he only fetched 1 basic early on due to the color requirements of his hand.

Sulamies
07-31-2018, 01:11 AM
IMO, monastery mentor is a build around card, not a drop fit into any random UWx blade shell. There were old deathblade lists that ran it, but they sacrificed a lot of utility cards to run things like git probe. On its own I don’t think you have the spell density to run it, although it’s a good thought. I’d consider slotting in meddling mage in the SB instead.

Yeah i've had Meddling Mage and i sort of like it, but against troublesome matchups i rather have Ethersworn Canonist or Containment Priest instead.
sfm + equip are so bad against combo that i rather have mentor and clique to get a better clock against them.
If i take out Mentor how should i win faster against combo or is that even that relevant in your opinion? Meddling Mage can hit them hard, but then again our clock is slower.

CptHaddock
07-31-2018, 09:59 AM
I like how the solution to beating combo matchups isn't playing more cards like flusterstorm or hatebears but in fact a 3 drop that doesn't even come online till turn 4+.

CptHaddock
07-31-2018, 10:02 AM
But hey my testing on xmage has shown otherwise.

Sulamies
07-31-2018, 10:22 AM
I like how the solution to beating combo matchups isn't playing more cards like flusterstorm or hatebears but in fact a 3 drop that doesn't even come online till turn 4+.

against sneak and show my deck has 1-4 stop, 1 supreme verdict, 1 EE, 1island, 1 jace, 3sfm, 2 equipments which i could sideboard. Do you rather sb in flusters and hatebears and not anything that speeds up your dmg?
SFM starts to deal damage in two turns while monastery mentor stars to deal damage the next turn and usually more than batterskull.
After 2 mentors there are still plenty of cards to side in which involve hatebears and counters.

Is this wrong?

Isre Morn
07-31-2018, 10:50 AM
Half a year ago or so I piloted a UW stoneblade list which involved 2 TNN + SFM package and 2 Mentors main without any addition in form of Probes or so and moved 4:1 in a local tournament with it. Against Combo MUs I usually sideboarded out SFM, the equipments, JTMS, STPs and so on for additionals hate; Mentors kicked their ass that day. You can close out that games really fast with him. Just my 2 cents.

Hanni
07-31-2018, 12:32 PM
When Probe was legal and Mentor was actually good, there was barely any interest. Now that Probe is banned and Mentor is way worse outside of Miracles, now people want to discuss Mentor in Stoneblade? lol...

Without Probe/Therapy, you're much better off sticking to Thoughtseize and TNN.

Sulamies
07-31-2018, 03:14 PM
When Probe was legal and Mentor was actually good, there was barely any interest. Now that Probe is banned and Mentor is way worse outside of Miracles, now people want to discuss Mentor in Stoneblade? lol...

Without Probe/Therapy, you're much better off sticking to Thoughtseize and TNN.

I'm playing UW so that next point isn't too helpful.

I could try without mentors. I guess TNN x2 Vendilion x2 and some hatebears can get the job done when i take out SFM + equips.

CptHaddock
07-31-2018, 03:14 PM
Half a year ago or so I piloted a UW stoneblade list which involved 2 TNN + SFM package and 2 Mentors main without any addition in form of Probes or so and moved 4:1 in a local tournament with it. Against Combo MUs I usually sideboarded out SFM, the equipments, JTMS, STPs and so on for additionals hate; Mentors kicked their ass that day. You can close out that games really fast with him. Just my 2 cents.

Wow dude, congrats! I have gone 3-0-1 with a 4 chrome mox DGA list at a local if we're humbly bragging. If I had to guess it's because whatever configuration of the deck is good and not because any configuration of a deck can do well at a casual small tournament.


against sneak and show my deck has 1-4 stop, 1 supreme verdict, 1 EE, 1island, 1 jace, 3sfm, 2 equipments which i could sideboard. Do you rather sb in flusters and hatebears and not anything that speeds up your dmg?
SFM starts to deal damage in two turns while monastery mentor stars to deal damage the next turn and usually more than batterskull.
After 2 mentors there are still plenty of cards to side in which involve hatebears and counters.

Is this wrong?

What does this even mean? Unlike miracles blade doesn't have any "hard" CA engines, you have to spew to the board; that is how you get ahead. Miracles can often drop a CB and then rely on cantrips to control the stack although a lot less without top. I'm still failing to understand how mentor is a faster clock than skull or sofai. You don't play the same number of cantrips/predict to just mass up an army of monk tokens.

Sulamies
07-31-2018, 03:21 PM
What does this even mean? Unlike miracles blade doesn't have any "hard" CA engines, you have to spew to the board; that is how you get ahead. Miracles can often drop a CB and then rely on cantrips to control the stack although a lot less without top. I'm still failing to understand how mentor is a faster clock than skull or sofai. You don't play the same number of cantrips/predict to just mass up an army of monk tokens.
If you put SFM t2 and t3 spit batterskull, then yes, mentor isn't as fast. But against combo i rather keep all or some of my mana up for first turns so i don't die t2 or t3.
But when you stabilize and the combo has to find his/her next wincon you can either: keep SFM which etb fetches an equip -> next turn put equip to play -> attack with it.
In the same situation you can play mentor and sometimes go ponder/brainstorm -> attack next turn for 3 or 5 damage or more. and even more damage next turn if you net more non-creature, non-lands. This is the turn where batterskull would hit 4 damage where mentor has dealt at minimum 4 damage but most likely more than that.

But instead of going for mentors i could also go clique x2 and hatebears and attack a little slower, but also harm the combo in some way while at it.

And i was saying that having 2 mentors in the SB doesn't mean that it's my only way to combat combo decks in general. It's just adding more pressure so i win faster.

