I'd replace relic with a nihil spellbomb so that in this case,your opponent's graveyard will be the only one that get's RFG'ed. I think 2 extractions are enough.
Printable View
I think Relic is a concession to how difficult Goyf is for this deck sometimes. Our creatures are pretty puny and an early 4/5 Goyf when you don't have StP is a really bad situation to be in (if you've faced any BGx deck, you'll know what I'm talking about). While Spellbomb would be sweet as it allows us to keep Snapcaster Mage food, I think the certainty that Goyf will be a 0/1 for at least 1 combat phase can mean the difference between living and dying.
I forgot the main reason I opted to UWr instead of UWb w/ Souls: Rest In Peace is insanely good.
More success with Bant Blade for the past few weeks. My last tournament went as follows:
2-0 vs. Esperblade (Dark Confidant version)
2-0 vs. BWg Deadguy (a terrible MU that I have no business winning)
2-0 vs. Esperblade (Stock list)
2-0 vs. Burn (Red Sligh with 4 mainboard Sulfuric Vortex)
I won half the die rolls, and took a mulligan to 6 three times and to 5 once in those 8 games. I sided out at least 3 FoW and 1 Verdict in every matchup. Here is the last list I played:
Creatures (8)
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Snapcaster Mage
Spells (21)
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
3 Force of Will
3 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
2 Counterspell
1 Intuition
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Life from the Loam
Others (8)
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Lands (23)
1 Karakas
1 Academy Ruins
2 Mishra's Factory
2 Wasteland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Tundra
2 Tropical Island
2 Island
1 Plains
Sideboard (15)
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Path to Exile
1 Celestial Purge
1 Hydroblast
1 Spell Pierce
1 Force of Will
1 Krosan Grip
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
2 Vendilion Clique
While FoW is a necessary evil, I don't think mainboard Supreme Verdict is pulling its weight. Progenitus doesn't see much play and Verdict isn't a reliable answer to Show n Tell decks anyways. As for all the fair creature decks, I think Vedalken Shackles has more merit even though it may decay abruptly. The 4th Snapcaster is definitely biting the dust in favor of a singleton Clique because I have been experiencing too many targetless Snapcasters lately, they simply sit in my hand too long when I need to apply pressure. This opens up a SB slot for something like Flusterstorm or Venser. Speaking of Venser, where does he shine aside from Show n Tell? He looks very powerful with Karakas and I can see him as a great answer to problematic planeswalkers too.
LftL is achieved by either drawing it or making Intuition piles with Academy Ruins + Artifact or different land combinations like 2 Waste + Loam for a lock or have Intuition count as a virtual copy of Karakas. I also like to have a 3rd color available for Explosives @3 and I enjoy Krosan Grip > Disenchant when it comes to dealing with a Batterskull, Counterbalance, or Thopter Foundry. Once LftL brings back 3 lands, any brainstorm effect makes it a massive card advantage engine. LftL allows me to win games that I should be losing like when I am staring at a Jace dead in the eyes that jacestorms every turn and watch as my opponent tries to wiggle away.
So I audibled at the last minute from Junk to Esperblade (Vidi's GP Denver 75/75) and came across UR Delver. How is this matchup? It seems abysmal as they apply so much pressure so quickly and back it up with near infinite countermagic. I went 1-2 versus it in matches (2-4 in game) yesterday and everything I played seemed far too slow (he's dropping 2/2 hasters for 1, I'm crutching on 3cc things like Souls/Geist/Snapcaster -> StP/etc).
I think you shouldn't bring Geist in against UR Delver because Geist is an aggressive creature but your role in this matchup is defending. The key is to get a batterskull online which helps you stabilize, make sure to not run into Daze with Stoneforge Mystic and protect it at all costs. UR Delver cannot do anything against Batterskull preboard ihmo. Jitte is also good. Be careful with keeping hands that don't contain swords to plowshares. Also if you expect to fight against UR Delver or Burn often, just include a few Timely Reinforcements in your sideboard as this card is extremely strong against that deck.
