I don't play SOFI in my Esper build either. Now that I think about it, I don't remember the last time I saw a SOFI hit the field in the Blade Control decks.Originally Posted by kbross
SoFI is better against non-creature decks such as non-elves combo, and also against Miracles.
How do you think it's worth playing against miracles?
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It turns any random dork into a powefull threat at a low cost, much moreso than jitte or skull
It generates card advantage and turns every creature you play into a must kill threat. Same for Feast & Famine. Pro blue is also nice, as it protects your creatures from Jace unsummon and means they can't block with Snapcaster, Clique, or Venser. Jitte deals the same amount of damage per turn as SoFI when it is active, but is also a turn slower.
You basically want SoFI whenever Jitte isn't good. The real debate is SoFI v. Feast & Famine.
I see your point, but against Miracles, isn't Elspeth just better period than SoFI? Against miracles you would have to hit a stone forge, get Sofi, and get a threat to stick around long enough to matter. Whereas; Elspeth can hit a decent amount even under a counter balance lock and generates its own threats?
The only 2 equipment I run maindeck is Batterskull and Jitte and I just couldn't see SoFI going in the board over Elspeth. Its possible i'm off base in my thinking though!
I generally can't find space for Elspeth in my 75 because I generally can't justify bringing in more 4 mana spells not named Jace. I can see how it would be good in Miracles, but outside of that match-up she seems pretty underwhelming. I can see the card advantage argument - I'll have to test it in with that angle in some of my more low to the ground match ups.
Elspeth is probably better against Miracles, but it's not necessarily an either/or proposition. I play both (actually right now I'm playing Nahiri online to give her a try, but Elspeth is my more traditional pick). SoFI is better against combo than Elspeth- I wouldn't even board in Elspeth in those matches.
True Name is generally a problem for Miracles because only about half their removal can deal with him. True Name with a SoFI on it is much scarier than with a Jitte. But anyway, you're the beatdown in this match, you can't worry so much about whether they have the removal- make 'em have it.
(FWIW, I also bring in Clique if it's in my SB, and Meddling Mage, which is just okay, but can make them have 2 types of removal handy to get out from under you. I've been known to side out at least one SFM, and sometimes even the Batterskull, but I don't know how correct that is).
I went 4-1 in 5 rounds of swiss and l lost to manaless dredge in the quarterfinals in a tourney on Saturday. I went 2-1 round one against a pod port-over from modern.
Round 2 I played against infect and lost 1-2. Always counter the creature.
Round 3 was me vs. Burn with Goblin Guides. I win this 2-0 thanks to equipment + TNN, and also 4 basics helps.
Round 4 I play against a goyfless Junkblade list, sporting 4 Lingering Souls. I 2-0 again.
Round 5 I get paired against my buddy I play all the time, mud. Dumb. I miraculously 2-0 him also. At one point I vindicated a chalice @1, then the following turn I CJ trini, then pay (w)1 and swords a lodestone golem. Then swing in for lethal off tokens.
Manaless Dredge beats me 2-0 after a 1 and 1/2 hrs of attrition and silly dredge randomness and lots of Jitte activations, and a needle on Phantasmogorian, I throw in the towel. When I got home I changed my board from 2 S. Extraction and 1 Grafdigger's Cage to 1 RIP, 1 Containment Priest, 1 Surgical Extraction and 1 Grafdigger's Cage.
Here's my current list. Other than the posted sb changes, I don't think I would change a thing. It was very strong all day and other than a few land issues, I had no problems whatsoever. I mulligan aggressively, just fyi.
List:
2 TNN
3 SFM
3 Mentor
1 Batterskull
1 Jitte
3 StP
2 CJ
1 S. Verdict
1 Jace
3 DTT
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
3 Probe
1 TSeize
3 Therapy
2 Daze
2 Pierce
4 FoW
1 Swamp
1 Plains
2 Island
1 Karakas
1 Scrubland
2 USea
2 Tundra
4 Strand
3 Delta
1 Flats
2 Wasteland
SB:
2 Clique
1 C. Priest
1 S. Extraction
1 EE
1 Meekstone
1 Needle
1 G. Cage
1 Pierce
1 RIP
1 Reality Shift
1 Disenchant
1 Vindicate
1 Wasteland
I guess what I may do is go to 61 for Marsh Flats #2. An easy sb swap out for the Wasteland.
This deck is strong. I would like to know if anyone else is doing anything like this.
From my phone. I do my best, dammit!
I've been testing out a similar list. Initially it had SFM, but I very quickly dropped them and made the best part of the deck better by adding more mentors, probes and therapies. Its not really "blade control" anymore, but it is a similar strategy.
19 lands:
4 Flooded Strand
2 Island
2 Marsh Flats
1 Plains (only non-island)
4 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
2 Baleful Strix
4 Monastery Mentor
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Dig Through Time
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
*These last 3 slots I am unsure about, they could easily be something else. More discard, removal, creatures or counters might be better and either PW might not be worth it. At one point I think I had 1 Jace, 1 Counterspell, 1 Deluge.
Sideboard:
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Flusterstorm
2 Meddling Mage
1 Null Rod
1 Path to Exile
1 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Zealous Persecution
I have not taken it to any tournaments yet, but in my testing it has been very solid against all the tier 1 decks. Theres some advantages to not having SFM. I have don't care at all about artifact/enchantment hate, I care little about single target removal/discard AND I get to play null rod.
Similar to the deck I went day 2 with in Lille. I posted more about it in the Deathblade thread since I initially started out with DRS in it. Maybe it needs its own thread.
UWr Blade took 1st place in the scg premier iq
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=88260
Oh Stoneblade, I don't know why I ever play decks without SFM.
Hello everyone, so I'm really new here to the Source, but I've been playing with this decklist on MTGO for a while, and I just wanted to have other people's take on it.
4x Flooded Strand
5x Island
5x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
3x Tundra
4x STP
4x Brainstorm
2x Ponder
2x Spell Pierce
2x Counterspell
4x Force of Will
3x Back to Basics
1x Detention Sphere
2x Dig Through Time
1x Supreme Verdict
4x Stoneforge Mystic
2x Snapcaster Mage
2x Thopter Foundry
1x Sword of the Meek
1x Umezawa’s Jitte
1x Batterskull
2x Jace the Mindsculptor
1x Elspeth, Knight Errant
SB
1x Spell Pierce
1x Spell Snare
2x Meddling Mage
1x Detention Sphere
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Academy Ruins
1x Pithing Needle
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Kor Firewalker
2x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Disenchant
It's a pure U/W deck with no splash, and the reasoning behind that is back to basics has just won me games before, and the 10 basics are somewhat required for me to play it to its full potential. It's not really a budget issue, so I could change to multicolor if needed. I used the thopter/sword combo because it gives me the ability to put a lot of pressure on control decks and stymie aggro decks on a fairly consistent basis. Everything else seems fairly standard, I went with the Elspeth instead of the 3rd Jace because she can help me win the PW wars fairly easily, and also is a good PW to play when I already have a Jace out and lets me build my advantage. My miracles match-up has been fairly okay, as my dead cards ie StP and Back to basics, are somewhat mitigated by the existence of the thopter-foundry combo and the extra PW of Elspeth. Most other match-ups have been toss-ups, and in more than one case, I've beaten a suited up TNN by flooding the board with thopters/gaining life and racing it. The reason I don't play TNNs myself is because, especially with 3 btbs, I did not want to overload the 3 mana spot and to keep the rest of the deck lower to the ground (this may be wrong, I admit, but that was my reasoning)
Any questions, comments, and critiques are welcome and appreciated.
Council's Judgment is an excellent card. It is sometimes better than Detention Sphere -- it can be Snapcaster'ed, is *not* blue and is thus immune to Pyro/REB, and also can't be Abruptly Decayed. Oh, AND it can hit 'unkillable' things such as Nimble Mongoose, TNN, and even Thrun. Hitting double White should not be a problem for your build.
While I do think Back to Basics is a powerful effect, I think a Red splash can achieve a similar goal and provide additional power elsewhere. In addition to Blood Moon and/or Ruination, you also gain access to stuff like Pyro/REB (simply *amazing* against the current Tier 1 metagame), Grim Lavamancer, Lightning Bolt, Izzet Staticaster, Sudden Demise, Pyroclasm, Wear//Tear, etc.
Thanks for the input. I used the D-sphere because I liked having extra blue cards to pitch to force when I needed it and I liked being able to clear out multiple tokens. Admittedly though, a friend of mine did tell me that council's judgement was probably better in that spot, but I haven't actually tried it out yet.
As for the red splash, losing my fairly large number of basics would damage me in that regard, no?
Just 2x volcanics would be enough for the red splash, which shouldn't be a problem as far as B2B/Blood Moon goes. As far as D. Sphere goes, its problem is that REB eats it. I play 2 CJudgement and couldn't be happier.
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Given my reliance on fixing my basic mana layout with fetches, would blood moon not hurt me if I played it too soon? With b2b at least I can still fetch after I played it.
Probably. It's a solid strategy, but in the end, its the player who makes the plays. Make good choices.
That said, I'm not arguing that you should play red. I don't care for it. I like Azorius and Esper; I'm not interested in bad removal and color-specific counters. I'm not a huge fan of your list, it's kinda top-heavy for my taste. However, if it works for you, run with it. I would drop the Detention Sphere, though. It's just bad. If you want that kind of removal, I'd try Echoing Truth. It's my go-to. Also, CJudgement is worth running somewhere in the 75.
From my phone. I do my best, dammit!
I think Sphere is pretty bad, but I do like Red because Pyroblast and Moon are so important right now.
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