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good catch. exiling mindbreak trap is a straight up time walk vs storm, and surgical can be close to that vs reanimator. really nice find.Quote:
Originally Posted by square_two
interesting idea lyle moving the price of progress to the sb. i think it's a little risky as it is able to steal games. i'd consider only running 2 skewer (b/c it doesn't work super well with swiftspear) or 2 lava spike and keeping 2 PoP.
I am really excited about LutS, and have started testing 4 in my burn list, it is pretty much the standard configuration of 19 lands and all 4-ofs beside 2 Searing Blood (+2 Side), 2 Rift Bolt (which is VERY awkward with LutS since Suspend does not work from exile) and 1 Sulfuric Vortex, the reasoning being that LutS makes it easier to hit that 3rd Landdrop, as others have pointed out before.
So far it has been an amazing Topdeck, but in the early turns I have almost never found a good opportunity to deploy it, since it is almost always better to get some pressure going with creatures. This leads me to suspect that the correct number for LutS is porbably closer to 2-3, but more testing is recquired.
As for the SB, this is what I'm trying for the moment:
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Searing Blood
3 Smash to Smithereens
3 Exquisite Firecraft
3 Pyrostatic Pillar
This is very experimental and the numbers are not set in stone at all. Crypt might be better thatn Surgical since it can be put into play off LutS right away for example. Time will tell.
If PoP isn't doing 4+ damage consistently because of the metagame, it deserves to be in the sideboard.Quote:
Originally Posted by mistercakes
I didn't want to be the first person to say it, but I think you're right that a full quad of Light Up the Stage is probably a bit too many. Feels a bit rough to draw in multiples. I was gonna try 3x when mine show up in the mail.Quote:
Originally Posted by SecondSunrise
My plan is to replace maindeck anti-creature cards, of which I'm still running two (Searing Blaze). Might drop back to 19 lands to fit the third Light.
A couple of probably noob-ish questions I hope aren't taking things off track:
—Why Searing Blood over Searing Blaze? Does running fetches impact this decision?
—I've rarely ever connected with Price of Progress (though Eldrazi wasn't around much last time I was hitting tournaments regularly); much more often it's served as a Time Walk against Force decks. Am I just doing it wrong?
I was wrong about Skewer the Critics. Tried it last night (4 Skewers), seems great. I'm trying out 3 Light up the Stage (LutS), I only drew 1, hit a bolt and land off of it. It didn't feel good or bad. I'm not sure how much I want to be trying LutS, there were games I had it but just held it the entire time since I was able to be going like crazy. My list was really weird though, but I already have a plan for those slots.Quote:
Originally Posted by scaryrawr
I've also been enjoying the new cards.
I crammed in 4 light up the stage and 3 skewer the critics, by taking out 3 pop, 3 risk factor and dropping back to 19 lands.
Both cards were good by themselves, but I felt like having so many spectacle cards was messing with my plays.
I took the skewers back out to put the pop back in. 4 damage cards are huge for me, I can't even count the number of games I've lost with my opponent at 1 life.
The only downsides to light up the stage that I've run into so far are that you cant suspend rift bolt from exile, and it can make swiftspear less good.
Those 2 extra playable cards are awesome though.
I might drop down to 3 light up the stage, and I might try to replace a rift bolt or 2, but I highly recommended trying light up the stage.
I do not think Light Up the Stage (LutS) is good at Burn. You will often have to attack first with Monastery Swiftspear and you will lose your trigger. Imagine a situation where you have Monastery in play + Bolt and LutS in hand. You will only want to spend the Bolt if it is to hit lethal on your opponent. Otherwise you will hold for eventual removal, or to cast in response to something.
I think if you want to manipulate the top of the deck you must play UR Burn.
Already, Skewer the Critics is very good. I am running a list like that of Patrick Sullivan, with 4 of everything, 20 lands and 4 Flame Rift (in this case I use Skewer the Critics) the deck is very good against Chalice and contra combo Decks.
I love the maindeck, very solid, but I would consider to cut the 20th land to add another burn spell (like Flame Rift) or a copy of Risk Factor. The sideboard is nice but I would play one more Pyrostatic Pillar instead of the fourth Smash to Smithereens, but it could be a meta callQuote:
Originally Posted by Lyle Hopkins
I'm surprised so many of you aren't running Lavamancers and Fetches. Really helps the decks against control and makes it more consistent.
I also run a Taiga main deck for sideboard enchantment/artifact removal. Destructive Revelry is a great SB card that has helped me many times.
Are most of you running against decks with no creatures? We have so many decks with creatures of 2 or less power that Searing Blood is an all-star. I'm usually more glad to draw it than most other cards. Miracles, Delver, Stoneblade, D&T, and many others just crumble to it.
I do need to test LUTS. Looks very promising to help draw some extra cards when you are gassed.
