UWR Monastery Mentor

[Phoenix Ignition]

Two decklists have emerged as contenders:

Choice 1: Monastery Swiftspear faster version


4x Delver of Secrets
4x Monastery Swiftspear
2x Young Pyromancer
2x Snapcaster Mage
4x Monastery Mentor

4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Path to Exile
4x Serum Visions
4x Sleight of Hand
1x Vapor Snag
1x Repeal
4x Lightning Helix
1x Electrolyze

4x Scalding Tarn
4x Flooded Strand
3x Steam Vents
2x Hallowed fountain
1x Sacred Foundry
2x Island
1x Plains
1x Mountain

Sideboard:
3x Pithing Needle
3x Relic of Progenitus
2x Dispel
2x Negate
2x Counterflux
2x Stony Silence
1x Wear / Tear

Version 2: Young Pyromancer + more control

4x Delver of Secrets
4x Young Pyromancer
2x Snapcaster Mage
4x Monastery Mentor

4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Path to Exile
4x Serum Visions
4x Sleight of Hand
1x Vapor Snag
1x Repeal
3x Lightning Helix
2x Electrolyze
2x Dispel

4x Scalding Tarn
4x Flooded Strand
3x Steam Vents
2x Hallowed fountain
1x Sacred Foundry
2x Island
1x Plains
1x Mountain

Sideboard (not refined):
1x Rest for the Weary
1x Lightning Helix
3x Relic of Progenitus
2x Negate
2x Counterflux
3x Stony Silence
2x Wear / Tear
1x Dispel

[Quizzlemanizzle]

Here's the list I've been playing with. It's flowing smoothly but no real results other than that. Extremely fun and can easily overrun people.


4x Delver of Secrets
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Young Pyromancer
4x Monastery Mentor

4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Path to Exile
4x Serum Visions
4x Sleight of Hand
1x Vapor Snag
2x Repeal
2x Spell Snare

20 lands
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Flooded Strand
3x Steam Vents
2x Hallowed fountain
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Island
1x Plains
1x Mountain

Sideboard (not refined):
3x Pithing Needle
3x Grafdigger's Cage
4x Negate
2x Counterflux
3x Blood Moon

Easily lives through pyroclasms by just hanging on to a token generator in preparation for it. Seems extremely well positioned against Abzan's 1 for 1s if you don't play token generators without a spell ready. Cavern of Souls would work for all the humans here, but I don't know if that's something worth trying what with all the spells we want to be slamming.

YP and Mentor are control creatures imo.

Swiftsprear and Delver are aggro.

I don't think it is great to put them all in the same deck. Overall the deck seems to be more aggro, and hardly any control elements so Mentor seems slow and not worth it.

[Phoenix Ignition]

YP and Mentor are control creatures imo.

Swiftsprear and Delver are aggro.

I don't think it is great to put them all in the same deck. Overall the deck seems to be more aggro, and hardly any control elements so Mentor seems slow and not worth it.

Thanks for the advice, it looks like you spent a long time thinking about it before posting. In all my years of playing magic I never knew which creatures should go in which deck, but if Young Pyromancer and Monastery Mentor have the label of "Control creatures" then it's super easy and I really shouldn't have put them in a deck that has the ability to be aggressive.

And people wonder why no one comes to this site for Modern.

[Davran]

I like the list and admittedly don't keep up with modern all that much, but why no Remand and/or Mana Leak? It seems like either would be more flexible than Spell Snare in the main deck, especially only as a 2-of. If it's a CMC thing, maybe Spell Pierce is the way to go? I just feel like if you're going to run only 2 counters they should be as flexible as possible since drawing them "on time" is going to be fairly rare.

[Phoenix Ignition]

I like the list and admittedly don't keep up with modern all that much, but why no Remand and/or Mana Leak? It seems like either would be more flexible than Spell Snare in the main deck, especially only as a 2-of. If it's a CMC thing, maybe Spell Pierce is the way to go? I just feel like if you're going to run only 2 counters they should be as flexible as possible since drawing them "on time" is going to be fairly rare.

I've tried both but with Prowess you don't want to leave up 2 mana since you're attacking and pumping every turn that you can, usually leaving up 1 mana for Bolt/Path. Spell Pierce is definitely one I'll be trying out more, but having all-out aggro as a plan game 1 and side into counterspells against matchups that it would help has been great so far. I don't think 4x Negate, 2x Counterflux is the way to go on that front, Spell Pierce may fit in there nicely.

