[Deck] URphidian

[Gix]

Hey guys! Remember that version of Draw/Go that used Urza's Rage as a win condition? Well! I've been doing some experimenting with that strategy and I'd like to present to you my findings sofar.

Critters:
x2 Vendillion Clique
X4 Neurok Commando

Answers:
x4 Path to Exile
x2 Wrath of God
x2 Engineered Explosives
x3 Remand
x4 Mana Leak

Burn:
X4 Lightning Bolt
x4 Lightning Helix
x2 Banefire

Post-Ponder Cantrip of Choice:
x4 Telling Time

Super Secret Tech:
x3 Isochron Scepter

Land:
x3 Hallowed Fountain
x3 Steam vents
x2 Arid Mesa
x2 Scalding Tarn
x2 Celestial Colonnade
x1 Adarkar Wastes
x1 Battlefield Forge
x1 Shivan Reef
x2 Island
x2 Plains
x2 Mountain

Deck decisions:

Banefire: Subsitute for Urza's Rage. Basically, it does the same thing, and doesn't even require as much mana to cast to its full effectiveness.

Neurok Commando: Subsitute for Ophidian. It's nice and shroudy and attacks for two. the plan is to wrath or find another way to kill all their creatures, then aggro out with these guys and draw as many cards as possible. Don't knock this one right away, it seems to work very well with how much removal my deck plays.

Telling Time: I like that it's instant so it can be added to Isochron Scepter.

Remand: A cantrip turn-stealer that is really annoying on Scepter as well.

Mana Leak: Early game control and another "I don't lose to combo" card. I really, really miss counterspell. I'll be honest.

Wrath of God: the format is full of creatures and my deck works best when scepter is in play or Commando is connecting with an opponent, so, it's there mainly to help that happen and to prevent me from getting totally checkmated early on.


Cards I'm considering including and would like some feedback on:

Ghost Quarter / Techtonic Edge
Grim Lavamancer
Cryptic Command
Silence
Chalice of the Void
Serum Visions
Mutavault
Vedalken Shackles

[perm]

urza's rage isn't modern legal

[(nameless one)]

urza's rage isn't modern legal

His list doesn't have it. In fact:

Banefire: Subsitute for Urza's Rage. Basically, it does the same thing, and doesn't even require as much mana to cast to its full effectiveness.

Didn't you get booted for trolling before?

That said, while Vendilion Clique is awesome, you should try Tiago instead. This way, you can recur your control elements.

Also, Dawn Charm on a Scepter is a beating against Aggro. You should consider that. Cryptic Command is also great.

[Gix]

urza's rage isn't modern legal

Did you look at the decklist?

Rage decks were popular in extended back in the day, and this is a deck that follows a similar archetype to those. Instead of rage I play Banefire.

@(nameless one): I don't recall ever getting booted for trolling. I've posted about five times to date, and uh... yeah. Don't know what you're talking about. XD

By Taigo do you mean Snapcaster Mage? Dawn charm seems worthy of my attention, too! Thanks for the suggestions, I'll do some tinkering.

[perm]

Ah I misread, i thought banefire was rage 5-6. Looks fun, I am curious about matchups

Didn't you get booted for trolling before?

uh, nope

[Gix]

Match-ups!

Well. A lot of that is theoretical. I've only been to one tournament and while I actually went undefeated, it was only an 8-mand gig and not all the decks I played were any good. In fact, two of them just plain sucked and I don't know how I got paired against one of those decks in round three. I wish I was posting as someone who is super-experienced in Modern and plays it every week, but I'm not, I'm a Modern noob, I'll be relying mostly on your insight but I can describe my performance against archetypes fairly well. But here's a description of that tournament, SORRY I don't have a better analysis for you yet:

-Round 1: Mono Black.
Game one he opens with aether vial, and lands three dark confidants all of which get answered before he draws a card. This guy had a pretty rational deck and he made the right decisions. He managed to get in there with enough creatures and floors me game 1.
Game two I side in Echoing Truth and disenchant. I think he sided in Inquisition of Koselik and Pithing Needle. I land an Isochron scepter with Lightning Bolt imprinted while he had a couple of 2/2s in play, he plays a Pithing Needle on my scepter. I play an EE for one, killing two creatures and his needle, and I proceed to bolt the other two creatures he has on the table. He is unable to land another creature and I win at 2 life.
Game three sideboards do not change. He casted three thoughtseizes, taking an EE, a wrath of god, and a vendilion clique. I get duressed and inquizitioned, and lose my scepter somewhere in that. He eats a lightning bolt and a lightning helix, but he starts landing creatures while I'm topdecking land. he gets me down to one life while he sits at six and I have seven lands in play. I topdeck banefire and win.

