I was thinking the same thing. Portent is better for miracles, Ponder is better if looking for lands.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Arschmann
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I was thinking the same thing. Portent is better for miracles, Ponder is better if looking for lands.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Arschmann
I think a reasonable swap would be to cutdown to 3ish predicts, 2 counterspells, 1 Vclique, 0 entrea and add 4 portents + 1 Terminus.
I'm having so much fun with Unexpectedly Absent and Predict.
You're insane if you cut any Ponders.
Fun does not equate to competitive; I can describe anything as cute or fun. This is essentially 2-card to generate small CA while dealing with a permanent. If you only have UA, the best you can do is to catch your opponent off-guard when he breaks a fetch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Whitefaces
I have no preference on the UA+Predict package, as we should innovate, but why does this package have to be in Miracles Control? Could I not run this package in a non-Miracles Stoneblade/TNN shell? As in, why in this thread? Why not create a separate deck/thread that would center around this package? I would imagine something fair in Esper would be great, why is this a good fit?
What you're describing is a package, and idea, but not a deck around it. It's here in this thread because Whitefaces is still playing it in the Terminus shell since the whole package is able to manipulate the top card of the library. We're not trying to cheese with time walking the opponent over and over again, he's playing it in a competitive shell because Terminus is still totally sustainable and still powerful.Quote:
Originally Posted by twndomn
How is the 3 CB + 4 Portent build working for everyone? I've been doing very well in my limited testing. Again, fuck the CFA exam.
I'm running the 3 CB + 4 BS + 4 Portent + 3 Ponder. Sometimes it's annoying to look for a land via Portent, found it, but missing the land drop because you cannot draw the land that turn. The synergy of Portent + Terminus is golden. One game I found Terminus in the last possible turn via Portent, getting rid of TNN. That's about as good as it could get in the post SDT world.Quote:
Originally Posted by jdmdave
Very tempted to run 10 Blue cantrips + 1 more land. The tempo delver decks with Stifle can be rough with the typical 20 lands.
I'm re-considering soothsaying as an option on the table, so many directions.
You are all playing way way to few cantrips.
The reason miracles was so good was because it was very consistent. If you count top as a cantrip most lists had 12-16 cantrips. Now most of you seem to think you can do the same with only 8-10 while replacing the other cards with unless stuff. You can try that for a while but you will never find it as consistent, the stuff you get to play in the extra slots might look good though. Trying to go down on cantrips when you don't have top is insanity, you should go the other way and add more. We all know that the deck can sink a mana or two into cantriping almost every turn and be fine, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to use top before the ban.
Top was pretty insane that it turned every fetchland into a cantrip. With that in mind having the full 12x 1cmc cantrips seems to be most logical concession to make. Besides if our deck just wants to play key spells and Snap them back over and over again (Swords to Plowshares, Brainstorm, Predict, etc) I could never view running more cantrips as wrong.
Hi guys, long time lurker and first poster here.
I tried the UA+predict engine tonight (2-4 each) with 3 terminus and I find it to be really good for CA and to set instant speed terminus. Things i've noticed 1) u don't really need to always cast instant speed terminus as the card is plenty good when u cast it in your draw step and 2) UA is not the portent enabler as some people think, it is simply another permanent removal that goes well with predict. Bs+predict, ponder+predict, jace+predict (I played 3 jaces) is the real CA engine and incidentally it also help casting terminus at instant speed.
Portent is pretty bad as it doesn't help with land drop and I think is too much of an issue for it to be playable. As other used said I will play the full 4 ponder and 4 brainstorm and even some preordains (or portent if someone think it is really worth) it). I tried 4 snap 2 clique 3 jace as my wincons and I swapped the cliques with 2 mentor as they don't die to reb effects and because we can't counterlock the opponent and we need to close the game fast. We play a lot of "air" so mentor is still good. 3-4 counterspell and even some fluster storm maindeck are pretty much mandatory right now.
Sorry for the wall text and hoping to help in the conversation :tongue:
Portent should always be played in tandem with a playset of Ponders. If you sequence Portent as the first and last cantrips you would cast in a game missing land drops wouldnt be the problem.
Portent is absolutely critical to the function of this deck. If anything, I think the main points up for debate right now are the ratio of counterbalance to counterspell/spell pierce & council's judgment vs Absent vs oredcit ratios.
This is the core:
* 20 lands (Maybe 19 if we go heavy on predict?
* 4 Ponder
* 4 Portent
* 4 Brainstorm
* 4 Force
* 4 STP
* 4 Terminus
* 4 Snapcaster
* 3 Jace
Regarding to the choices of cantrip, apart from portent and predict, is it good to jam 1 or 2 See Beyond? It doesn't create CA, but it guarantees two new cards plus a shuffling effect (get rid unwanted miracle card or lands), without any setup required. I can see out of 4 predict, there can swap 1 or 2 with See Beyond.
Unexpected Absent is not a very good removal, it is questionable to play it just for accommodating full set of predict.
Going too heavy on cantrips past the initial 12 removes any room for counterbalance. You guys are sleeping on the card, it's extremely easy to setup in this shell.
Edit: Just played vs osmanogunez with Turbo Depths. I got him, but his build with portents looked strong.
Edit 2: So I played around 5 matches with the predict+counterbalance build listed below on MTGO and jesus christ - this feels VERY reminiscent of the old DTT era Miracles deck. You just bury your opponents in virtual and real CA. Maybe it's because most forms of anti-miracles hate has left the format, but this feels very strong.
* 4 Flooded Strand
* 4 Scalding Tarn
* 2 Arid Mesa
* 3 Island
* 2 Plains
* 2 Volcanic Island
* 3 Tundra
* 4 Snapcaster Mage
* 1 Unexpectedly Absent (Unexpectedly easier to use than Council's Judgment). Predict trick is just icing on the cake.
* 3 Jace the Mind Sculptor
* 4 Portent
* 4 Ponder
* 4 Brainstorm
* 3 Predict
* 4 Swords to Plowshares
* 4 Terminus
* 1 Counterspell
* 1 Spell Pierce
* 4 Force of Will
* 3 Counterbalance
Sideboard
* 3 Pyroblast
* 2 Blood Moon
* 2 Disenchant (Wear/Tear is kind of mediocre these days)
* 2 Surgical Extraction
* 1 Containment Priest
* 2 Ethersworn Canonist
* 1 Flusterstorm
* 2 Vendilion Clique
Been waiting all morning to post this. http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles...gue-2017-05-19
It's happening!!!!
Is that seriously 0 STP maindeck?
I'll let him elaborate, but he likes the core of his decks to be as "blue" as possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by jdmdave
I've been playing with the shell too, it feels really good. Predict is still great.Quote:
Originally Posted by jdmdave
I've tried Counterbalance and come to the conclusion that it's not good enough though. You use a lot of resources to maintain it when those resources can be used to deal with what the opponent is doing anyway. And when it's bad its been really bad.
I also feel like a splash is unnecessary now.
Very excited to hear more about that 5-0 modo list. The 0 maindeck StP kinda scares me too but the deck looks very consistent.
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You held out on us :cool: Finally I see something I like for GP:LV.Quote:
Originally Posted by It Is Unfair