Hanni
07-31-2018, 03:30 PM
If you put SFM t2 and t3 spit batterskull, then yes, mentor isn't as fast. But against combo i rather keep all or some of my mana up for first turns so i don't die t2 or t3.
But when you stabilize and the combo has to find his/her next wincon you can either: keep SFM which etb fetches an equip -> next turn put equip to play -> attack with it.
In the same situation you can play mentor and sometimes go ponder/brainstorm -> attack next turn for 3 or 5 damage or more. and even more damage next turn if you net more non-creature, non-lands. This is the turn where batterskull would hit 4 damage where mentor has dealt at minimum 4 damage but most likely more than that.

But i can also go clique x2 and hatebears and attack a little slower, but also harm the combo in some way while at it.

When the format had Probe, Mentor was great. I actually killed an Elves opponent on turn 3 on the play in an REL competitive match by going turn 1 DRS into turn 2 Mentor + Probe (and FoW on his 2nd turn), turn 3 cantrip + double Therapy double flashback.

Mentor can be very fast. The problem is that it requires significant resources to go off. Without the Probe/Therapy engine, you lose too much gas. In order for it to work now, you need more cantrips. At the point where you're playing that many cantrips, why wouldn't you just play Miracles?

There was a time when Mentor in Stoneblade was a powerful deck. I made Top 8 of the last US Eternal Weekend with it. That deck could have easily survived just a DRS ban. That deck is unplayable without Probe.

Thoughtseize + TNN is just much better postban for Stoneblade than Therapy + Mentor, unfortunately.

cdnza
07-31-2018, 04:27 PM
Actually have time in my schedule to play tonight - 3rd time I've been able to play all year; last time I played Enchantress and the time before that I played 4c Loam. I just put together a UW blade deck because I felt like playing cantrips. Here's what I've sleeved up:

4 delta
4 strand
2 marsh flats
6 island
2 plains
2 tundra
1 karakas

4 snapcaster
4 stoneforge
2 true name
1 vendilion

2 jace
1 gideon4
1 elspeth4
1 batterskull
1 jitte

4 brainstorm
4 ponder
4 force
4 swords
2 spell pierce
1 counterspell
1 spell snare
1 supreme verdict
1 council's judgment

SB
2 canonist
2 containment priest
2 surgical
2 RIP
2 B2B
2 flusterstorm
1 humility
1 disenchant
1 blessed alliance

I haven't played any kind of SFM or control deck since last year, but looked around at some lists to figure things out. If anyone has any thoughts on the SB in the next few hours I can make changes before I go to play. Similarly if there is a convincing argument for a splash, I have the relevant duals to play B or R. Last time I played this deck I was splashing for maindeck Thoughtseize but then this was back when you wanted to play t1 DRS anyway, so wasn't sure how relevant it would be now. Otherwise I'll be back with a brief report tomorrow!

The main thing I am considering is to maybe change the Elspeth for a Volcanic Island (and switch to Arid Mesas) and then I can play REBs and weartears and moon. Does anyone have strong feelings on the red splash?

edit: decided to try the splash. went:
MB:
-2 marsh, -1 island
+1 mesa, +2 volc
SB:
-2 b2b, -1 rip, -1 humility
+2 moon, +2 pyroblast

QKisMyName
07-31-2018, 07:57 PM
The main thing I am considering is to maybe change the Elspeth for a Volcanic Island (and switch to Arid Mesas) and then I can play REBs and weartears and moon. Does anyone have strong feelings on the red splash?


Splashing red is great. It is more reactive than its UWB counterpart however. I'll be playing it tonight at a local tournament too :)

cdnza
08-01-2018, 01:27 AM
Had some fun and close matches.

R1 - Storm
G1 is predictable. My opponent discards my force and then kills me.
G2 he plays a duress on t3 with the intent of comboing off, but sees that I have clique. I clique away his tutor and then untap and cantrip into a canonist.
G3 is close. My opponent cantrips while I hold up interaction. Eventually he casts some spells and then plays empty, which I didn't really expect. I untap and cast SFM, and can actually stabilise by blocking with Batterskill, but he untaps and topdecks tutor to get duress to take my batterskull.

R2 - Lands
My opponent was brand new to legacy. It was fun to talk about some of the plays during the game and how to think about the format and stuff afterwards. I hope that this opponent continues to play and keeps learning (the hard way) about all the things people will do to stop his strategy.
G1 goes on for a long time. I swords an early marit lage and then my opponent gets to sit behind a glacial chasm for a long time. Fortunately my opponent never finds loam so isn't really able to lock me. Eventually I finally find my jace to end the game.
G2 i just chain cantrips off basic islands for a few turns, searching for sideboard cards. Eventually I find blood moon and resolve it to find my opponent didn't board in an answer.

R3 - UR Delver
All these games were super close.
G1 I force a t1 delver which gets dazed. I resolve a stoneforge but it gets bolted and I never find a swords so the delver goes the distance.
G2 I manage to stick a jitte and a creature and manage to reassert control of the game.
G3 I make a big misplay involving flusterstorm on my opponent's flusterstorm - that's what I get for not playing regularly! I play to my outs and spend a jace as an unsummon to have a double brainstorm turn where I'm able to live for one more turn, and my opponent flips a thunderous wrath off the top of their deck. Haven't had that card played against me before haha.

All in all was fun to play again. Probably not going to play the deck regularly but it was refreshing to play a cantrip deck again!

Mannaus
08-05-2018, 09:58 AM
Is there a Discord Channel for Blade Decks?

scottwire
08-06-2018, 12:03 AM
Is there a Discord Channel for Blade Decks?

Here you go:

https://discord.gg/yYNfUxJ

Mannaus
08-06-2018, 11:10 AM
Thank you

FZA
08-22-2018, 01:58 PM
Cool to see Blade back in the DTB section! Been a while, I would imagine.

