That's kind of the new Vindicate singleton right? I haven't played any yet, but I'll test it:)
Printable View
That's kind of the new Vindicate singleton right? I haven't played any yet, but I'll test it:)
Kinda. It doesn't hit lands and I generally only pay the ww with x=0. Add in the instant speed and you have my comparison to Abrupt Decay.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
In response to a fetch or something, the number on X is irrelevant anyway.
Sometimes it has occasionally mattered against MUD, but that is my meta, not an extremely common match in an open and/or unknown meta. Also, the X has been relevant against counterbalance matchups, allowing me to play around the top card(s) of their library. It feels like a new form of Engineered Explosives.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Hiho. I played straight UW yesterday in a Tourney and managed to go X:1 (going 2nd) with the loss being me not able to find anything to participate in the game (even my opponent mentioned this).
Because of the expected meta i played a list that consists of only 8 Counters but more "tricks" like Wasteland, Mishra Academy Ruins, Crucible of Worlds and EE.
(If required i can post a Decklist and the report)
A few things i came up with: EE + Academy Ruins is amazing same goes for Crucible + Wasteland.
Thrun, TNN and Geist are real problems, I think adding Celestial Flare or going more controlling is the way to go: eg: more Verdicts and counterspells)
8 Counterspells are well "tight" i often wishen i had atleast one or 2 more.
Going forward i think i stick to straight UW, sure it doesnt offer Lingering Souls and Discard but I think Factories and Explosives + Ruins help out in the Miracle MU, Combo on the other Hand is a MU I have to invest a bit more work in this build to have a better MU against them.
Sorry for my bad grammar but I am not a native speaker.
Yes, EE + Academy is good. I choose a different "tech" land for my list, but it is good. Crucible and Wasteland have obvious synergies, but I find it isn't at it's best in a list like this. I have no problem with Thrun/TNN/Geist, but I run 2 MD Verdict, 1 SB Verdict and TNN's of my own that generally outclass other people's big beater. Geist is just sub-par. I would like to see your list. Celestial Flare is a fine card if that's direction you want to go. If you like the Spirit Tokens, a recent test subject for the UW build was Moorland Haunt. It does seem to be decent, and I will test it when I get the opportunity. I believe it to be good to the point that I've already bought my Japanese one...Quote:
Originally Posted by Fanne
Miracle requires testing to see the best way for your personal playstyle to win against it, but I suggest countering/otherwise dealing with Top, and then sticking a Jace/Elspeth. These are honestly the best ways to deal with the deck. Be the control deck. Plan B is get Batterskull. It has the ability to be a beater even after a Terminus due to it's self-bounce, creature-bringing trigger.
I went 2-2 at my local Sunday.
Merfolk: 0-2
Pox: 2-0
BUG: 1-2
U/R Delver(Pyromancer) 2-0.
I'm responsible for my losses. I should beat Merfok with 4 Verdicts, but I played SFM poorly not getting a Jitte when I had a SoFI in had already, call it hubris or poor play, all are fine. I lost to BUG mainly through not boarding correctly. I beat Pox pretty handily with Jace annd my U/R oppoent never saw an early delver and wasn't able to ever really get off the ground vs me. I have found a 75 that I feel good with for now.
Mana-22-
Fetch X10
Tundra X4
Volcanic X2
Island X4
Plains X2
White-9-
SFM X4
StP X4
Elspeth X1
Blue-25-
Fow X4
Spell Pierce X4
Brainstorm X4
TNN X4
Jace X3
SCM X2
Clique X2
Mana Leak X2
Artifacts-2-
Jitte X1
Skulll X1
Gold-2-
Verdict X2
Sideboard-15-
Blood Moon X3
Verdict X2
Wear/Tear X2
ReB X2
RiP X2
Cage X2
Geist X1
SoFI X1
I feel comfortable with the list, and it plays better than my previous version with 4 wasteland, which strained the base. I stil have a lot to learn, but the 10 fetches with Jace is amazing and the TNN/SFM package is very strong. I may swap the leaks for straight up C-Spell as I am tracking how man times I could cast UU vs how many times they can pay 3. I really don't have a clear picture on that at this point. The deck feels like its in every mu minus my game 1 to merfolk where I was just completely run over. It wierd because the boarding is very important and the game 2 is generally much better than the game 1. Anyway, i am going to stick with this shell for at least a few weeks and see where it takes me.
