Tutor seems too important, helps me find a combo piece of Helm/RIP/E.Field when I need it. Meddling mage is for abrubt decay matchups.Originally Posted by Ricardio
Agreed. I keep my 4th balance in the board (which conveniently can replace one of your mages). I don't run Supreme Verdict currently, but that's due to my local meta more so than it's power. I'd suggest this:
Maindeck:
-1 Counterbalance, +1 Swords to Plowshares
SB:
-2 Meddling Mage, +1 Counterbalance, +1 Supreme Verdict
I'm a huge fan of snare, would never play the deck without one. It's very good vs other counterbalance and stoneforge decks, as well as against combo (burning wish, infernal tutor). It is decent against most creature decks, hitting tarmogoyf, most of merfolk, gaddock teeg, and thalia. I usually take it out against goblins, BUG, and threshhold (RUG) where it just isn't guarunteed to hit enough things. It is definitely a metagame card, but I'm expecting a lot of combo and control matchups, so it always pulls it's weight. I had a second counterspell over the second snare for a while, but stoneforge make it hard to leave up UU as consistantly.
Web of Inertia seems pretty cool with Rest in Peace. It's kinda like Moat except it doesn't cost a few hundred dollars to buy, costs one less mana, fits the counterbalance curve better, can protect your Jace unlike Energy Field, is one-sided so you can still attack with BS or w/e, and you can pitch it to FoW.
Pretty awful without RiP though.
I'm pretty sure Web of Inertia still doesn't protect Jace, making it a worse Energy Field.
Energy Field doesn't protect Jace much either, since the field only prevents damage to you. In the case of attacking planeswalkers, the damage isn't redirected so Jace won't be protected; however, for direct damage there are two modifications to the damage "redirection and prevention," which you get to control the order of, so you can prevent damage to Jace with Energy Field this way.
Web of Inertia says:
At the beginning of each opponent's combat phase, that player may remove a card in his or her graveyard from the game. If the player doesn't, creatures he or she controls can't attack you this turn, but can still attack any planeswalker you control.
So no, it's no Moat.
Once upon a time, when Counterspell and Ancestral Recall were still living in the Garden, they ate the fruit from the Tree of Making Noobs Cry.
And it tasted good.
But now all blue cards must suffer for their sin.
You are correct.
E.Field isn't there to protect Jace. It's in there so I can stabalize at a high enough life total vs agro to find a win condition. If I'm stable with RIP/E.field in play I'm not really worried about Jace. Web of inertia also doesn't protect you vs SGC or Sharpshooters.
Gideon Jura perhaps?
Totally agree :)
Ah, you're right.
Ah well, Web of Inertia stays bad then.
There seems to be an opinion of switching from conventional miracle control to rip + energy field to deal with Goblins.
However, Goblins are not where the priority is, in my opinion. In the current meta game, which is the winter of 2012 to 2013, current Legacy is All About BUG. Hence, the rip + energy field version is no better and arguably worse than the conventional version. Worry about BUG first, how many Goblin players do you see, in any Legacy tournaments?
Well, Isn't the current FOTM for Bug decks DRS and Abrupt Decay?
We don't really use the graveyard beyond Snapcaster mage. Abrupt Decay sorta makes Counterbalance bad. Based on this, we should be making Miracle Control lists that focus more on removal and avoid relying on Counterbalance (we can still keep tops). Running SFM + BS, 4 StP, X number of PTE, 4 Terminus, and maybe a Surpreme Verdict or 2 might be the best call. Spell Snare is also a good choice for countering their Goyfs and Dark Confidants. We also might consider splashing a light amount of black to run Lingering Souls.
BUG has some issues with Stoneblade. We can very easily borrow elements from that deck to improve our matchup against BG decks. I suggest filling our deck with more removal than they have creatures. It doesn't matter how many discard+counters they have: if they have no creatures then they can't kill us, and with tops we're better prepared for the longer games.
RiP is great vs BUG. It turns off DRS, and makes goyf terribad. Two of their biggest role players completely negated.
Yeah, RiP is something I forgot. RiP should almost always be used against the decks that splash green for goyfs and DRS.
While RiP is great against DRS, it does nothing against Liliana. As matter of fact, I would argue that SFM is no solution against Liliana. Miracle Control by default does not have a lot of threats on the table. Simply put, BUG can easily resolve and defend Liliana, and that pretty much takes care of SFM/BS plan.
As I mentioned in the other thread, leyline of sanctity can take care of Liliana and BUG's Jace and BUG's discard, while lots of options against DRS/Goyf.
Why not run both the Leyline and RiP? Those alone would crippled BUG, right?
The Leyline can be used for other matchups as well, like ANT and random jank decks like Burn.
oarsman, I saw you battle round 14, and I never expected that it would be a miracle mirror (abet different variants). I'm sorry that you lost the round. After that match-up, are you thinking that the RIP version of the deck may be stronger overall (not just in the mirror)? You both had impressive records going into the round. I'd love to hear how your matchups went/overall tourney experience.
Side note, i'm bummed that I did not get to say hello in person. I got sick over the holidays and though I wanted to show up for the Grand Prix, I just did not have the energy (nor did I want to get people sick). Really sucks as Colorado doesnt get big events that often.
Ended up going 10-4 with U/W Miracles at GP Denver
Matches
Round 1 Bye
Round 2 Death and Taxes 2-1
Round 3 U/W Counterop w/Mystic 2-0
Round 4 BUG/w 2-0
Round 5 BUG 2-0 had Jace on top of my deck, was going to draw it when I realized my opponent must have his Vendillion Clique in hand, reorganized to draw plains he cliques me I show double plains then activate top to draw Jace and lay Jace to set up the win.
Round 6 Esper Blade 0-2 (My worst played match, really, really bad)
Round 7 BUG Delver 0-2
ROund 8 TES 2-1
Thought about it more and made a mistake in game 3, could have made my opponent have in his 4 unknowns 2 Abrupt Decay + a duress/silence + a win, instead made it so he only needed one abrupt decay + a duress or silence + a way to win. Luckily he had the Abrupt but not a way to get through the force.
Round 9 RUG 0-2
Round 10 MUD 1-2
Round 11 Sam Black Zombies 2-0
Round 12 U/G Infect 2-1
Round 13 ANT 2-0 (Lived the dream and stopped an infernal tutor/LED by bouncing a land back to my opponents hand with Venser)
Round 14 BUG/w 2-0
List:
4 Sensei
4 Brainstorm
3 Spell Pierce
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Counterspell
4 Counterbalance
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendillion Clique
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
3 Jace the Mindscupltor
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
3 Terminus
2 Entreat the Angels
6 Island
3 Plains
1 Mystic Gate
1 Karakas
3 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
SB
1 Humility
1 Moat
1 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Sphere of Law
1 Rest in Peace
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Force of Will
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Disenchant
1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Baneslayer Angel
The Misdirection was just ok and will probably be coming out, otherwise very happy with the deck, I had pretty bad misplays in rounds 6 and round 10 that if I played better would have likely changed the results to a draw and a win.
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