Dies to Removal

that's racist

Getting there:

[deck]Pauper GR Tron[/deck]
Creatures
4 Fangren Marauder
2 Fierce Empath
4 Ulamog's Crusher

Artifacts
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Expedition Map
4 Prophetic Prism
4 Pyrite Spellbomb

Sorceries
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Flame Slash
2 Kaeverk's Torch

Lands
2 Haunted Fengraf
4 Gruul Guildgate
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Powerplant
4 Urza's Tower

2 Forest

Sideboard
4 Auroch Herd
4 Pyroblast
4 Reap and Sow
3 Serene Heart
[/deck]

Key innovations:
- getting rid of blue. I don't disagree that Mulldrifter isn't awesome; but being tri-colour taxes the mana base of a pauper deck very hard. I'm also not sure why a ramp deck wants to play card advantage; I appreciate that the card is amazing vs. MBC; but you have so much dig that you only need a single big
creature to stick to completely take over the matchup. Auroch Herd from the sideboard gives you a stream of 4/4s that should be sufficient to run them over. In the mirror you have 4 Crushers and 2 Empath whereas they typically have 0-2; it's the best card and you have way more copies.
- pyrite spellbomb. Modern GR Tron runs Relic of Progenitus instead; but GY interactions are relevant in that format. This just helps against all the weenie strategies and otherwise cantrips to find you more creatures. It's another life gain card with Fangren Marauder too.
- flame slash. Affinity and MBC are bigger decks in the format than Faeries / Stompy / White Weenie. If that balance were to change you would switch for Firebolt.

I'm not certain that Aurochs Herd is necessary for MBC. If it isn't that opens up a bunch of other options (Ancient Grudge or Gorilla Shaman; Electrickery; Moment's Peace etc)

That Shahar Shenhar adding you on Facebook feel.

Nah

Kaze and Helios are my favourites. JS and Freedom have done the most to earn my respect for the year. Ellie Goulding remains no. 1 artist; Usual Suspects for best movie; Heart of Darkness best book, MDU best new comer. Make up whatever award names you like.

Uhm. Best tell-off in the comments section of an article? Anyone got an entry for that?

That would go to LP, hands down.

3-0 in testing. Feels cruel gaining 20+ life in a turn vs. aggro

[deck]Pauper GR Tron v1.1[/deck]
Creatures
4 Fangren Marauder
2 Fierce Empath
4 Ulamog's Crusher

Artifacts
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Expedition Map
4 Prophetic Prism
4 Pyrite Spellbomb

Sorceries
4 Ancient Stirring
4 Flame Slash
2 Kaervek's Torch

Lands
3 Haunted Fengraf
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower

3 Forest
2 Mountain

Sideboard
3 Electrickery
1 Haunted Fengraf
4 Pyroblast
4 Reap and Sow
3 Serene Heart
[/deck]

so much apple pie

so much of it

so much

as in apple pie

Drafted on modo by myself for the first time today. Lost to modo. Fuck modo.

I had him ship a revealed Prime Time or some other non-lethal threat that I had another answer to by the logic that it was stronger than the average card in his deck. Next turn he top decks scapeshift and I have no answer. Now, after reading PV's "Strategy and Tactics," I would never make that mistake.

Heh, You'll be fine. I remember grinding tournaments with u/w miracles when i started playing legacy and being much worse than you were with jace. It comes with practice. Don't worry, mistakes like those are the best mistakes. You never forget.


Also happy new years bros, looking forward to another great one!

Alright I finally feel like playing Modern. My natural inclination is to build a Drownyard deck. Any objections?

Probably with maindeck Spreading Seas.

Disrupt yo mana like its 2010!

It's all frowns all the time in Frownyard Control.

I had a UW deck that played 4 maindeck Spreading Seas and won with Squadron Hawks + Swords. It's sweet, I wonder if I can find the article I wrote on it. It was incredible against Jund.

Nevermind apparently I moved them to the sideboard at some point.

viewtopic.php?p=48330#p48330

Also vs. Tron (duh), UWR (manlands) and Scapeshift (keeps them off GG). It's not horrible vs. Affinity either (Blinkmoth / Inkmoth).

I think I'd want 27 land with 3 Drownyard and 4 Tectonic Edge. That night be too ambitious to reliably turn 3 Liliana though.

Not sure if trolling.

Also Trinket Mage and Mystical Teachings are calling my name....crap.

Not even a little. I love non-interactive control decks.

Though quite possibly better to just kill with Creeping Tar Pit. I need to play them anyway so it improves my mana to run fewer colourless lands. Also allows Crucible of Worlds.

I promise not to force Tezzeret, even though I want to.

Four Tectonic Edge, four Ghost Quarter, four Spreading Seas, one Crucble of Worlds...

No regrets.

Let's assume (possibly erroneously) that I don't need maindeck wraths; the MTGO top three decks are SplinterTwin (10%), Jund (10%) and Tron (9%) with creature decks making up a relatively small percentage of the metagame (Affinity at 7%, Merfolk at 5% and Pod variants at 5%).

[deck]Test Modern UB Control[/deck]
Creatures
2 Snapcaster Mage

Planeswalkers
4 Liliana of the Veil

Enchantments
4 Spreading Seas

Instants
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
4 Cryptic Command
3 Disfigure
1 Dispel
1 Far // Away
1 Into the Roil
4 Mana Leak
2 Mysical Teachings
2 Smother
1 Shadow of Doubt
4 Think Twice

Lands
4 Creeping Tarpit
4 Drowned Catacombs
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Tectonic Edge
2 Watery Grave

6 Island
2 Swamp
[/deck]

We need to have a talk Z.

You're playing USZ.

I am also playing almost pointless Mystical Teachings. That list isn't very good.

On the plus side, it IS easier to mill people out with blue sun's zenith then it is to do so with oona's grace..

In unrelated matters, somebody remind me to sign up for the pay-it-forward booze thing when I turn 21 in about 5 months, it seems entertaining. I could receive something good for a newbie to try, and considering where I live, I could proly send somebody some sweet moonshine.

I am also playing almost pointless Mystical Teachings. That list isn't very good.

You could totally just play my Esper list in my Modern article, remove the white lands and just play UB with Frownyard...?

I mean, Teachings and Gifts packages are easy as hell to swap out.

I don't know if Frownyard is better than just running Creeping Tar Pits - which you need to kill enemy planeswalkers; I'll need to think about it and run some scenarios.

I've been meaning to try Hero's Downfall in my Esper list, now that you mention stuff that kills Planeswalkers. I've been playing Tar Pits for a while but only as a 2of, I'd like more ways to deal with Liliana of the Veil a little sooner.

Also you could go the long mile and play [card]Oona's Grace[/card] and Meloku the Clouded Mirror. You know, for value.

I watched Desolation of Smaug last night. I was not impressed.

People who have monied in GPs before: How long does it usually take to get paid?

More than a month both times for me.

Got paid within two weeks at Nationals though.

Zem whatever you do, don't play that deck in Modern

There's not nearly enough countermagic in that list and the Spreading Seas aren't going to affect many games