Mystic always resolves, but promptly gets Bolted; Batterskull is often stranded in my hand for quite some time. Too many dead cards game 1 I feel; Jace is too slow, hardcast Batterskull is too slow. StP, Snapcaster, and Spell Pierce feel like the only cards that matter for me turn 1-3. Obviously, I fetch basics, but even then I end up taking 4-6 damage from PoP. Jitte is good if I could keep a creature alive to connect, which is hard when all my guys are */1 and */2 and they have Lavamancer with a ton of graveyard food. Overall, this matchup feels dreadful unless I Brainstorm/draw into lots of removal (EE, StP, etc).
I haven't had any problems with the matchup until now, however i can see why the matchup would be unfavorable. It isn't abysmal however. I board in extra discard against them, and make creatures. They never have enough burn to get your creatures away AND hit you. You keep your plows for lavamancer and guide. Souls can block all their creatures and if they waste time bolting spirits it means their hand will be empty soon. Countering a cantrip at the right time is also pretty strong.
Basicly what i did to win is this: keep early threat from the field while ripping their hand apart, they topdeck badly and since thzy lost so much gass due to your discard they will never topdeck enough damage in time. Meanwhile you generate blockers and get equipment online. That's what has worked for me at least. Thoughtseize isn't good ofcourse, i replace those with cabal therapy and duress/inquisition.
I need your help for my UW Stoneblade for our Legacy FNM today :-) I don't own Clique, Karakas, Polluted Delta and Underground Sea but I still put together a UW variant which suits me but I cannot decide about my sideboard (advice for the main board is still more then welcome). The sideboard I have now lacks in defensive options against aggressive decks like Goblins, Burn, UR Delver, RUG, BUG where I want to side out Force of Will but don't know what would be good to bring in there (I guess Geist isn't good for defending). For combo I want to switch out the Swords to Plowshares for Geists but I think I need something more. Without black cards like thoughtsize and perish I don't know how to best make sure that the deck can be appropriately transformed to be more aggressive vs combo and more defensive vs aggressive decks. Should I include a Helm in the SB if I have 3 RiPs anyways? And is Engineered Explosives good enough with x<=2?
1 Academy Ruins
1 Batterskull
4 Brainstorm
2 Counterspell
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Flooded Strand
4 Force of Will
5 Island
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Marsh Flats
2 Mishra's Factory
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Plains
3 Ponder
1 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Tundra
1 Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 1 Engineered Explosives
SB: 2 Pithing Needle
SB: 1 Sword of Feast and Famine
SB: 1 Humility
SB: 3 Rest in Peace
SB: 2 Disenchant
SB: 4 Geist of Saint Traft
SB: 1 Timely Reinforcements
I have a question for you guys. About my list but it applies in general to this deck.
I am undecided about my maindeck list. Should i play 2 spell pierce or the 2nd ponder and an intuition (shaheen's list). The thing is: our combo matchups against show n tell and storm aren't that good as we'd like to believe so we charge our sideboards mostly with anti combo cards. The format is still very diverse though there's a lot of fair and some unfair decks.
So the question: Would it a) be better to tune the maindeck for fair matchups through extra consistency and lategame power and side in pierces+clock and extra discard post-board. Or b) keep the maindeck stock to even out the matchups across the field and keep the spell pierces main.
So BUG decks have begun boarding in Sinkholes, and WGB i.e. Renegade has begun boarding in Vindicates, both with the plan of making the opponent i.e. us unable to compete on a level playing field. This strategy has proven to be very effective. In previous iterations this strategy has NOT been effective because the decks deploying it have been soft to Spell Pierce. BUG and WGB, with Deathrite Shaman and a general healthy amount of lands, tend to avoid this weakness. As such, I have made some changes.
-2 Ponder +2 Sensei's Divining Top
-1 something +1 24th land (probably a fetch).
I'm also considering the value of having the second plains somewhere in the 75, probably MD, despite not playing any WW spells.
What are everyone's thoughts?
Crucible is certainly a powerful piece to solving this particular puzzle, but just saying "Crucible of Worlds" and calling the issue resolved isn't helping anyone.
Can D and T be classified as a "Blade Control" deck? =|