Is the consensus on the combo matchups to just give up on them? Like Sneak, Depths variants, GY decks( BR reanimator, dredge). I was playing flame rifts for a bit to race them but it feels super tough. I am unsure how many sideboard slots even fight that cross section past 4 ish slots. my gut says give up and hope to dodge, but that never feels great.
Has anyone found certain cards/ styles to be more effective versus the combo slice of the meta?
The decks just mentioned are hard to beat...here's what I do, but I still loose a lot.
Playing ensnaring bridge off my opponents show and tell is one of my favorite things to do in all of magic...but it doesnt always help. I run 3 ensnaring bridge in my side. They work for a bunch of decks...dark depths, some reanimation decks, elderazi...
I was running 2 wastelands for a little while to help with dark depths and glacial chasms. It usually worked the first time, but when people are expecting it they seem to be able to play around it. The wasteland were helpful against other decks pretty often, but not often enough, I took them out. I do miss them sometimes...
Grafdiffers cage is my card of choice for grave yard hate. I play 3 of them in my side and I'll mull down to 0 to try and get one, because if I don't play it on the first turn or 2 I'm going to loose anyway.
After they banned drs I took out my searing cards. I play volcanic fallout in the side, sometimes 2 sometimes 3. And for the few MUST kill creatures i see, theres still 12 bolts. And fire fireblasts if I have to.
I'm also interested in hearing other peoples sideboard strategy.
I've been messing around with this deck in MTGO for a few weeks:
19 Mountain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Vexing Devil
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Price of Progress
3 Light Up the Stage
3 Skewer the Critics
3 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Fireblast
Side
4 Red Elemental Blast
4 Pyrostatic Pillar
4 Smash to Smithereens
3 Exquisite Firecraft
What do you think of it? I might switch Light Up The Stage/Skewer for Swiftspear (it feels kinda slow compared to Vexing for that turn 3 win) or something and eventually spend ~40$ on 4 Eidolons. I can win all matches except against Reanimator (they're online with Giselbrand or Iona usually on the 1st turn), Storm (might get Mindbreak Trap eventually) or Belcher (not going to spend ~40$ on Surgical Extraction)...
I dont think vexing devil is better than swiftspear. To me it looks like high risk - high reward card compared to swiftspear which might deal less damage but deals reliably 2-3 damage per game then it probably depends if you want to be more "all in" or more "slower and consistent". Can you describe more how it works for you?
Also, storm matchup should be OK with eidolons and pillar in SB (Im just building the deck in paper and while we have a storm player, I only played burn online on cockatrice and havent met storm yet).
Reanimator is bad but having some faerie macabre in SB could help BUT their nut draw is just unbeatable. THe question is if its wothy to decicate the SB for this mathcup or just ditch it and use the SB slots for other matchups
Is there a place for Dreadhorde Arcanist?
Dreadhorde Arcanist
1R
Creature - Zombie Wizard
Trample
Whenever Dreadhorde Arcanist attacks, you may cast target instant or sorcery card with converted mana cost less than or equal to Dreadhorde Arcanist's power from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. If that card would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead."
illus. G-Most Lee # 125/264
SRC
1/3
Unfortunately I don't think that Dreadhorde Arcanist is good enough. It is already weakened by being 2 mana and not immediately impacting the board. It hits for a feeble 1 damage. And then it can only cast Lightning Bolt, Lava Spike and Chain Lightning - compare this to Harness the Storm, which doesn't see any play (I know both cards have major differences, but I think that people would have flirted with Harness if Burn really wanted to recast its graveyard).
Harness the Storm is a wildly different card, the cards aren't free so your costs are doubled and you scope of spells to cast is very limited. Apples and Oranges.
Dreadhorde Arcanist fueled with Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Lava Spike is a 4/3 for 1R. That's how you have to value it.
If it had Haste it might be worth considering, but I don't think we can afford such a weak turn 2 play as this.
Eidolon "does nothing" the turn it comes down but casts such a wide net in the format he makes the cut.
has anyone found anything good to do with iona shield of emeria?
after shes cast.
some kind of colorless spell? or an effective way to splash something with the sideboard?
i hate that card so much.
goblin recruiter is too powerful to be allowed, but iona is just fine?
Maybe if Iona is the one specific card that is giving you trouble you could try splashing white for Path to Exile?
But Burn inherently has a weakness against combo, so if your meta has a lot of combo you are better off just playing some other deck. On the other hand there are many grave hate cards so if the only combo deck bothering you is Reanimator you should load up your sideboard with hate. But that will only get you so far because, again, Burn is just plain bad against combo.
KarakasQuote:
Originally Posted by Ox411
I doubt she has ever been cast so if you bounce her back you wont see her again. Karakas seems like a good answer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ox411