I'm a little higher on Miracles right now but nevertheless it's cool to see Blade doing well, what versions have you all been most successful with lately?

Poron
08-22-2018, 02:37 PM
Good to see this deck here because I am considering an Esper Miracle with Stoneforge, equipments and Bitterblossom.

I see you are doing something similar with Elspeth and Gideon. isn’t Blossom just better?

Also, in an equipment+token generator deck (be it PWs or Blossom) wouldn’t Terminus perfectly fit?

I am trying to size a list. Do you want to help?

CptHaddock
08-22-2018, 02:41 PM
Good to see this deck here because I am considering an Esper Miracle with Stoneforge, equipments and Bitterblossom.

I see you are doing something similar with Elspeth and Gideon. isn’t Blossom just better?

Also, in an equipment+token generator deck (be it PWs or Blossom) wouldn’t Terminus perfectly fit?

I am trying to size a list. Do you want to help?

Null rod UWx blade when???

erenjaeger
08-23-2018, 12:10 PM
Zzzzzz

Sent from my BND-L21 using Tapatalk

First_Revenge
08-24-2018, 11:34 AM
I recently returned to bitterblossom after a DRS ban, I figured the card might have some more life to it since we aren’t constantly getting drained for 2 and AD is much less relevant than it was.

The Good:
1. Once resolved, it’s basically impossible for some decks to deal with
2. Cheaper than a planeswalker, and therefore easier to resolve
3. Tokens have evasion
4. Resilient vs sweepers
5. Chump blockers for days
6. Protects our TNN from sacrifice effects
7. A great clock in the early game
8. Can’t be REB

The Bad:
1. Life can be tricky, especially in a deck with thoughtseize and snapcaster
2. Can be a mediocre to bad draw in the mid/late game.
3. It’s another X/1 creature in a deck already packed with X/1s

The Ugly:
1. It’s just so slow. Even if you resolve it on curve you aren’t pushing a single point of damage until T4.
2. At low life totals this card can either kill you or becomes an absolutely dead draw

Even figuring out how many bitterblossom to play is tricky. I definitely want it in my opening hand or within a turn or two as I feel its power degrades significantly over time. That suggests it’s probably a 3-4 of. But at the same time bitterblossom is a card you REALLY only want one of. Drawing multiple bitterblossoms is pretty terrible. Keep in mind stoneblade already has some “dead” draws in the form of equipment. In the end I settled on 2, I’m not entirely happy with it, but I can’t justify 3 either.


Regarding terminus. It’s possible? I hadn’t considered that option before. In a standard stoneblade shell the plan is usually just winning with a fast batterskull or gluing an equipment to TNN at some point. Terminus doesn’t seem to play well with this plan. Stoneblade also may not have the cantrip density to support a terminus build. You could probably cut the usual TNNs/baleful strixes to try and go from there. I suspect that the 5-6 slots required for the SFM package just end up taking too many slots from the miracles engine.

battousai555
08-24-2018, 03:57 PM
Regarding terminus. It’s possible? I hadn’t considered that option before. In a standard stoneblade shell the plan is usually just winning with a fast batterskull or gluing an equipment to TNN at some point. Terminus doesn’t seem to play well with this plan. Stoneblade also may not have the cantrip density to support a terminus build. You could probably cut the usual TNNs/baleful strixes to try and go from there. I suspect that the 5-6 slots required for the SFM package just end up taking too many slots from the miracles engine.
I'm on just straight U/W, and I've gotten a lot of mileage out of 2 Terminus in the SB. I have 3 Jace in the main, so it's not too hard to set up. I also usually have 2 Gideons or a 1/1 Gideon/Teferi (Teferi is kind of my pet card) split in the board, so I don't care as much about wiping my creatures. As far as Esper builds go, I don't think Terminus would work as well. Mainboard Terminus sounds terrible.

polski
08-24-2018, 04:25 PM
I'm on just straight U/W, and I've gotten a lot of mileage out of 2 Terminus in the SB. I have 3 Jace in the main, so it's not too hard to set up. I also usually have 2 Gideons or a 1/1 Gideon/Teferi (Teferi is kind of my pet card) split in the board, so I don't care as much about wiping my creatures. As far as Esper builds go, I don't think Terminus would work as well. Mainboard Terminus sounds terrible.
Can you share your list,please?

battousai555
08-25-2018, 08:23 PM
Can you share your list,please?
21 LANDS
1 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
7 Island
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
9 CREATURES
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique
23 INSTANTS and SORC.
4 Brainstorm
2 Council's Judgment
1 Counterspell
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Force of Will
4 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Unexpectedly Absent
7 OTHER SPELLS
2 Back to Basics
1 Batterskull
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Umezawa's Jitte
SIDEBOARD
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Flusterstorm
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1 Hydroblast
2 Meddling Mage
1 Disenchant
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Terminus
1 Vendilion Clique

This list has been working very well for me at my LGS, but there's a 2k tomorrow and I'm considering the following changes: -1 Island, +1 fetch, -1 Unexpectedly Absent, move EE to main to open up another SB slot for something OR add Path to Exile to main.