Round 2: A bad deck ith Master of Etherium and some artifacts.
Game one land an Isochron Scepter with Helix on it turn two, and destroy him pretty effortlessly.
Game two: land an scepter with Path to Exile, It takes a little longer to deal leathal damage but Commandos got in there and did the job.

Round 3: Green/White aggro deck with birthing pod
Game one: I quickly stablize with an early scepter/Telling time, followed by scepter/helix. I had to cast a couple of paths early game but this wasn't a very hard match.
Game two: My opponent is more successful at landing things like quasali pridemage, and a birthing pod resolved. I was pretty sure birthing pod would be the end of me because his creatures kept getting bigger but I drew into Wrath of God and he drew into path to exiles and lands for the rest of the game.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I see bant being a problem match because if they godhand and land like a first turn aether vial and have a bunch of counterspells and fattie creatures in their hand, that's just gonna suck a big one. I might be able to get in there with an early scepter, or maybe I'll draw out all my burn fast enough. Still, that would just be tittie-twisting awful. I figure my plan is to sideboard things like Hibernation, maybe Jotun Grunt, and Grim Lavamancer. Some advice for this matchup is appreciated.

Burn and Sligh are an interesting question for me. I've tested against this a little bit, and Lightning Helix and wrath are pretty instrumental in my victory. It's actually not a hopeless match, but I better pay attention and mulligan when my hand is full of remands and vendillion clique. Jotun Grunt helps against that match-up cuz their graveyard piles up fast and it's pretty burn-proof. I've been thinking about siding COP:Red or Pyroclasm, Or adding Kitchen Finks to my sideboard.

Combo is a favorable match for me. Other control decks, though rare, are also favorable, though I'd probably side some cards out game 2 versus control and try to be all grim Lavamancer to the face on them. Disenchant would be good against control too I reckon. I might side negates for a little extra umph against combo, but I think Remand and mana leak should hold the fort game 1. I've not tested that, though, correct me if I'm wrong.

Any other deck to beat I should make a point of playing against?

[Mr. Safety]

Critters:
2x Vendilion Clique
4x Neurok Commando

Answers:
4x Path to Exile
2x Wrath of God
2x Engineered Explosives
3x Remand
4x Mana Leak

Burn:
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lightning Helix
2x Banefire

Post-Ponder Cantrip of Choice:
4x Telling Time

Super Secret Tech:
3x Isochron Scepter

Land:
3x Hallowed Fountain
3x Steam vents
2x Arid Mesa
2x Scalding Tarn
2x Celestial Colonnade
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Battlefield Forge
1x Shivan Reef
2x Island
2x Plains
2x Mountain


There, easier to evaluate! Sorry, a pet peeve of mine. I'm also unfamiliar with a few of the cards, so this should help me.

EDIT: now I'm ready...

First off: 21 lands with a Banefire win condition and a focus on Stix control? I think it's too land-lite. I'd play a minimum of 23-24 lands in a control build like this. I would also suggest that Halimar Depths and Deprive are the best library manipulation and counterspell in modern right now. Cryptic Command is also a fair bit awesome, and becomes available with the right land mix/count.

[Brushwagg]

Could Augury Adept find a way into the deck as well? Provides extra draws and life gain.

Also Grim Lavamancer seems like it could fit in some where as well.

[4eak]

This is similar to a deck I've been brewing. It is an Ophidian-type deck, although it is more Fish aggro-control than dedicated control. Here it is:

// Lands - 20
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Steam Vents
1 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Godless Shrine
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Marsh Flats
3 City of Brass

// Creatures - 18
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Dark Confidant
3 Dimir Cutpurse
4 Shadowmage Infiltrator

// Hand & Stack Control - 8
4 Thoughtseize
4 Spell Snare

// Reach & Board Control - 14
3 Terminate
3 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt

// Sideboard
SB: 4 Spell Pierce
SB: 2 Isochron Scepter
SB: 3 Surgical Extraction
SB: 3 Firespout
SB: 3 Engineered Explosives

Obviously, black plays a pivotal role in the deck, but it brings a lot to the table. This is more aggressive, tempo-oriented deck, and it abuses creatures to generate CA more than the above decks. I think Snapcaster Mage and Bob make a good pair.


peace,
4eak

[Mr. Safety]

You have Tiago, Bob, and Finkel in the same deck. You should call that deck Walk of Fame or something like that, just because of the celeb factor in it.

[perm]

4eak, you list probably needs voidmage prodigy