cheers
defector
As Requested the List:
4 SFM
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 TNN
2 Vendilion Clique
1 EE
1 Crucible
1 Batterskull
1 SoFaI
1 Jitte
4 Force
4 Brainstorm
2 Counterspell
1 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace better than all
7 Fetches
3 Tundra
1 Volcanic Island
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Karakas
1 Academy Ruins
2 Wasteland
3 Mishras Factory
Board:
1 RiP
2 Tormods Crypt
2 Flusterstorm
2 Meddling Mage
1 Disenchant
1 Detention SPhere
2 Swan Song
1 Verdict
1 Path to Exile
1 Envelop
1 Pithing Needle
As said its light on counters and i guess i would like to add Celestial flare in the main, but its my alpha build as i played Blade the first time for years again
Joined a legacy event last weekend and since I haven’t been playing for a while, I did not do much to tweak to my EsperBlade list:-
Main
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
1 Counterspell
1 Ponder
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
1 Glacial Fortress
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Karakas
1 Academy Ruins
Sideboard
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Path to Exile
1 Humility
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Disenchant
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Force of Will
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Spell Pierce
2 Pithing Needle
Round 1 - Merfolk
G1 – Started off on the draw with a mull to 5. To further compound my misery, my opponent dropped Standstill on turn 2 off a Mutavault and I have neither a Spell Pierce nor FOW to do anything about it. I decided to break the Standstill immediately with Stoneforge since I felt breaking it early in the game will give him less chance to just vomit all the fishes he drew off the Standstill plus he already have a Mutavault in play to pressure me with. Unsurprisingly he got Force of Will to counter my Stoneforge and he starts dropping multiple lords which finish me off before I managed to close the gap.
G2 – My lack of practice clearly showed in this game. Started off quite well by Spell Piercing and Aether Vial and then follow it up with a Stoneforge which resolved and got myself a Batterskull. After I got 1 hit in with Batterskull, my opponent managed to resolve True-Name Nemesis as I make the critical mistake of casting FOW (exiling Brainstorm) and he point to the Cavern of Souls he used to cast it. With that we play draw go for a while as TNN hold the fort for him while he start dropping more lords into play. He then decided to swing with TNN, LOA and Cursecatcher after dropping another LOA. Since LOA only grants islandwalk to other merfolks, I exiled the fresh LOA with STP and block the attacking LOA with Batterskull and I thought I have break parity again. Unfortunately my lack of practice showed again as my opponent drop Reejerey and cast a random merfolk to tap Batterskull and I let him attack with no blocks as I “only” have an untap Stoneforge with 7 lands in play. After 2 swings, I finally realized I could have bounce Batterskull back and drop it back again and kill Reejerey but it was too late as Master of the Waves came down with 7 devotion and I lost the turn after. I then flip the top card of my library and it was a Supreme Verdict which would have won me the game or at least give me a massive advantage as my opponent went all in and if I did not waste my Brainstorm by exiling it to FOW, I would have drawn the Supreme Verdict in time.
0-1
Round 2 – Mono B Control/Discard
G1 – Started this game with 1 Brainstorm, 1 IOK and 5 lands (2 fetches). I decided to keep since Brainstorm + fetch should fix it up. How wrong I was as I cast IOK to strip Dark Confidant off a hand containing Obliterator x 2 and remaining lands. My opponent then top deck Sensei Top and on my turn I drew another land, so now out of 8 cards I drew 6 of those are lands. I drop a fetch intending to go EOT Brainstorm then fetch. My opponent did nothing notable and I go EOT Brainstorm and drew 3 more lands. After I shuffled off the 2 lands I put on top (1 of it Karakas), I drew a STP. Liliana of the Veil then came down and that one of the worse card I could be facing right now when I have no pressure on the board as she ticks up with no disruption whatsoever. Before the turn my opponent gets to active Liliana’s ultimate, I cast Snapcaster to just hit her down and cast a Jace. Jace then drew me into Vendilion Clique but without the Karakas which I shuffled away earlier, I couldn’t even get a hit in as my opponent cast Geth’s Verdict and he get to activate Liliana’s ultimate a few turns later and the game ended after some Obliterator beats.