Mannaus
08-26-2018, 09:45 AM
The only issue I see with your deck is being rather weak to Blast effects. How do you for example fare versus Grixis Control lists, Jeskai Miracles or the Mirror Jeskai versions? Or Grixis Delver (if it's still a thing in your meta)

battousai555
08-27-2018, 03:38 AM
The only issue I see with your deck is being rather weak to Blast effects. How do you for example fare versus Grixis Control lists, Jeskai Miracles or the Mirror Jeskai versions? Or Grixis Delver (if it's still a thing in your meta)
Don't know about Grixis Control. Mostly play at LGS where there are minimal blast effects. Managed to dodge Grixis Control at the 2K today. Only Delver I've played against has been U/B Death's Shadow and RUG, which have both been just fine. Miracles is pretty rough, but I feel like that's likely to be the case no matter what color you splash. That being said, I am going to give the Esper version a try. Don't have money for Volcs :/

oarsman
08-28-2018, 03:32 PM
I don't see many of you guys playing Nahiri, the Lithomancer. Is there an earlier discussion where it was decided that she isn't good enough? I have been trying to figure out what to do with a couple board spaces for longer matchups, and mostly I see people with Gideons and blue cards. So far I haven't been able to convince myself to even try Teferi because of the blast issue. I have been running one Nahiri and one Elspeth, Sun's Champion, and been okay with them. But they aren't so great that I'm willing to rule out there existing better options. Take Possession is too much mana I think, and I haven't thought of many other options besides alternative Swords. Has anyone tried Karn, Scion of Urza? I can't think of any reason why it would be particularly good, but it might be worth a shot also.

Hanni
08-28-2018, 04:48 PM
The problem with Nahiri and big Elspeth is the mana cost. 5cc, and especially 6cc, is just a really big cost for a deck like this. Miracles could get away with it, because of the way that deck works (tons of cantrips and tons of removal, some of which is mass removal), but I'm not sure that's what I'd want to be doing in Stoneblade.

Jace and Gideon are simply more efficient at doing what you need them to do, IMO... and honestly, if you're in Esper, I'd very seriously consider both Bitterblossom and Lingering Souls before Gideon.

BKclassic
08-28-2018, 04:52 PM
I don't see many of you guys playing Nahiri, the Lithomancer. Is there an earlier discussion where it was decided that she isn't good enough? I have been trying to figure out what to do with a couple board spaces for longer matchups, and mostly I see people with Gideons and blue cards. So far I haven't been able to convince myself to even try Teferi because of the blast issue. I have been running one Nahiri and one Elspeth, Sun's Champion, and been okay with them. But they aren't so great that I'm willing to rule out there existing better options. Take Possession is too much mana I think, and I haven't thought of many other options besides alternative Swords. Has anyone tried Karn, Scion of Urza? I can't think of any reason why it would be particularly good, but it might be worth a shot also.

Karn is compelling because if it only costs 4 and will have at least drawn you a card if it gets removed as opposed to the other 4 mana white walkers that just leave you with a creature a token if they get removed.

First_Revenge
08-29-2018, 05:32 PM
I don't see many of you guys playing Nahiri, the Lithomancer. Is there an earlier discussion where it was decided that she isn't good enough? I have been trying to figure out what to do with a couple board spaces for longer matchups, and mostly I see people with Gideons and blue cards. So far I haven't been able to convince myself to even try Teferi because of the blast issue. I have been running one Nahiri and one Elspeth, Sun's Champion, and been okay with them. But they aren't so great that I'm willing to rule out there existing better options. Take Possession is too much mana I think, and I haven't thought of many other options besides alternative Swords. Has anyone tried Karn, Scion of Urza? I can't think of any reason why it would be particularly good, but it might be worth a shot also.

Not really? Or at least I don’t recall one, she didn’t really come up previously because DRS had made the format way too fast to consider a 5 mana walker that didn’t immediately win the game. Now that legacy is a bit slower, it could be worth revisiting? It did occur to me to try her in an esper build, but I ultimately decided academy ruins was a bit better.

Karn is a maybe for me, I haven’t tested it yet but at least on paper it seems like a walker that needs to be played in multiples as in like 3-4. I might get around to testing it one day, but no one seems to think it’s good in a blade shell so I’ll pass for the time being.

In terms of fringe options I’ve explored things like brightling. It ultimately didn’t work out because baleful strix is everywhere these days. I’ve also seen people playing straight baneslayer angel which seems fun.

oarsman
09-01-2018, 05:22 PM
Hype hype hype
gp richmond

Kaono
09-02-2018, 12:38 AM
Hype hype hype
gp richmond

Congrats on the top8!

malfie13
09-03-2018, 07:37 AM
Hi guys! Since the Banning of DRS, I have been searching for what my blue-based brainstorm deck should be. I played esper deathblade a long time ago, and was thinking about going back to Stone blade. I did have a question though, I swear. What is everyone's thought on spell queller? I am going to include my preliminary list idea below, and look forward to getting criticism and comments from people who have been playing the deck more recently so I may learn what the benefit of playing this is a blue brainstorm deck is. My last blue brainstorm deck was a Lauren, which I'm not sure is all that now, but I do think I would like to play stoneblade more currently. Thanks.

Deck: Legacy UW Stoneblade 9-3-18.dec

Counts : 60 main / 15 sideboard

Creatures:12
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Spell Queller
1 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Venser, Shaper Savant

Artifacts:3
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull

Sorceries:6
4 Ponder
2 Council's Judgment

Instants:16
4 Brainstorm
2 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Force of Will

Others:2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Lands:21
1 Arid Mesa
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Flooded Strand
6 Island
2 Karakas
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Tundra

Sideboard:15
2 Containment Priest
1 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Divert
1 Path to Exile
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Disenchant
1 Seal of Cleansing
2 Back to Basics
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

malfie13
09-03-2018, 07:39 AM
PS: congrats to Joe on his top8, if he posts on this list. Dude's a consummate professional, and deserves to success.

Hanni
09-03-2018, 02:37 PM
Congrats Joe. You're a beast. I always enjoy watching your matches.

oarsman
09-04-2018, 03:15 PM
Going to talk through Richmond on my stream at about 3 pacific time.

Poron
09-05-2018, 10:14 AM
Loved your list and its consistency

No-wasteland decks just fold to Cavern and Karakas. How do you defend from it?

Overall if TNN is down, equipped.

JackaBo
09-05-2018, 04:56 PM
Going to talk through Richmond on my stream at about 3 pacific time.

Congrats on doing well with your own list. That nobody else plays. Again!


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

Sulamies
09-11-2018, 07:06 AM
I've been tinkering around with Ancestral Vision and i've liked it so far.

Mainboard:
2x Tundra
1x Arid Mesa
4x Flooded Strand
6x Island
3x Plains
4x Polluted Delta

3x Snapcaster Mage
3x Stoneforge Mystic
2x True-Name Nemesis
1x Vendilion Clique

3x Ancestral Vision
4x Swords to Plowshares
4x Brainstorm
3x Ponder
2x Spell Pierce
2x Counterspell
1x Council's Judgment
1x Supreme Verdict
4x Force of Will

1x Umezawa's Jitte
1x Back to Basics
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Batterskull
1x Engineered Explosives

Sideboard:
1x Back to Basics
2x Containment Priest
2x Disenchant
1x Ethersworn Canonist
2x Flusterstorm
1x Hydroblast
1x Meddling Mage
1x Path to Exile
3x Surgical Extraction
1x Vendilion Clique

### Why Ancestral Vision?

My theory with this Ancestral Vision -Stoneblade deck is that most of the time with Stoneblade turn 1 you shouldn't play anything. Before our 2nd turn i might either Spell Pierce an opponent's Ponder, Thoughtseize, Chalice of the Void, Show and Tell or Brainstorm in response to Thoughtseize, Chalice of the Void, Show and Tell.
For this scenario to be true, two things needs to happen 1) our opponent has one of these cases in their opener and plays it and 2) we have a spell pierce or brainstorm in hand.
This means that such scenarios aren't too common for me to bother too much about and there is also Force of Will available for fast starts as everyone knows.

Not giving too much credit for keeping your mana up on turn 1 i give leeway for Ancestral Vision to replenish my hand on turn 5 which is actually relevant in many cases.
Some decks tend to act on ripping your hand apart and then starts to resolve game ending spells while combo decks vomit everything from their hand and hope we don't have enough answers to them. Control decks answer everything we got and finally starts to drop their end game when you have nothing left to offer at their disposal. Suspended Ancestral can't be messed around with before you cast it and when you cast it you have all the mana open for counterspell if you need to fight over your card advantage. Stoneblade matches tends to go grindy even when you resolve SfM on T2 and your opponent has no answer to it immediately. It's not really a fast clock. Getting a new start in terms of hand size plays a big part on who is going to win the late game.

### Positives on Ancestral Vision:

-Gives us a great turn 1 play that we should usually play when we have it
-Can't be discarded from suspend, so you won't be out of cards easily
-When it triggers you have mana open to fight for it
-Doesn't care about Chalice of the Void for 1
-Can be exiled to FoW

### Negatives on Ancestral Vision:

-RUG Delver and other Stifle decks has a premium target for it since it can counter the suspend trigger
-Counterbalance has a likely shot to counter it if there is a land card on top of the deck
-In topdeck wars you might not want to draw it depending on the situation

Jesture
09-13-2018, 02:25 PM
Any thoughts on Turtenwald's GP Richmond list? The idea of a Delver deck with access to midrange tools and Back to Basics seems like it could be pretty strong, even if it's something of a nonbo with Swords to Plowshares.

List is here http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=19981&d=329588

First_Revenge
09-17-2018, 11:03 AM
I tried a list kind of like this a lonnggggggggg time ago. I didn’t like it, but personally I think that owen’s list seems pretty solid and he’s certainly a very capable pilot.

I didn’t like it because in my mind stoneblade is a mid to long range control deck. That doesn’t really sit well with delver’s low to the ground gameplan. Owen made a ton of card choices around delver, the most obvious being 4 wasteland and 4 daze. At the same time he also wants to lean on stoneblade’s endgame cards like Jace. And despite his deckbuilding choices at 24 instants/sorceries he’s less likely to flip this delver than grixis delver which seems to have 28-30 instants/sorceries.

I ultimately decided that I wanted more long range utility so axed cards like daze/delver accordingly. But given the right draws or an insanely good pilot I don’t see a reason why this couldn’t be good.

Grizzlenasty
09-18-2018, 09:22 AM
I tried a list kind of like this a lonnggggggggg time ago. I didn’t like it, but personally I think that owen’s list seems pretty solid and he’s certainly a very capable pilot.

I didn’t like it because in my mind stoneblade is a mid to long range control deck. That doesn’t really sit well with delver’s low to the ground gameplan

But given the right draws or an insanely good pilot I don’t see a reason why this couldn’t be good.

Well Patriot was a deck, wasn't it?! And his list seems somewhat in between Patriot and "real" stoneblade, dropping red for Jace, Snappy and BtB.

A lot of stuff seems like a design error on paper, while working out fine in reality.

Delver definetly helps pressuring in combo matchups pre and postboard, while also stalling ub shadow's delvers until BS is online and attracting removal away from your stoneforge. This way you can also drop somthing into play, even on the draw, before opponent's hymns hits. Maybe that was his reasoning for it's includation.
Not going red a call for the ever present BtB in miracles and the now more common Uw Blade, giving the opportunity to run wastelands alongside 4 basic lands and BtB himself. I could be wrong, but other Delver lists that do not run white, may have more troubles answering 20/20 flying indestructibles, gurmags and KotRs.

A friend of mine is often giving me hard times on the kitchentable with an UB deck that runs Delver, Strix, Venser, Snappy and delve cards (murderous cut and gurmag).

Delver often forces me to tap out on early turns, making me run into hymns and sinkholes unprotected.

That being said, I think the well defined and established lists often want equally established and known lists as a foe, to unfold their full potential.