You're exactly right that 2 counterspells seems strange, and I'll only draw them sparingly, but that's where Snares get the nod over anything else since a Pierce late game does arguably nothing, whereas Snare will always kill what it intends to. I like Snare over pierce additionally because of Repeal + Vapor Snag being able to "chain" into a (crappy) 2 card kill spell for a Tarmogoyf or out of control Scooze. I like that it helps when I lose the die roll as well.

There's definitely some room for tweaking on the non-cantrip spells. I'd like to fit in some Lightning Helix since the burn matchup isn't great (Manabase damage issues there).

I've been doing some MTGO testing but not a daily yet. It was pretty awesome beating a boggles deck due to Repeal on Runed Halo during a critical attack, and being able to block down a 9/7 first strike trampler with double totem armor with only mentor tokens three turns in a row. If you play against a deck that doesn't have board sweepers they just can't handle the amount of chump blocking and token generating we can do.

Seriously guys, Monastery Mentor is broken as any creature printed in the last 10 years, if you don't trust me then just try him out. Getting Prowess triggers off of sideboard Stony Silence and Grafdigger's Cages is the best feeling in Magic.

[Davran]

*snip* ...Snare will always kill what it intends to. */snip*

I suppose this begs the question - what are you intending to kill with a mid-game Snare? Pyroclasm? I can't see a lone Goyf being an issue with all of the tokens running around, and a Remand or Leak out of your opponent doesn't seem particularly relevant since you've already got your prowess trigger out of the spell getting countered.

There's definitely some room for tweaking on the non-cantrip spells. I'd like to fit in some Lightning Helix since the burn matchup isn't great (Manabase damage issues there).

I was sort of surprised not to see Helix in here too. Maybe over the Repeals and stick them in the board instead?

Speaking of the board, seems to me like you'd want some number of Wear / Tear or similar for random Ghostly Prison players as that card ruins your day fairly well.

Seriously guys, Monastery Mentor is broken as any creature printed in the last 10 years, if you don't trust me then just try him out. Getting Prowess triggers off of sideboard Stony Silence and Grafdigger's Cages is the best feeling in Magic.

I totally agree with this - I made a Shu Yun deck for Tiny Leaders and Mentor is easily the best card in the deck. Your opponent has to answer it immediately or it gets out of hand really, really fast.

[Valtrix]

I like the concept, but I don't care for swiftspear much in this list. Given that all of your creatures want you to play spells, the more of them you run the weaker each of your creatures becomes. Of the four creatures you run, I feel like its the weakest.

I would definitely play path #4. It's just the most efficient creature answer, so it plays well with your token generators, but also I think splinter twin is going to be picked up more. Having more ways to stop twin is never a bad thing.

You might be well served for a cryptic command or two. They are expensive for sure, but on the token generation plan being able to get an alpha-strike in seems very worthwhile.

I'm not sure about the inclusion of repeal, can you elaborate on that choice more? I feel like Remand is overall a much more useful card, even if it's not triggering prowess on your turn. Even playing your own 1 cmc -> remand -> replay is a viable line if you need to just kill them.

I think you really want a 5th burn spell, probably lightning helix to improve the burn MU.

[Phoenix Ignition]

I like the concept, but I don't care for swiftspear much in this list. Given that all of your creatures want you to play spells, the more of them you run the weaker each of your creatures becomes. Of the four creatures you run, I feel like its the weakest.

Swiftspear is definitely the worst creature in the deck, but 12 threats just wasn't enough to put pressure on an opponent who can deal with one of them. I like how she's much better than a delver mid-late game while being pretty awesome turn 1 as well. Having 16 threats means that the opponent usually can't save removal for Monastery Mentor and the token he'll always generate if you play him with 4 mana. The bonus with Swiftspear is that she'll almost always do 3 damage, which is good for a card, but in doubles they are actually formidable clocks.

I would definitely play path #4. It's just the most efficient creature answer, so it plays well with your token generators, but also I think splinter twin is going to be picked up more. Having more ways to stop twin is never a bad thing.

This might be right in the end. I don't have 4 because it's the worst removal tempo-wise (this deck can easily kill on turn 4, and that's not a pulled-out-of-the-air number), allows the opponent to not be punished as hard by a fetch/dual manabase, and some decks don't interact well with Path (boggles, storm, and Scapeshift). Bounce spells are in here to protect my threats from removal, and provide additional "free" prowess on the kill turn, but I'll get into that below.

