I have also been loving the Japanese list as well. I don't play Tasigur though. I favor Gurmag Angler more because the 5/5 stat trades with Reality Smasher and opposing Gurmag Anglers. Tasigur being Legendary isn't great too because there is a lot more DnT in my meta compared to the Japanese meta. Saving Tasigur or making a pseudo-vigilance with your own Karakas is a corner case. The card advantage that Tasigur makes is only really helpful in a handful of grindy MUs. Especially now with Leo, your opponent would most likely give you a cantrip. This is where I am currently at:
23 Lands
1 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Karakas
1 Marsh Flats
1 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
1 Scrubland
1 Swamp
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
2 Wasteland
9 Creatures
2 Gurmag Angler
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Vendilion Clique
28 Other Spells
4 Brainstorm
1 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
1 Spell Pierce
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Council's Judgment
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Lingering Souls
2 Ponder
3 Thoughtseize
1 Batterskull
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Sideboard:
1 Containment Priest or Rest in Peace
1 Notion Thief
1 Sanctum Prelate
1 Disenchant
1 Flusterstorm
1 Negate
1 Path to Exile
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Humility
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Nahiri, the Lithomancer
Last edited by L10; 04-20-2017 at 12:18 AM.
Your absolutely correct that tasigur just doesn't match up well vs smasher and other fatties. And being legendary doesnt bide well with karakas. I really don't think that is role is a fatty though he does a decent job at it. He has won me countless games though. I almost always try to jam a SFM if I can early. But a turn 3 Tasigur can be a great play. By turn four you have sculpted your yard to have 0-1 cards as a target. I've had games where I top deck a FoW sitting dead. And triggered tasigur and got back a cantrip and vise versa bunch of times for a win. Some games I need to hope for a swords or Jace. His ability to dig and fill up your hand goes a long way if he is backed up with a counter.
I've been running 2 ponders and 4 brainstorms. He just adds so much much card advantage by turn four. Plus mircles rarely runs karakas and that leaves you basically just D&T that runs them. Still fun to out race two live mentors with tasigur equipments with batterskull. Though that could be any creature with it equipped.
If I have a active tasigur on board I'm rutinely ending the game with a full grip of cards in hand.
Also won multiple games just riding tasigur alone. Many games I'm saving my cantrips and burning thoughtsieze turn one followed by thoughtsieze and swords. Holding FoW and random blue card. Play tasigur turn three protect him with force. Now all of a sudden I have all the removal and discard I need to clear a path for him to smash face.
L10
How important has wastelands plus crucible of the worlds been? I've only played against lands twice and think having extra basics helped at least one of the matches. I know it has help vs mic fit a bunch and 12 post. I've recently added a Ancient ruins In place for one wasteland. So far it's only help me once. Also thinking about replacing other with new UW cycle duel.
Almost completed deck in paper I have the wastelands just no practice with them. Just missing tarpit, karakas and a marsh pit. Have every thing else.
I think Tasigur vs. Gurmag is a meta call. IIRC, DnT is an unpopular deck at Japan, so Esper Blade at Japan can get away with playing more Legendary creatures compared to the west. I think DnT is also unpopular at MODO because Ports costs an obscene amount. The Japanese meta is also overrepresented with Miracles (even Elves MD Nissa at the GP), which is where Tasigur shines at generating card advantage. I agree that even getting back cantrips can be good. But with Leovold being a card now, getting back a cantrip is a bit anemic. The true value of Gurmag and Tasigur though, IMO, is the ability to cast them for 1 mana. This usually leaves me with 2-3 land open for my opponent's turn. I rarely want to tap out at my own turn.
Leovold is a pain. I just try swords him on the spot hope they don't pull a counter from trigger. Honestly though it's abrupt decay that I'm more afraid of.
Side note feeling its appropriate fitting a single chill in board as of late. May be just heavy burn meta on modo. Still don't want to lose to it on paper.
The Wastelands are crucial to destroy utility lands like Ports or Thespian Stage, and fast lands like Ancient Tomb and Cloudpost. Even cutting off a color can win games.
Crucible of World has been great vs. Death and Taxes and Loam decks. It basically invalidates their mana denial plan.
I have only Wasteland + Crucible lock someone out twice before, so it's pretty rare. I wouldn't SB in Crucible with the intention of the lock.
I think Wastelands has more utility than Ancient Ruins.
Chill is fine in a Burn heavy meta. Warmth is probably better. In my list above, you can replace Notion Thief with either.
Also, I wouldn't jam SFM unless I have protection, typically speaking. Having Batterskull stuck in your hand is a massive tempo loss. SFM is typically a turn 4 card.