G2 – Started the game well as I Inquisition away my opponent’s Gatekeeper of Malakir from a hand containing Vampire Nighthawk, Obliterator and some lands. Then I got myself a Batterskull with the first Stoneforge followed by a Sword of Feast & Famine with the 2nd Stoneforge and ended the game in a few turns as his edict effects couldn’t do much since Stoneforge eat those happily to save the germ.
G3 – This game was closer compared to G2 as my opponent had the initiative so he started off with Duress and took away my Brainstorm. When I attempted to Spell Pierce his 2nd turn Sensei Top, he cast Dark Ritual to pay for it. The game goes long as I countered his Liliana and he kill my Stoneforge with Victim of Night. I then made a mistake of keeping EE as the only card in my hand by dropping a land I just drew as I was thinking to drop EE with Sunburst 3 since that is the only way for me to handle Liliana but choose not to as I may need to handle other threats. I then passed the turn to my opponent who had nothing in hand but he managed to draw Liliana off the top and he just slams her down and activated the discard ability. I was extremely upset at the way I’ve been playing but guess lady luck is smiling on me as I drew Vendilion Clique with Karakas on the board which means I get to kill Liliana after a couple of hits in and I soon followed it up with Stoneforge > Sword of FAF while my opponent draw blanks even though he used SDT every turn but the lack of shuffle effect cost him. With that I finally won my first match of the day.
1-1
Round 3 – UWR Miracles
G1 – This game took around 35-40 minutes of our time. We both managed to resolved JTMS and every turn each of us get a Brainstorm effect and he counter whatever I cast and I know this game is not going my way if the game goes long. So after 5 turns of brainstorming each, I decided to start using the +2 ability and focus on killing whatever creatures he have which shouldn’t be a lot except if he cast Entreat the Angel. As my Jace kept ticking up, my opponent was digging furiously and he managed to drop Thassa but not enough devotion to bash me yet. Unfortunately with his Sensei Top + JTMS + Thassa’s scry ability, it wasn’t long before he managed to get a Clique which turns his Thassa on and with a full hand, I was unable to stop Thassa from bringing Jace down from 11. With that, my hope of winning is gone as well.
G2 – With 13 minutes left on the clock, I decided to just play more aggressively since I am already a game down anyway. Managed to resolve Stoneforge and Batterskull but it wasn’t long before they meet Terminus followed by JTMS, Counterbalance and SDT and the game goes long again. Not too long after, Thassa came down and finish the game as I couldn’t do anything about it since STP is dead with Counter Top combo in play and Supreme Verdict couldn’t kill Thassa.
1-2
Round 4 – OmniTell
G1 – I opened with a pretty saucy opener with Thoughtseize, Stoneforge, Brainstorm, FOW, Pierce and 2 lands (1 of it fetch). When I Thoughtseize and see that my opponent have nothing except Preordain + 6 lands, I know the game is very likely mine but not sure what his deck is about. On one of the turns he went for Intuition which I countered and I placed him on either Omnitell or High Tide. Snapcaster + TNN beats then bring this game home.
G2 – I opened the game with IOK and noticed he is playing Omnitell as I saw Omniscience and Intuition but no Show&Tell. Decided to just discard and Surgical Extract Intuition. He then play Massacre for free killing Snapcaster + Stoneforge and we play draw go for a while. When he attempted Show&Tell, I responded with Vendilion Clique and took away Omni from his hand and he dropped nothing whereas I drop Sword of FAF. I then Clique him every turn with Karakas till the game ends.
2-2
Round 5 – UR Delver w Young Pyromancer
G1 – Noticed that my opponent was playing with ANT a few rounds earlier so I decided to mulligan a slow hand with zero disruptions but pretty good against aggro/tempo decks. Unfortunately I was wrong as my opponent drop a first turn Delver and apparently he was just playing Storm for fun with his friend since his round ended early. He then Stifle/Wasteland/Daze me into oblivion while Delver + Young Pyromancer + Elementals kill me while I stare at the useless Verdict in my hand being stucked on 3 lands.
