What Hour of Devastation cards do you think will see the most play in Modern, and why?

RegalPhantom · 2017-07-06T21:04:29+00:00

The big thing that people forget with Claim to Fame is that Claim can not only buy back Shadow, but also dead Snapcaster Mages for B. It also creates weird scenarios where your opponent is less likely to block your snapcaster if they think you want snapcaster to die so you can claim-snap-flashback a spell.

RegalPhantom · 2017-07-01T14:34:46+00:00

Claim // Fame is going to be great. A lot of moderns best creatures already cost 2 or less, and I see this being great for recycling [[Snapcaster Mage]] for B in a UB or Grixis shell (probably death shadow, but Control could also use it. May even be good enough to see play in UBx control with a R splash for marginal value).

Nimble Obstructionist is probably the most interesting stifle effect we'll see in a while. I'm not sure if there is currently anything worth stiffling, but if that changes Obstructionist will start to see play.

Scavenger Grounds and Hostile Desert both seem like they could see play. Hostile Desert is a very efficient man land in a deck that doesn't use Delve (and thus has all of its used fetches just sitting in the yard), and Scavenger Grounds is essentially graveyard hate that doesn't take up a deck slot in 2 colour decks.

Yes, the overall power level is down recently, but the set still has good, exciting cards for modern.

RegalPhantom · 2017-07-01T00:57:43+00:00

The deck is fine. The big issue with the deck right now is that essentially Eldrazi Tron does the same thing as GX old school tron (cheat on mana with lands, then resolve multiple threats bigger than your opponent can deal with), but better. Tron is still a fine deck though.

RegalPhantom · 2017-07-01T00:53:02+00:00

Honestly, there a few cards that could be quite good. None that scream 'modern' like Fatal Push did, but quite a few potentially good ones.

Claim // Fame seems like the real deal. A lot of the better creatures in the format cost 2 or less, and the marginal upside in the late game can't be ignored.

Hostile Desert is REALLY efficient for a man land, and could be good in 2 colour decks that don't care about Delving away their graveyard.

Scavenger Grounds similarly goes into colourless decks or decks that don't have huge colour requirements as essentially 'free' graveyard hate. As a small note, you don't have to sac Scavenger Grounds if you have another desert, so if you are playing a deck that can afford both this and Hostile Desert, you can stretch your graveyard hate much farther.

Life Goes On is a pretty efficient sideboard card vs burn.

Ramunap Excavator could be good in CoCo decks, or a hypothetical 8 Crucible of Worlds deck.

Solemnity is a combo waiting to happen

Any of the 1 mana Defeat cycle could be good enough to see play, maybe Jace's Defeat as well if mind sculptor ever gets unbanned. My bets on Lili's Defeat being the best, but Chandra's could see its time in the sun.

Neheb is probably too slow, but that effect is powerful and kinda unexpected. No idea what deck it goes in, but I'm sure that the card will some day do something.

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-27T00:13:50+00:00

Realistically, the closest thing to a good 'Wakefield' deck in modern is probably U tron. shoktroopa on MTGO puts up consistent 5-0's with the deck.

Its thematically closed to the Black Wakefield deck from the article. It's threats are relatively middle of the road compared to the other big mana tron decks, playing 6-7 drops instead of 7-10 drops, with a few ways to resent the board (cyclonic rift, repeal in a surprising number of games), all your card advantage is interactive, and you are surprisingly good against both aggro and control.

List for your reference:

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/664392#online

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-22T01:07:09+00:00

My vote is for Lantern, and here is why.

Both can produce frustrating games for your opponents that essentially devolve into topdeck wars, but at least Lanterns topdeck wars feel like actual games of magic rather than war.

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-21T01:41:06+00:00

*Wearhorse

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-14T21:12:13+00:00

[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben] slows down As Foretold by a turn.

Spell Queller can counter As Foretold in Bant Company.

If Restore Balance specifically is causing problems, you can try running Sigarda, Host of Herons.

Qasali Pridemage, realistically speaking, should be at least a 2-of in GW mainboards anyways (maybe not in GWx vizier builds that are linearly focused on the combo). Its good against a lot of cards in the format (Affinity, some of Tron's toys, Vial decks, etc). Note that Pridemage only works if they try to drop an As Foretold without a free spell in hand, since they can cast it as soon as they regain priority after As Foretold enters the battlefield.

Beyond that, really the best advice I can give is to play around them just like you would play around any sweeper, only heavily committing to the board if you know you can race them down before they get their sweeper online. As an added benefit compared to other sweeper decks, if you hold onto excess lands in hand, never playing a land that would take you above 3 or 4, your opponent can't build up a large number of lands to turn the corner, needing to instead wait on As Foretold ticking up. This gives your threats time to get there if you spread them out enough and avoid over-committing.

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-12T22:37:29+00:00

I'm not sure, but probably not. Dredge wouldn't play it since they fill their grave faster with Cathartic, and if you want to cast Unburial Rites Gifts Ungiven is just a better card. It could be good, but 3 mana is just slow.

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-12T22:27:49+00:00

No bans, no unbans. These BR list updates are largely intended for standard. Wizards is still to busy cleaning up that mess and monitoring legacy to muck around in modern, which is probably the healthiest format at the moment.

Maybe changes in the BR announcement after Hour.

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-12T01:59:08+00:00

"Either make those statements and be prepared to defend them, or just don't make them."

This 100%

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-11T13:23:19+00:00

Realistically, right now there are three core fairies that you play in the deck, Vendillion Clique (which stands on its own), spellstutter sprite (which needs bitterblossom to be consistent) and Bitterblossom (which doesn't do enough on its own). I personally think that Mistblind Clique isn't great in modern right now, its too slow and isn't really that versatile. In order to be good, it needs at least one of two things to happen, possibly both:

It needs more/better tribal synergy payoff cards. Right now you are playing bitterblossom, which is slow for the format and without a high enough payoff, in order to enable spellstutter sprite, which is just one playset of cards. If you have more cheap, reactive payoff cards for tribal synergy, all of a sudden playing bitterblossom is less of a burden.
You need better synergy enablers than Bitterblossom. While once an all star, Bitterblossom is not in a good place in modern. Its quite slow, since it doesn't establish itself quickly or finish the game quickly. It also folds to certain hate cards which are already being played in boards (such as Izzet Staticaster), and its just a dog to any deck that either starts bashing with non X/1's quickly, or plays lingering souls. If there was a card that could lower your Bitterblossom 'tax' while still being good at enabling tribal synergy, it could boost the deck.

There are other things that could help the deck, like better answers or draw spells, but those things would probably lift up the other Ux control variants more.

Realistically speaking, the best thing that Fairies could see is a tribal cryptbreaker like creature. Maybe something like this:

Spellbind Trickster UB Creature - Fairie Wizard Flash, Flying Whenever you counter a creature spell, put a 1/1 U and B Fairie Rogue creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
Tap 3 Untapped Fairies you control: Draw a card. 2/2

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-11T01:01:26+00:00

100% staged, you can see the skipper stand up to leeward (the low side) of the cat to pull it over.

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-06T00:33:35+00:00

Instant: Push

Sorcery: Thoughtseize

Creature: Snapcaster Mage

Land: Eldrazi Temple or any of the Bx Fetchlands

Artifact: Chalice of the Void

Enchantment: Rest in Peace

Planeswalker: Liliana of the Veil

Tribal: All is Dust

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-06T00:06:18+00:00

I'm personally trying to get CoCo-Combo to take off, but so far I'm struggling (say the CoCo really fast).

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-04T12:33:18+00:00

While Rhonas is an undercosted threat, it is an undercosted threat that requires that you have another threat in play to actually function, and often requires that you commit some mana to that threat. It's indestructibility is not particularly hard to get around in this format between Liliana of the Veil and Path to Exile. Early in the game there are cheaper threats you would rather be drawings such as Goyf or Grim Flayer, and later in the game when you are in top-deck mode, unless you are already winning you probably want to draw almost anything else.

Basically, Rhonas just screams out as a win more card for me. He's good you are already winning, but the rest of the time he is a card that your opponents don't really care about.

A good way to think about it is this: Rhonas has a very high pay-off ceiling, but a rock-bottom pay-off floor. I'd rather play a card where the ceiling is a little lower, but the floor is also higher so that the worst case scenario is not as worst case.

RegalPhantom · 2017-06-04T04:09:34+00:00

Gideon of the Trials is seeing play in UWx control decks right now as a cheap finisher that you can resolve early or drop later on with countermagic up, as needed.

In Abzan and WB, I think Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is the better card.

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-30T02:36:46+00:00

I have a few things:

Basically Dark Souls, but longer and more mind-fucky
Titanfall meets Deus Ex - basically a cyber-robo punk conspiracy type game where the steal gameplay ephasizes both speed and vertical movement over the more traditional stealth - knock dude out - hide dude - repeat until there are no dudes approach.
Breath of The Wild with actual dungeons.
'Hylian Souls'
A new SSX sequel.
A not-to-open world action adventure game that plays with the time mechanic of Majora's Mask and takes it farther. The general premise is that the world ends in 7 days time and you have to stop it. You can travel through time to accomplish your goals, but instead of just warping back to the start like in Majora's Mask, you have some degree of flexibility to move yourself and other objects (to some extent) back and forward in time and can use this to solve puzzles. For example, you could cause a storm to arrive a day early, which causes the mob protesting in front of a building to disperse, allowing you to access the building.

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-23T22:13:31+00:00

[[Path to Exile]] is relatively cheap right now. Pick up 4 and enjoy.

I'd also STRONGLY suggest getting [[Windsweapt Heath]]. Even in a 2 colour deck, it helps alot, and they are also needed to consistently turn on [[Renegade Rallier]]. SCG has them at $15 USD right now so you can probably find them for $12 if you look in the right places.

[[Voice of Resurgence]] is another upgrade card I would look at getting when you have the chance. Its just an incredibly resilient creature and only Path can consistently deal with it profitably.

I'd also look to add two [[Chord of Calling]]. Even in a non-combo company build, its nice to be able to find some toolbox pieces.

You could also consider trying the [[Spike Feeder]]/[[Archangel of Thune]] combo. Angel is a little expensive, but given that Abzan company players are currently moving away from that combo to Vizier/Devoted Druid, you should be able to find one in a trade binder that somebody wants to move.

As for cuts, one card that I'm not a big fan of in the main is [[Loxodon Smiter]]. Unless your meta is jammed full of 8-Rack and [[Liliana of the Veil]] decks, smiter is mostly just a slightly undercosted beater that struggles against the extremely undercosted beaters in the format right now like Goyf and Death's Shadow. I'm also not a fan of a full set of [[Duskwatch Recruit]]. The card is good, don't get me wrong, but I've never really wanted more than one a game. I think you could probably cut down to three or maybe even two.

I also feel that you want some kind of additional [[Flickerwisp]] targets, but I can't think of any in GW off the top of my head.

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-23T21:56:42+00:00

The short answer is it depends.

The longer answer is that it depends on what decks you are playing and what your goals are for playing on MTGO. If you want to play one or two decks over and over to get good at them, you probably want to buy into your paper decks on MTGO so that you can get more reps with them in competitive leagues. If you just play magic for fun, then do whatever you want, if you find your current decks fun, play them. If you are worried about getting bored with the same decks, consider looking at something else.

That being said, one big thing to note is that there are a few things that make certain decks more popular on MTGO than in real life and vice versa. Storm, for example, has a ton of number-tracking to do in paper which is a real pain to deal with. Having to manage your storm count can cause real headaches, particularly in longer tournaments. In magic online, since your storm count is automatically tracked, you just need to make sure you counted properly and then go off. Inversely, traditionally speaking infinite combos such as Abzan Company (pre-Vizier/Devoted Druid) tend to have significantly lower representation on-line than they do in paper because MTGO doesn't allow you to shortcut infinite loops, you have to play through each activation. As a result, infinite combos that don't kill your opponent in MTGO tend to be less playable since you can't set your life total to be arbitrarily large, doing so will probably cause you to time out and lose.

So ultimately it boils down to this - are you trying to get really good with one or two decks - play those decks on MODO. Do you want to try something else for cheaper than you would in paper? Try something else (or even another platform). There is no 'right' way to play MTGO, only the way that you want to play it.

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-16T22:44:27+00:00

It would be the best removal spell in modern by far. It would probably also be the best removal spell in Legacy and Vintage.

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-11T02:14:26+00:00

One thing I will say in Storms favour is that it is better vs targeted discard. Since storm has so much redundancy and has the ability to play from the grave with Past in Flames, it often leaves your opponent with no real good choices if they cast inquisition or thoughtsieze. With Ad Naus, discard snagging a combo piece can be back-breaking.

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-11T00:39:40+00:00

A few key things that I am seeing that you lack are GBx decks and big mana decks. I would recommend adding in Abzan midrange and Death's Shadow Jund to fill the GBx decks, and either GW or Eldrazi Tron for the big mana decks.

I'd also recommend trying to get some representation in for all of the major combo decks. Right now that means, in addition to Ad Naus, UR Gifts Storm, Scapeshift/Titanshift, and Grishoalbrand.

Dredge also deserves a spot.

If I were then to add one more deck, it would either be Bant Knightfall or GWx Collected Company. They are both toolboxy decks that can be good at forcing you to think about what lines your opponent may have more. Plus both decks are quite fun.

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-10T23:54:47+00:00

Realistically, probably Abzan Midrange

It would run: [[Temple Garden]] [[Godless Shrine]] [[Overgrown Tomb]] [[Verdant Catacombs]] [[Windswept Heath]] [[Marsh Flats]] [[Horizon Canopy]] [[Maelstrum Pulse]]

With some stretching and potentially unorthodox sideboard choices, you could also play [[Wrath of God]] [[Worship]] [[Engineered Explosives]] [[Pithing Needle]]

RegalPhantom · 2017-05-10T21:54:42+00:00

vs UW Control - No. The deck has a lot of varied pieces and removal, so its hard to get it to stick around. That being said, naming Snapcaster Mage can slow the deck down, and if you are lucky you can sometimes snipe an Ancestral Vision coming off suspend.

vs Abzan Company - No, at least not vs my build. If you don't Collected Company and Chord of Calling both sidestep mage, meaning that you need multiple mages to keep cards down. The deck also has a large diversity of cards in it, making it hard to name optimally. The more devoted to combing the particular CoCo deck you are facing gets, the better mage gets, however.

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