But Notion Thief is just such a beater against a resolved jtms lol
Just played vs
MUD conceded 0/2 =(
Bug Delver 1/2
Miracles 2/1 lost game one. G3 flashed Notion Thief on a jtms activation.
Every game tasigur lived re produced.
Miracles is gone now... Is it our time again?
I think so. I have been playing a UWr very similar to this list: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...?DeckID=110028 (Talked with Rosenblade extensively about the list)
I feel the 3 maindeck Blood Moon are super good against all the BUG and probably the rise of Lands. I think SoFaI probably gets cut or turned into SoFaF
Looking at my options after Miracles ban. In your discussions with Stephan, did you ever discuss Keranos? How realiable was casting this, and is it ever brought in versus anything besides Miracles?
Miracles refugee here. I have a 2x Tundra/2x volc/1x Plateau, so the Jeskai Stoneblade lists look tempting.
How is this for a starting list?
5 Island
3 Plains
2 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 SFM
3 Snapcaster
3 TNN
1 Vclique
2 JTMS
1 batterskull
1 sofi
4 brainstorm
3 blood moon
2 counterspell
4 force
4 stp
1 jitte
1 judgment
4 ponder
Apart from some variation in the specifics of the mana, the list is more or less identical to the one linked a few posts up (-gideon and spell snare, + snapcaster and JTMS) so I would say it's probably ok as long as the meta doesn't somehow move in a way that blood moon gets worse.Originally Posted by jdmdave
Everyone seems confident that BUG is the clear best deck moving forward, so I think Blood Moon will be great over the next month or two. Additionally, they're discussing shaving some number of abrupt decays with counterbalance being gone, so resolving one should allow it to stick even longer.
I'd be curious to see which variant UWr or UWb is the better variant in coming months. On paper it seems about even with UWr coming slightly ahead against the fairer matchups because of the 8+ removal spells alongside blasts postboard while UWb has a slightly better unfair matchup. I do agree with Munchyman, Tasigur is a completely house in the UWb versions and can completely swing the BUG matchups around. I wouldn't consider cutting him even though D&T is still running around.
It really depends on context I think. I think Tasigur is better if the format pushes more mid-range to control. But I did play Tasigur last night and went 3-1 at my LGS. I won vs. Elves, Eldrazi, DnT, and lost to DnT. While I think pre-board, Esper Blade may be worse vs. Creature decks, I don't think it's all that different post-board. And I value discard quite a bit vs. unfair decks. The main draw for Jeskai though is Blood Moon.
Edit: From the list above, I went -1 Clique, +1 Toxic Deluge in the MD and -1 Thief, +1 Engineered Plague in the SB because I expected a much more fair meta.
Now that top is banned, what do you guys think of esper stoneblade coming back from the ashes? Missed the Tom martell days of jamming this swiss army knife with lingering souls and without deathrite shaman (hate that card).
Creatures [12]
1 Tasigur
2 Baleful Strix
2 Snapcaster Mage
3 True-Name Nemesis
4 Stoneforge Mystic
Instants [13]
1 Counterspell
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
Sorceries [8]
1 Council's Judgment
2 Ponder
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
Planeswalkers [2]
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Artifacts [3]
1 Batterskull
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Lands [22]
1 Academy Ruins
1 Karakas
1 Plains
1 Scrubland
1 Swamp
2 Island
2 Marsh Flats
3 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
SB:
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Disenchant
2 Flusterstorm
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Duress
1 Nahiri, the Lithomancer (just for kicks)
2 Vendillion Clique
Thinking of jamming this list. I plan to eschew lingering souls and include more TNN as my meta has DnT and BUG, maybe delver will see a resurgence. Just don't know how stoneblade will fare against the sea of BUG decks but i think it has game against any others.
As far as the esperblade lists go, why is nobody playing fatal push? Did you forget that card exists? Deathrite shaman now more than ever is going to be a must answer card. So you can spend your time battling deathrite shaman which is not where I want to be, or you can play more ways to kill it. I like the idea of maindecking blood moon against people, and it has lightning bolt too perfect for killing drs. But black has the better hate vs the combo decks. Not entirely sure where I want to be with stoneblade yet but if you play esper i don't think you can do without Fatal Push. That just feels wrong.
6th place at an iq is nothing to sneeze at but I wonder what went into the decision to run zero lightning bolt
Fatal push is a good card but we do have the best removal in STP. I always felt that fatal push is more suited in a bug tempo deck where their only removal is abrupt decay and they are in need of a more efficient one.
The slots in esperblade lists are quite tight i feel, what would you suggest cutting?
With STP and PTE as STP #5-6, I don't see a reason to play Push. Go for the Throat might be more interesting because it bypasses Chalice and Prelate @1.
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