G2 – Again I started the game playing catch up as he dropped a Delver on turn 1 which I STP on my 2nd turn to play around Daze. He then drop Young Pyromancer while I tried to stabilized by dropping a Stoneforge but it got double Daze and 2 elemental tokens came down. When he swing with Pyromancer and 3 tokens, I then attempted to Snapcaster targeting a STP which he then FOW and Bolt to remove Snapcaster. Right on cue, I drew Zealous Persecution and clear the board. My opponent then drops a Delver whereas I drop a Jitte. Delver didn’t managed to flip so I took 1 and my opponent then tapped out to drop Young Pyromancer with 1 card in hand. I still fail to draw a 4th land to cast the Verdict in my hand but I drew a Snapcaster so I decided to mainphase the Snapcaster as he only got a card in hand so he can’t FOW and I got 3 lands to play around Daze. The board state right now is I got 3 lands, jitte and snapcaster in play with Verdict and TNN in hand and 4 life. My opponent have 2 lands with 1 Young Pyromancer and 1 Delver with 1 card in hand. I was hoping Delver doesn’t flip and he doesn’t have a bolt. Well I got lucky this time as Delver fail to flip and my opponent know he need to get rid of my Snapcaster otherwise I could equip Jitte and start clearing his creatures, so he swung with both Pyromancer and Delver and hope I block. I did not and went down to 1 and on the return swing with Jitte, I start clearing his board and start gaining life out of bolt range and finally win the game soon after.
G3 – After the close G2, G3 was rather anticlimactic as he didn’t get a turn 1 delver and his Young Pyromancer and elemental friends was cleared by my Zealous Persecution and I am still at 10 life. I then got myself a Jitte on TNN and my opponent concede as he said he got no way to handle that as even though he can destroy Jitte, I got Academy Ruins in play.
3-2
This give me a 3-2 finish and although two 9 pointers sneaked into the top 8, I am not 1 of them as my tie breakers is kinda bad since I lost in the early rounds which give me a finish of 11 out of 31 players. The deck performed relatively well and if only I played better earlier or practice more I could have given myself a better shot at making top 8 as this deck win or lose due to small margins here and there. All in all the deck is fun, just need to practice more as I don’t feel like I am totally dead to any match up.
I'd make 3 thoughtseize and 1 IoK in your build. It would be better because with thoughtseize,you'll be able to take out any non-land card from your opponent's hand. Whereas with IoK,you're only limited up to 3cc cards.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Definitely replacing my D Sphere with Council's Judgment. Awesome card. Reasonable Snap target too.
In what match-up do you intend to use Council's Judgement?Quote:
Originally Posted by Arsenal
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's good/decent against us, and I think Death and Taxes will notice.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Much like I do with D Sphere currently, I'd board in Council in pretty much every fair matchup where countermagic takes a back seat to removal and dudes. Think Jund, Delver, Blade, etc. I like that it can't be Decayed (pretty big deal when facing Jund or BGU decks) and it is a Snap target. Much like Deathblade and Esperblade lists run the 1-of Vindicate, this is pretty much straight UW's "Vindicate" that doesn't target. Seems boss.
Sure, I can see it, I just don't think that I would play it strictly over Unexpectedly Absent.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Hey guys,
I've been rethinking about my version of this deck lately and I can't find a good reason to not main deck Flusterstorm. I'm switching back to straight UW as some of you got success with it, so I'll use my black cards in other decks.
But then point is, I can't find the good balance among the counterspells. I mean, I've been looking around and understand that Spell Pierce counters planeswalker, but else than that how is it better than Flusterstorm? Is it really worth it in the end? To me it seems like Storm game 1 would be much more threating than a random planeswalker being cast, especially when you can run pure Counterspell.
It also stops Aether Vial turn one. If you're on the play. That's pretty meh to my eyes.
Do you guys have any experiences that could light me up?
I think the thought is that Flusterstorm is a bit more narrow, which isn't generally where you want to be in Game 1. Sure, when it is good, it is VERY good, but spell pierce is hardly ever dead in any match up whereas Flusterstorm vs like DnT or Goblins or even like a Junk deck is just really bad most of the time.
Don't forget Pierce counters Sneak Attack which is pretty important.Quote:
Originally Posted by LDX
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The control suite in the straight U/W builds is less powerful than the Esper versions. I run 4 FoW, 4 Pierce, 2 counterspell as a kind of core 10 control cards. I have 2 clique to go along with that and 2 SCM, this rounds out with 4 StP and 2 Verdict. That's a pretty balanced for combo/creatures. It sucks not having the thoughseizes for the proactive disruption vs some combo decks, but thats the trade-off.
Don't you mean the control is more powerful in UW?Quote:
Originally Posted by defector