And rogue lists can absolutly lure an opponent into suboptimal plays. I guess we all know these moments when you think "What the heck is he doing? I'll better bolt that!", just to regret it big time the following turn :D

meite
09-20-2018, 03:54 AM
Andrea Mengucci played Turtenwald's 75 in a legacy league:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mVDjckUHCk

I like the list, delver and dazes solves the biggest issues this deck type has IMO:
1) how to not lose to fast combos during the first turns and
2) how to deploy cheap efficient threat without risking to lose next turn if you dont have FoW.

Maybe Jaces could be in the SB and Path to Exile and Council's Judgment in the MB to get the instant/sorcery count a bit higher for the delver flips?

Jesture
09-20-2018, 02:13 PM
Andrea Mengucci played Turtenwald's 75 in a legacy league:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mVDjckUHCk

I like the list, delver and dazes solves the biggest issues this deck type has IMO:
1) how to not lose to fast combos during the first turns and
2) how to deploy cheap efficient threat without risking to lose next turn if you dont have FoW.

Maybe Jaces could be in the SB and Path to Exile and Council's Judgment in the MB to get the instant/sorcery count a bit higher for the delver flips?

Yeah Mengucci seems to have had some success with the list, which is part of what got me interested in it. I'm not 100% sold on the idea of moving Path and Council's Judgment to the main deck, but I do think you're absolutely right that this deck's instant/sorcery count is on the low side for a delver deck.

I've been playing this at weeklies for about 2 weeks now, and I have to say I really like the feel of the deck. That said, two things have really stuck out to me:

1. Does this deck need a Sword of Fire and Ice somewhere in the 75? I haven't found a good cut for it in the main deck, but there have been times (notably against Combo decks and Miracles) that I've resolved a Stoneforge Mystic and not been too impressed with Jitte and Batterskull as my only options for a piece of equipment to fetch. I've also contemplated a Sword of War and Peace in the sideboard, but it seems silly to include the RW sword and not the UR one.

2. On the topic of sideboards, I think this 15 card sideboard could use some serious work. In the Star City Games article that first showed off this list (found here (http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/37665_The-Best-Legacy-And-Standard-Deck-For-Grand-Prix-Richmond.html)), Owen says himself that the sideboard's a bit of a mess. To break it down card by card:

Grafdigger's Cage (1): This one seems alright, though I think it might be a bit of overkill with 3 Surgicals in the sideboard.
Surgical Extraction (3): See above. Goes great with Snapcaster and can be cast on turn 0, which makes it an ideal candidate versus Reanimator.
Containment Priest (1): Has a bit of overlap with Cage and Surgical. I think this card earns a spot solely on its merits against Sneak and Show, but it further highlights the (over?) abundance of graveyard hate in the sideboard.
Flusterstorm (1): Also great against combo. Seems like it's at its best against the slower combo decks of the format, but I wouldn't hesitate to bring it in against Reanimator either.
Hydroblast (1): Good catch all against Pyroblast effects and other powerful red spells such as Kolaghan's Command and Lightning Bolt. Typically included as another way to deal with Blood Moon, but I can't imagine our deck has much of a problem with that card.
Path to Exile (1): Swords #5, this is an excellent piece of additional removal. The basic land clause runs a bit counter to our Daze/Wasteland plan, but I think this is perfectly reasonable to bring in against creature decks with greedy mana bases (Grixis Delver) or decks that are cheating out gigantic creatures (Reanimator, Turbo Depths). Also happy with bringing this in against decks like Infect, where the loss of a creature hurts them much more than the gain of a basic land helps them.
Back to Basics (2): Slam dunk, all-star card. One of the biggest reasons to play this deck, I think two is a good number but I could see going up to 3 in certain metas.
Disenchant (2): One of our Chalice answers. Owen mentions that the ability to flash back with Snapcaster Mage is important, and I think I'm inclined to agree.
Council's Judgment (2): Our other answers to Chalice, as well as everyone's favorite Merfolk. I think two's a good number for Council's Judgment, as it can be rather mana intensive and we do have the option to flash it back with Snapcaster if the matchup goes long. There's an awkward tension between this card and Back to Basics, where casting it requires you to fetch up a Tundra as we only have one basic plains in the deck.
Vendilion Clique (1): Is this the right threat for the sideboard? I'm admittedly a huge fan of this card, probably to the point of being biased, but I wonder if this slot might be better served as another Snapcaster, TNN, or even a Gideon AoZ.

CptHaddock
09-20-2018, 03:32 PM
I really like Owen's list, I feel like it's somewhat solves a lot of the problems that the UW deck has which in the past has been combo and "bigger" control decks. It's basically like BUG Delver, you're an awful delver deck that just plays delver cards for free wins. If I was to make changes I think i'd do a split of 2 pierces/flusterstorms instead of 4 pierces. I'm not actually sure why regular UW stoneblade lists don't play fluster main. I think you can easily cut the path in the sideboard for the sword. I'm usually on Esper or Patriot but between 4-6 swords you really don't need the 7th removal spell.

So I haven't touched the new UW Delver lists but have 4 wastelands and then the b2b felt like too much?

Jesture
09-21-2018, 08:55 AM
So I haven't touched the new UW Delver lists but have 4 wastelands and then the b2b felt like too much?

Admittedly I haven't played a ton of decks with Back to Basics over the course of my Magic life. With that said, I don't think the card is really at odds with Wasteland in this list. Wastelands are there to leverage the power of your soft permission spells (Daze, Spell Pierce), as well as help you pay some of your more expensive costs (Jace, equip costs, playing around soft permission ). B2B on the other hand feels more like a trump card that you slam after an opponent taps out to just win the game on the spot.

Put another way, think of Wastelands and B2B as two different angles of attack. Sure there's a bit of overlap there, but if you can execute either of those two angles properly you're likely in great shape already. I have no problem sitting on a B2B that's dead in hand because my opponent has no lands, and I'm also fine sitting on Wastelands that are dead in hand because my opponent has no mana sources that can untap.