You might be well served for a cryptic command or two. They are expensive for sure, but on the token generation plan being able to get an alpha-strike in seems very worthwhile.

Also possible, but a little less likely in my opinion. The reason I don't like it initially is that it makes Sleight of Hand + Serum Visions scry abilities a little less useful, since normally I just keep cantrips and ditch the lands, whereas this one will force me to take lands, watering out the prowess a bit.

The other reason is that, and I mean this, no deck has been able to keep up with the creatures produced. Alpha striking happens through opponents creatures, because in modern the number of removal spells is inversely proportional to the number of creatures a deck runs. YP + MM generate so many creatures that unchecked, you can overrun an opponent who doesn't have enough removal for them. If the opponent has a lot of removal, enough that you only get 1 token out of each YP/MM before it dies, it is also extremely likely they won't have that many creatures. Decks that play a lot of creatures don't play board wipes. It's kind of funny how that balance makes this deck so much better.

I out-creatured an elves deck yesterday. They only had Beast Within to kill 1 Monastery Mentor, so I was able to kill them on turn 5 through 6 creatures(!).

I'm not sure about the inclusion of repeal, can you elaborate on that choice more?

It's in there for a few reasons, having a critical mass of draw spells really helps the deck not run out of steam. On the kill turn it pumps your prowess guys for :U: if you have a token generator and draws a card, but more importantly it interacts with all the decks that Path doesn't. Bouncing a Boggles enchantment at an opportune moment, bouncing Amulet of Vigor in response to Summer Bloom, or even in the late game protecting one of your guys from a removal. It costs a little more to do a little extra, but if you have Monastery Mentor it can win you the game by bouncing one of your non-haste tokens to prowess + draw. I've commonly used it as a way to bounce creatures as well, since drawing a card is so good in this deck I like it more than Vapor Snag.

Vapor Snag is here instead of path #4 since it also protects a MM/YP from removal. I could see bumping Vapor Snag up, but there are a lot of options with non-cantrip spells right now.

I feel like Remand is overall a much more useful card, even if it's not triggering prowess on your turn. Even playing your own 1 cmc -> remand -> replay is a viable line if you need to just kill them.

Remand requires you to leave open a lot of mana that you normally don't want to. I had them in here but with all of the prowess (and YP's pseudo prowess), you really want to be cantripping all turn. It's easy enough to do with Sleight + Serum Visions, and most importantly it grows your team on the attack. Remand just doesn't do enough, and although you can remand your own stuff, it wasn't worth it.

I think you really want a 5th burn spell, probably lightning helix to improve the burn MU.

Maybe, but I have so much removal that it's hard to really need more. 12 Cantrips that dig for what you need usually produces enough to deal with threats you care about, and often you can leave some creatures on the battlefield and not really care about them. A Loxodon Smiter isn't scary at all if you have 5 1/1s from YP. Attack into that elephant all day without really caring, you'll always be able to replace the token.

I'm convinced the Burn matchup could only really be saved by something like 4x Leyline of Sanctity and a few extra life gain cards in the SB. Possibly even some Spellskites. I doubt 1 Helix will improve the win percentage enough to really use it, and Burn is the only deck I'd want to pay an extra mana in for the life. I do want to fit them in, though.

[JackaBo]

I 4-0 last night at LGS with this brew. Arcanist and mentor are best buddies. I outgrinded goblins g2 even though he resolved all 4 ringleaders.

Deck: JEDI KNIGHTS

M1 2-0 vs UR delver
M2 2-0 vs Lands
M3: 2-0 vs Goblins
M3: 2-1 vs colorless Stax

Counts : 60 main / 15 sideboard

Creatures:8
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 Monastery Mentor

Spells:32
4 Brainstorm
1 Forked Bolt
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
2 Spell Pierce
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Counterbalance
1 Council's Judgment
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Force of Will

Lands:20
1 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
1 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island

Sideboard:15
1 Containment Priest
1 Blazing Volley
2 Flusterstorm
2 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Disenchant
1 Null Rod
2 Back to Basics

I will probably change Narsets for something else.

[Mr. Safety]

Cool story, but this is the modern forum.

[JackaBo]

Lol i didnt realize


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk