Miracle Control

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Originally Posted by JimmyC27

Are you only running the 1 copy in your sideboard? How frequently are you able to dig for that?

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I don't need to dig for it. It's in the SB, because it's really good. It's everything you can want from a SB card. It's very versatile, you can bring it in many MU's and it will win you a lot of games.

It's not a main angle of attack, it's just there to have another good SB card against Delver decks, Shardless BUG, lands, Esperdeathblade, 12 post etc.

I had without exaggeration about 20 games on Magic Online, where i tapped 2R and played Blood Moon -> Opp dead, i win the game. That's very nice for 1 of in the SB.

Of course there are some decks like Lejays Shardless BUG, who can play around it, but Lejays Version is the most easiest version for us, because it doesn't play Tar Pit and MD Discard effects, so we don't need to bring it there.

Blood Moon for me has been 50:50.

I put it as a one-of in my deck for our Local Thursday Night Legacy, and I ended up bringing it in twice, which is really good for a 4 round tournament. The first time, I believe I was up against stoneblade, and I could never really find a spot that I wanted it, as it would end up nuking some of my own lands and cut me off double white.

The other game, I slammed it onto a table vs bug delver with a single goyf of their side and a Jace on my side. I won that game.

All in all, I would say if you're trying to fill a slot for the Delver, Jund, and other greedy decks in the format and are looking for a way to improve your game vs 12-post (not by much, but an improvement) then blood moon is fine as a one-of. Actually drawing it and playing it can range from awkward to awesome, depending on what your opponent is doing, and which part of your land base you are drawing into. If you draw 3 tundras and a fetch.... well, BM is almost a dead card.

THANKFULLY, we have brainstorm, so we can a) try to get rid of our dual lands, in exchange for basics or fetches, or b) just get rid of bloodmoon.

There is C) slam that sucker anyway, but this could very well end up losing us the game, boardstate dependant. However, vs a delver deck with ZERO basics and no board, this is ultimately game over (we will draw out of it / they will deck themselves)

This deck really loves it's shuffle effects. The big problem I found with Blood Moon was shutting off my own fetch lands.

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Originally Posted by JBlaze

This deck really loves it's shuffle effects. The big problem I found with Blood Moon was shutting off my own fetch lands.

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When the opp can't cast anything i don't think having almost no shuffle effects is an issue. Blood Moon isn't a brainless card, you have to think about the correct timing and against which decks you actually want to bring it.


f.ex.:

Two dailies ago i played against BUG Delver in the finals (we both 3-0): G2, i had double Tundra, double Volcanic in play and Brainstorm, Councils Judgement and Blood Moon in hand. He tapped out for Liliana, i played the Brainstorm and discarded something i can't remember. On the following Turn i played Blood Moon, because he had fewer cards in his library. Game Over. Very weird game^^

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Originally Posted by princeofperasia

On the right hand side, the top half shows your opponent's exiled/revealed cards while the bottom half shows your own. You have to expand the revealed dropdown, but it will show you the card that counterbalance flips.

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This is weird. When i expanded the revealed card drop down, i only see my opponent's cards. is there another revealed card tab on the bottom right that only shows my revealed cards?

\

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Originally Posted by Shawn

A text pop up will appear on the right of your screen with the name of the card.

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i see this sometimes, but it's not consistent. Sometimes it doesnt appear at all. Is there a way to set it such that i always shows?

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Originally Posted by Adryan

f.ex.:

Two dailies ago i played against BUG Delver in the finals (we both 3-0): G2, i had double Tundra, double Volcanic in play and Brainstorm, Councils Judgement and Blood Moon in hand. He tapped out for Liliana, i played the Brainstorm and discarded something i can't remember. On the following Turn i played Blood Moon, because he had fewer cards in his library. Game Over. Very weird game^^

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lol

I know that this is neither relevant nor helpful, but last Sunday I went 2-3. R1 DnT 2-0. R2 Cloudpost. R3 Mirror. I Snare his Counterbalance, then draw a sideboard card. G2 I tried to Force his Top for some unknown reason. I never hit my 5th Land. He would've taken it with Colonnade, but it never really got thay far. R3 Mirror and I stomp him G1. G2 and 3 I miss multiple Land Drops and he draws three Jaces. R5 I play against RUG. In G3 he has double Stifle Vs my 2 Strand no more Land draw. R5 BYE.

I then got a warning for telling my friend to 'shut the fuck up', so me and another friend tried to see how many warnings we could accrue in the last round. Apparently it was zero. But I dod get to see him stomp a UWR Delver player with a Pro RWU, Vigilance, Lifelink, when it deals damage draw a card, gain some life, deal damage eaqual to cards in their hand, deal 2 damage to something, triple Extort trigger, 10/12 Courser of Kruphix. Which he was using to race a pair of TNN's, one with a Batterskull.

Just needed to vent after a miserable weekend. Got knocked out of the PTQ by someone playing Affinity and keeping 4 Lands, then topdecking 3 major bombs and an Etched Champion in a row, against my BG deck.

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Originally Posted by YamiJoey

I know that this is neither relevant nor helpful, but last Sunday I went 2-3. R1 DnT 2-0. R2 Cloudpost. R3 Mirror. I Snare his Counterbalance, then draw a sideboard card. G2 I tried to Force his Top for some unknown reason. I never hit my 5th Land. He would've taken it with Colonnade, but it never really got thay far. R3 Mirror and I stomp him G1. G2 and 3 I miss multiple Land Drops and he draws three Jaces. R5 I play against RUG. In G3 he has double Stifle Vs my 2 Strand no more Land draw. R5 BYE.

I then got a warning for telling my friend to 'shut the fuck up', so me and another friend tried to see how many warnings we could accrue in the last round. Apparently it was zero. But I dod get to see him stomp a UWR Delver player with a Pro RWU, Vigilance, Lifelink, when it deals damage draw a card, gain some life, deal damage eaqual to cards in their hand, deal 2 damage to something, triple Extort trigger, 10/12 Courser of Kruphix. Which he was using to race a pair of TNN's, one with a Batterskull.

Just needed to vent after a miserable weekend. Got knocked out of the PTQ by someone playing Affinity and keeping 4 Lands, then topdecking 3 major bombs and an Etched Champion in a row, against my BG deck.

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Heh shitty weekends happen to us all bud.

Last weekend at a GPT I was playing Esper Control, made a GLARING mistake in R1 G2, and then kept a really sketchy 7, losing G3.... =P R2 I drew 6 lands over 2 games, and had the verdict both times =P R3 my opponent didn't show up, R4 I crushed, and R5 I lost (and subsequently dropped) to a Golgari Graveyard deck. Wasn't in the best mood.

Then, because I've been really out of practice with Miracles (life =P) I got onto MODO to play last night, was recognized by my opp from TheSource in a mirror match, and got crushed =P My next opponent wouldn't even start game 2.

Heh. I blame that last part on people hating miracles, and now I'm questioning whether Joe's list (what I have experience with) is too different from Ein's list (what I have built right now) to try to switch before GP NJ. =P

Is there a thread for this? There should be a thread for this.

NJ is in 3-months. You've got plenty of time. You should be tweaking constantly anyway to find the build you're happy with. Also find a Tsabo's Web.

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Originally Posted by YamiJoey

Is there a thread for this? There should be a thread for this.

NJ is in 3-months. You've got plenty of time. You should be tweaking constantly anyway to find the build you're happy with. Also find a Tsabo's Web.

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Oh my god I lost it when I saw that card in his board. I have a Tsabo's Web somewhere at home.

Yeah, I think it's a matter of getting the reps in at this point. I'm rebuilding a car that needs to be done before October (it gets cold in Canada, and my only other vehicle is my Motorcycle), so that's cutting into my free time. DocteurGabe (Elves/Death and Taxes player) and I should be starting up Gauntleting soon to prepare.

Good luck. If all else fails you can just fall back on BUG Delver. It's a much simpler deck to play, and in my top three decks in the format.

Third part of my Miracles primer on SCG. I think I've covered pretty much everything you need to know with the exception of the Sideboard, maybe I'll make a standalone article out of that, who knows.

As always, let me know what you think and comment on the SCG aswell if you want to do me a favor!

Thanks!

Greetings

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Originally Posted by YamiJoey

Good luck. If all else fails you can just fall back on BUG Delver. It's a much simpler deck to play, and in my top three decks in the format.

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This is true but not an option for MTGO play (practice) =P... Though I suppose I could practice it a bit on XMage if there are some quality opponents around.

That being said, Miracles is what I've been playing for the last several months, and I feel like I should stick to it. I just need to nail down a build.

@Ein: Hurray! More Primer!

Speaking of primers, is anyone working on the primer for this thread or is that a lost cause? lol

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Originally Posted by Dzra

Speaking of primers, is anyone working on the primer for this thread or is that a lost cause? lol

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you mean besides twndomn?