JackaBo
09-21-2018, 09:14 AM
I really like Owen's list, I feel like it's somewhat solves a lot of the problems that the UW deck has which in the past has been combo and "bigger" control decks. It's basically like BUG Delver, you're an awful delver deck that just plays delver cards for free wins. If I was to make changes I think i'd do a split of 2 pierces/flusterstorms instead of 4 pierces. I'm not actually sure why regular UW stoneblade lists don't play fluster main. I think you can easily cut the path in the sideboard for the sword. I'm usually on Esper or Patriot but between 4-6 swords you really don't need the 7th removal spell.

So I haven't touched the new UW Delver lists but have 4 wastelands and then the b2b felt like too much?

I played against it with miracle and the ’hybridness’ made it hard to board against. I boarded to make sure I win the grind game and lost to delver waste waste

Grizzlenasty
09-21-2018, 01:02 PM
@Jesture.. You're absolutely on point with Wastelands and BtB.

To squeeze in the additional Sword of xy, I'd actually cut one spell pierce, move the clique main, giving room for the sword. Aditionally I'd exchange the Path for Surpreme Verdict(Cause you never know) and get rid of one Surgical. I've always felt like 2 are enough, given that we run SCM. This gives room for Gideon AoZ.

If you're worried about spell density for delver, you could also drop clique completely. It's not like this deck needs it desperatly, to do well against combo. Between Wasteland activations and the setback of daze, it could actually become quite challenging to get it on board in time in the first place. Also i think, that with the more aggressive approach of the deck, you're more likely to tap out on your own turns, than with regular Blade, making Clique even "worse". Remember, that this deck wants to actively disrupt the opponents manabase via Wasteland to keep them on the short leash for daze. Unlike regular Blade, where the Wastelands are mostly used to snipe difficult utilitylands like cavern or whatever.
Same could be somewhat true for the high cost Planeswalkers, with the difference, that they have greater impact on turn 6 or 7 than a Clique.

First_Revenge
09-21-2018, 05:53 PM
Since the DRS ban I’ve been tinkering around a lot to mixed/poor results. First success I’ve had in a while, maybe it was good matchups/luck or maybe I’m actually onto something with this build. Either way feels good to have a list I’m finally somewhat happy with.

This list leans hard on the power of 2-1s. Gerrard’s verdict is a maindeck 2-1 that’s great against aggro decks. They either pitch actual spells or lands, if they pitch lands the lifegain can just be a straight up time walk. And I get to do this while not exposing myself to wasteland, a huge weakness of hymn. It’s still pretty good against most other things assuming you time it right. It’s power definitely increases the less cards your opponent has in hand. Against decks without wasteland I get to reach for 3 hymns out of board.

Land-19
2 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Underground Sea
2 Tundra
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
2 Marsh Flats

Creatures-11
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True Name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique

Spells-26
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Thoughtseize
3 Force of Will
2 Ponder
2 Flusterstorm
2 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
2 Gerrard’s Verdict
1 Council’s Judgment
1 Preordain

Planeswalkers-2
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Artifact-3
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Engineered Explosives

Sideboard
3 Hymn to Tourach
3 Zealous Persecution
3 Containment Priest
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Vindicate
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Liliana the Last Hope



Match 1: Sneak and Show
Game 1:
4 Lands, TNN, SFM, and verdict. Seems reasonable. He starts on Volcanic island and lotus petal putting me at 95% dead. For lack of a better option I verdict and he tosses a land and a SnT which also screams that I’m dead. But he doesn’t kill me, a turn later thoughtseize shows me a hand of 2 SnT and 2 land. I get the other SnT out of his hand somehow and he draws poorly for the rest of the game. Batterskull/SFM end up being enough.

Game 2:
-3 TNN
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-2 Spell Snare
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Swords to Plowshares
-1 Stoneforge Mystic
+3 Hymn to Tourach
+3 Containment Priest
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Disenchant

Not so much a win as my opponent drawing pretty poorly again. He manages to get down a pretty quick blood moon that I’m unprepared for. I think I had a basic island and a dual when moon resolved. My cantrips get me out of a tight spot though, I find a plains to deploy a SFM and put a clock on the table. With a combination of 1 mana counters and FoW I’m able to fend him off.


Match 2: DnT
Game 1:
I know what this guy is on which makes evaluating my opener really easy. 4 Fetches, a basic, verdict, and STP. So my plan is to fetch every basic in the deck, buy some time with verdict/STP and hopefully draw some better cards down the road. More or less ends up going as I plan STP the opening mom. Verdict ends up being way better than I thought, he’s forced to pitch a land and a flickerwisp. As he only had 3 power on board I basically got to kill a threat and timewalk him. A turn later snapcaster mage hits him again for two more cards putting him down to 1 card. Jace comes down the next turn and repeated brainstorms put the game away.

Game 2:
-2 Flusterstorm
-2 Spell Pierce
-2 Spell Snare
-1 Force of Will
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Thoughtseize
+3 Zealous Persecution
+3 Containment Priest
+1 Disenchant
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Liliana the Last Hope
Opener is a 5 cards, a dual, and batterskull. Not even close. The next six is STP, Persecution, Fetch, Batterskull, FoW, and Jace. Keeping 1 landers against DnT is almost never a good idea, especially if one of the other cards is batterskull. I probably should not have kept, but I begrudgingly kept in this case, I wasn’t convinced my 5 would be any better. DnT runs roughshod over me, he executes his game plan perfectly. Despite FoW on a lead off vial and drawing some land eventually, I’m just too far behind. I think I die under a mom/Thalia lockout.

Game 3:
Opener is much better, 3 basic/fetch, ZP, Disenchant, Snapcaster, and a brainstorm. I he leads on thalia and mom. He has an untapped karakas in play so ZP isn’t as effective as I would like. I’m not actually under that much pressure so I decide to wait a turn or two and see if he makes a mistake or if I draw something insane. On T3 gives me the window I’m looking for, he taps out to cast recruiter of the guard leaving his thalia stranded on board. I endstep a ZP to sweep his board up and give me an unencumbered turn. I think resolve a TNN and a Jace the turn after that. Once Jace starts brainstorming I’m really far ahead. He resolves a Gideon, but it’s just not enough. 5-6 Turns later he dies to an unanswered jace. JTMS>All.


Match 3:
Game 1:
I’d heard my opponent was another sneak and show player. My opener is pretty conducive to it. Flusterstorm, Spell Snare, Snapcaster, and some lands. I keep. We play draw go until T3 when I topdeck thoughtseize and cast it to see what’s under the hood. He spell pierces it and I Flusterstorm his pierce. One of the observers starts laughing and eventually I see why. I had two mana open and could have paid for the pierce. Punt of the night. His hand ended up being SnT, Emrakul, sneak attack, and cunning wish. I yank the emrakul. The universe was kind and I didn’t get punished for this egregious misplay as he just draws and passes the next turn. I dump batterskull/SFM into play to pressure him and a few turns later we have a second round of fireworks. I pass the turn with lethal on board and a hand of FoW, Snapcaster, and spell snare. He goes for the SnT that I know about. My FoW meets his FoW, I snapcaster targeting Flusterstorm, then he casts split decision effectively copying my Flusterstorm. It catches me off guard, but I have the perfect answer for it. This just tells me he’s on something weird. He scoops.

Game 2:
Normally I’d cut spell snares, but his build is weird. Instead I’m relatively sure that a maindeck cunning wish means he can’t have arcane artisan in his sideboard. I mean it’s possible, but cunning wish decks generally have their SBs dedicated to this card so I’m not convinced he’d even have room for it. If I’m wrong, well there’s still Game 3.
-3 TNN
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Engineered Explosives
-4 Swords to Plowshares
+3 Hymn to Tourach
+3 Containment Priest
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Disenchant

This game ends up being pretty straightforward. My opener is Flusterstorm, hymn, snapcaster, and some other stuff. I’m thinking we hold off his initial spell, then hymn snap hymn to run him out of cards. We play draw go until T3, when I cast hymn with Flusterstorm backup. He brainstorms to protect what I’m assuming are his key cards. Hymn resolves and I take a FoW and an ancient tomb. Next turn he tries to go off with show and tell. Flusterstorm stops him cold. Putting him on two cards. Next turn is Snapcaster mage/hymn emptying his hand. He never recovers and eventually dies to snapcaster/priest.


So pretty good night with likely favorable matchups. DnT has always been something of a boogey man for me, but I think this current build handles it pretty well. Gerrard’s verdict was outstanding in the aggro matchup so it’s probably staying. Even in the SnT matchups it wasn’t awful if I timed it right. Also one of my first times casting hymn, it’s pretty busted.

phg22
09-22-2018, 12:48 AM
You're playing a deck that wants to go long and play multiple 3 drops and Jace, so you go down to 19 lands with an indefensible 2 Ponder, 1 Preordain split. I think we can all see why you've been having issues.

Grizzlenasty
09-22-2018, 12:05 PM
I think we can all see why you've been having issues.

Rude but true^^

@first revenge
definetly up the landcount by at least 1, better 2. If you don't know what to cut, maybe start with flusters. There is kind of an overleap between Thoughtseize/Fluster main - both addressing mainly combo. Look at it like that: What do you want to counter, that you haven't picked by discard already? Also I think, gerrards verdict is cute. But as I'm running Nahiri and Academy Ruins in my board, I won't judge you on that. Haven't even tried it, so what could i know ;D

First_Revenge
09-24-2018, 01:16 PM
You're playing a deck that wants to go long and play multiple 3 drops and Jace, so you go down to 19 lands with an indefensible 2 Ponder, 1 Preordain split. I think we can all see why you've been having issues.

Honestly, I’ve been kind of surprised that going down to 19 lands hasn’t been that big of a problem. Maybe it’s my basic heavy build without wastelands, but in an average game I don’t usually feel mana starved. I might up it again just see what 21 lands is like.

Regarding the ponder/preordain split, you caught my long running experiment. The place I stole this idea from has since disappeared and all that remains is this reddit thread.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MTGLegacy/comments/83w1ug/preordain_vs_ponder/
In a nutshell, there were some noteable Czech pile players converting from ponder to preordain. The general reasoning being that you want the smoothness of preordain over the selection of ponder in toolbox style decks. I’m not sure if it’s right or not so I’ve been running preordain experimentally to see for myself. So far, I don’t hate it, in fact I kinda like it. I do suspect that ponder is likely better, but it’s not by much. I’ll probably switch back to 3 ponder at some point.





@first revenge
definetly up the landcount by at least 1, better 2. If you don't know what to cut, maybe start with flusters. There is kind of an overleap between Thoughtseize/Fluster main - both addressing mainly combo. Look at it like that: What do you want to counter, that you haven't picked by discard already? Also I think, gerrards verdict is cute. But as I'm running Nahiri and Academy Ruins in my board, I won't judge you on that. Haven't even tried it, so what could i know ;D

Regarding the academy ruins comment, I’ve tried that card and didn’t really like it. Your general point about needing a utility land is probably right though. I might opt to try volrath’s stronghold. That’s mostly because it feels like the SFM package is just less and less effective lately. The future printing of assassin’s trophy and the possible Grixis/BUG control deck meta that might come out of it also don’t make the equipment plan look great. TNN is probably the only card we bring to those matchups which they struggle to answer. Unlike academy ruins, stronghold allows us to constantly buy back our TNNs, which might be best card in this deck