For those of you who prefer running Keranos to the 3rd Entreat in sideboard,

1. How many Red sources do you run? what are they?
2. how many blasts / wear/tear do you also run?
3. do you find yourself being cut off by Wasteland?
4. Against the Shardless BUG matchup, do you board in all your blasts and keranos?

With the 3rd volcanic island, do you ever find yourself wishing that you ran an basic mountain instead?

Thanks!

Hi guys. Was wondering if somebody could help me with their SB strategy is against Stone- and Deathblade decks? I have some problems deciding on what to take out in sideboarded games - and if it the right strategy at all.

So far this is what i've come up with:

Deathblade

Out:
4x Force of Will

In:
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Wear / Tear
1x Council's Judgment
1x Blood Moon

Stoneblade

Out:
4x Force of Will
1x ????

In:
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Venser
1x Council's Judgmnet
1x Wear / Tear
1x Blood Moon

For reference, this is my current sideboard:

Sideboard (15)
1x Council's Judgment
1x Keranos, God of Storms
2x Flusterstorm
1x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Izzet Staticaster
1x Pithing Needle
1x Pyroblast
1x Red Elemental Blast
2x Rest in Peace
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Wear / Tear
1x Blood Moon

Most of your questions are answered by my last articles on SCG. Check them out and return with more detaild questions if you are still unsure about a thing or two.

Greetings

Are they still answered if i'm leaning more towards Joe's lists than yours? (Not trying to be snappy or anything, it just fits my play style better)

You can't just take my sideboarding guide and do the same for your deck but you should be learning many things that are useful, as I talk about Miracle in general, and only when it comes to 1:1 plans I stick to my list.

Greetings

Einherjer, congrats for your wonderfully written articles on SCG, really full of insights!

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Originally Posted by Rook1e

Are they still answered if i'm leaning more towards Joe's lists than yours? (Not trying to be snappy or anything, it just fits my play style better)

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I would pay less attention to specific cards and more attention to what the cards are trying to do in a specific matchup. You will likely have similar cards that perform roles slightly better or worse than what's presented by Ein. He board in 2 cliques that you already have MD? Great! That's two less cards you need to swap.

Sideboarding isn't a 1:1 thing, it's an intuitive process that looks at how you want the matchup to play out, and what of your opponents outs you want to play against.

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Originally Posted by exallium

I would pay less attention to specific cards and more attention to what the cards are trying to do in a specific matchup. You will likely have similar cards that perform roles slightly better or worse than what's presented by Ein. He board in 2 cliques that you already have MD? Great! That's two less cards you need to swap.

Sideboarding isn't a 1:1 thing, it's an intuitive process that looks at how you want the matchup to play out, and what of your opponents outs you want to play against.

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Yeah i got that. That's why i presented my current strategy and asked for help with that.

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Originally Posted by Rook1e

Hi guys. Was wondering if somebody could help me with their SB strategy is against Stone- and Deathblade decks? I have some problems deciding on what to take out in sideboarded games - and if it the right strategy at all.

So far this is what i've come up with:

Deathblade

Out:
4x Force of Will

In:
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Wear / Tear
1x Council's Judgment
1x Blood Moon

Stoneblade

Out:
4x Force of Will
1x ????

In:
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Venser
1x Council's Judgmnet
1x Wear / Tear
1x Blood Moon

For reference, this is my current sideboard:

Sideboard (15)
1x Council's Judgment
1x Keranos, God of Storms
2x Flusterstorm
1x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Izzet Staticaster
1x Pithing Needle
1x Pyroblast
1x Red Elemental Blast
2x Rest in Peace
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Wear / Tear
1x Blood Moon

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(you may have already got this out of ein's articles, but I'm going to post it for other's reference)

-4 Force is definitely right, and the other 4 you remove depends on whether they are on deathblade or stoneblade.

Vs Deathblade, you're removing 4x Counterbalance. Vs Stoneblade, 4x Swords

I like the following cards as a base:
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x CJ
1x Wear // Tear
1x Pithing Needle
1x Red Elemental Blast
1x Pyroblast
1x Keranos, God of Storms

Blood Moon I think is fine VS Deathblade, because it can outright win you the game, but is trickier depending on the build of Stoneblade you are up against, as they can generally run a few basics. REB and Pyroblast are very important in the matchup because of JTMS and less so because of TNN. Keranos hits all of their walkers, and can then start doming them, and Needle can deal with stoneforges / equipment early, rendering it useless. It can deal with a walker in a pinch, but isn't the most elegant solution. I can see swapping Needle with Blood Moon in the Deathblade Matchup.

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Originally Posted by Rook1e

Yeah i got that. That's why i presented my current strategy and asked for help with that.

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You got to post your whole list, not just your sideboard.

Did anyone ever test Wurmcoil Engine in the SB for Shardless BUG/Jund and maybe Death and Taxes (they shouldn't keep Plows postboard, but many do^^)?

The upside of this over Batterskull (without SFM) against Shardless BUG and Jund is that they can't remove it easily via Liliana, Decay, Punishing Fire etc. and that it can't be stalled by Tarmogoyf.

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Originally Posted by Adryan

Did anyone ever test Wurmcoil Engine in the SB for Shardless BUG/Jund and maybe Death and Taxes (they shouldn't keep Plows postboard, but many do^^)?

The upside of this over Batterskull (without SFM) against Shardless BUG and Jund is that they can't remove it easily via Liliana, Decay, Punishing Fire etc. and that it can't be stalled by Tarmogoyf.

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I had never even considered the card. Do you have any personal results? I think if you have 6 mana to throw at a creature vs any of those decks, you're probably already ahead. Feels a bit "win more"

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Originally Posted by Adryan

Did anyone ever test Wurmcoil Engine in the SB for Shardless BUG/Jund and maybe Death and Taxes (they shouldn't keep Plows postboard, but many do^^)?

The upside of this over Batterskull (without SFM) against Shardless BUG and Jund is that they can't remove it easily via Liliana, Decay, Punishing Fire etc. and that it can't be stalled by Tarmogoyf.

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Against Shardless, how's Wurmcoil stopping Tarpit from killing you? Against other BUG decks, for the same amount of Mana, why don't I just play Keranos? As matter of fact, Wurmcoil doesn't even stop Delvers from killing you.

Against DnT, it's just unrealistic to cast under Port and Wasteland. If you have that much Mana under DnT lock and enough life total to fool around with Wurmcoil, you've won already. So no, I would not recommend Wurmcoil or Keranos for this Match-up.

Overall, the only plus side for Wurmcoil is the life-gain, block a goyf and gain life is nice. Worst case scenario, Liliana kills it the first time, then Decay to take out the lifelink copy, it's just useless at that point. I know Keranos cannot kill Tarpit or block a goyf, but it does just about everything else.

Wurmcoil has lifelink so you can't be raced by Tar Pit. I would also never board it against a deck that plays Delver.

I wasn't asking for theorycrafting, which i can do myself, but if someone ever played/ tested it. People in this thread do too much theorycrafting for my taste.

It's also not meant as a replacement for Keranos or anything similar, just another value card.

Does anyone knows how to sideboard with Einherjer's decklist vs. Painter? I really can't get a clue on what to cut and why...
@Einherjer Today's article on SCG was awesome as the previous 2 Einherjer it was time to have a well written primer for miracles!

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Originally Posted by Gros

Does anyone knows how to sideboard with Einherjer's decklist vs. Painter? I really can't get a clue on what to cut and why...

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You want to bring in Disenchant and Council's Judgment at the very least because they have a ton of artifacts and usually board funky shit like Koth. EE is alright, although Needle would probably work better. I usually board out Jaces because they are really easy to kill with their all their REBs, small beaters, and Revokers. Your White spells are the key to this MU. Anything that is White is mvp. Even though they can suck, you'll have to keep FoW in because Painter can threaten very quick (occasionally t2) kills, although these are somewhat less common than "death by small beats." Other cards to think about are Supreme Verdict and Clique, but Phillip's build is somewhat harder to board with so you might not have the room.

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Originally Posted by Gros

Does anyone knows how to sideboard with Einherjer's decklist vs. Painter? I really can't get a clue on what to cut and why...
@Einherjer Today's article on SCG was awesome as the previous 2 Einherjer it was time to have a well written primer for miracles!

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As a painter player (and not a Miracles player) I can not tell you what to cut and what not, but I can tell you what to keep in mind.

Board wipes are more useful that they first appear, because one of the ways the deck can win is though a mass of Welders and tricks with the artifacts you need to remove. This also means that cards like Swords are best saved only for use on Painter, to stop the Welding of them back into play. Jaya, Revoker and Magus will also come to table in an attempt to lock you out, Revoker is painful, but Jaya is the real threat of the group.

Do not bring in your Blasts, even if Blue was called game one. A good Painter player will not call Blue game too.

Keranos can not be dealt with in an easy fashion so feel free to bring that in. The deck only runs a limited amount of Revokers and if one of them has to name EE leaving your Top free, I would say you have won there. Setting up a CounterTop lock will almost always win you the game. Grindstone costs 1, blasts all do too and as does Welder. Locking us off CMC 1 really really hurts. Like, game ending level of hurts. Protect your Top.

Lastly, I think your best path to victory would be Jace. Ensnaring is Maindeck and can be fetched. Hitting with a 4/4 is not going to be easy when we are planing for them. It would be better to stick a Jace (or Keranos) and ride that than waste time and cards trying to deal with Bridge when cards like Stone, Painter, Jaya and Welder are all much more dangerous threats. In short, I would think that cutting Entreat might not be a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by Dice_Box

Lastly, I think your best path to victory would be Jace. Ensnaring is Maindeck and can be fetched. Hitting with a 4/4 is not going to be easy when we are planing for them. It would be better to stick a Jace (or Keranos) and ride that than waste time and cards trying to deal with Bridge when cards like Stone, Painter, Jaya and Welder are all much more dangerous threats. In short, I would think that cutting Entreat might not be a bad idea.

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Weird, I've always found the opposite. It feels very difficult to win with Jace if you don't have Counterbalance out whereas Entreat almost always wins on its own. Venser gives me more outs to Ensnaring Bridge, but either version should have quite a bit of Artifact destruction.

Never faced a Venser list myself. I am guessing if you don't have the lock you might not want to drop Jace, but you can just start +2 from the get go and reasonably expect to pull him out of attack range of a small motly crew of you have a single blocker.

If I thought I was at risk of facing down the angels, I know my plan would include bridge, Welder and some level of control. I can't win a beatdown race, so I would just cut off that option as soon as I could.

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Originally Posted by Dice_Box

Do not bring in your Blasts, even if Blue was called game one. A good Painter player will not call Blue game two.

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I'm not sure what to think about that. I mean they could expect you not to bring in blasts and because of that name blue. I spoke to a painter player (not sure if he was good) and he said he would always name blue, so that he can get rid of pithing needle for example or other troublesome cards.

Also if he says blue in game 2, do u bring in blasts? maybe he names green the third time.

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Originally Posted by decan

I'm not sure what to think about that. I mean they could expect you not to bring in blasts and because of that name blue. I spoke to a painter player (not sure if he was good) and he said he would always name blue, so that he can get rid of pithing needle for example or other troublesome cards.

Also if he says blue in game 2, do u bring in blasts? maybe he names green the third time.

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Bad and sloppy players will name Blue haphazardly, but if you are playing against someone who knows what they are doing then they will only name Blue if they have an REB in hand already. Even in game one, naming Blue makes your FoWs that much better and there is a greater-than-zero portion of Miracles players with REB maindeck. They only ever should name Blue if they are sure that they have you covered with an REB effect already, which means that REB will rarely if ever help you against a good player.

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Originally Posted by Einherjer

Most of your questions are answered by my last articles on SCG. Check them out and return with more detaild questions if you are still unsure about a thing or two.

Greetings

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I would like to ask on a plan on how to play with and board against D&T if possible.

Also, should we play around spirit of the labyrinth or aven mindcensor? Are these cards as backbreaking against us as they seem?

Greetings.

So I just played against a Living Plane + Goblin Sharpshooter/Scouring Sands combo deck. He has a Goblin Sharpshooter in play and casts Living Plane... Luckily I have the FoW. Next turn, he untaps and casts Living Plane again. Uh oh. Resolves. Goblin Sharpshooter targets my first land. In response... we flip the Top and Terminus. How about we try this game over? :) Oh Legacy.

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Originally Posted by movingtonewao

I would like to ask on a plan on how to play with and board against D&T if possible.

Also, should we play around spirit of the labyrinth or aven mindcensor? Are these cards as backbreaking against us as they seem?

Greetings.

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Yes, spirit can be backbreaking, but as far as I know is generally played out of the board. As for aven mindcensor, I don't think many decks main deck it anymore, in favor of other 3 drops like brimaz, flickerwisp, and the odd mangara.

Its always good to play with the cards in mind but don't be afraid to play into things at times. Otherwise, you can scare yourself into never progressinf your board state while your opponent overwhelms and kills you

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Originally Posted by exallium

As for aven mindcensor, I don't think many decks main deck it anymore, in favor of other 3 drops like brimaz, flickerwisp, and the odd mangara.

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I think Mindcensor is still pretty common. At three mana, it's not too hard to play around as long as you remember to.