Swan Song or Mana Leak?
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Posted on July 15, 2015, 2:44 a.m. by TheNinjaJesus
Deck is Modern-
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Modern*
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I was running Sage Owls, but swapped them out for Sage of Epityrs, and that helps the speed I can fire off endless Krakens. I am currently running Mana Leaks, but I think I might prefer Swan Song, since there are some creatures that destroy enchantments, but generally I'll be worrying about spells, and the 2/2 flyer they gain is negligible. It also may cause my opponent to overplay if they see I have 1 mana up, since I A) won't have enough to pay for Pact of Negation next turn and B) most (all?) counters in Modern cost at least 2 mana. Feedback is appreciated!
TheNinjaJesus says... #3
Uhhh my deck's supposed to be fast. I'm dropping Inkwell Leviathan on turn 3 in some cases. I'm asking if I should switch to the lower cost counterspell, because what I lose in some measure of versatility I might gain in the ability to counter their attempt to destroy my Quest for Ula's Temple with 1 mana up.
July 15, 2015 2:52 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #4
More like Mana Leak or Dispel. You could also run Negate instead. Depends on what the biggest threats to your plan are.
July 15, 2015 6:17 a.m.
Hmmm... Interesting, how much this deck reminds me of my own.
In his strategy Swan Song is much better. There are too many games where you play on single land. You should put some Judge's Familiar or Spellskite instead of any counterspell in mainboard. This deck requires to put counters on Ula each single draw. Drawing non-creature card is a turn lost for you and there are not many decks with enchant hate in the mainboard.
What is more, putting any kind of kraken turn 3 is impossible, turn 4 - that's the main goal. Get rid of Whelming Wave, you will never be able to play this with 16 lands and you can't have more than 16 to maitain consistency. Even if, somehow, you will have 4 lands and this at your disposal, that means only, that you've kept awful hand or you've had really bad draws and you are, most likely, dead already.
Clockspinning does the same what each single creature card, but you have to pay for it and it can be countered then, so I'd suggest exchanging it for Sage Owl.
I really don't understand your sideboard. Those cards are useless here, I can see no option to put them into play. Due to that, your mana base is quite questionable - what is this splash for? Scry lands or Halimar Depths are much better options.
July 15, 2015 7:33 a.m.
Getting back to the main topic - if you wish to focus only on deflecting spells that could hit Ula, Turn Aside will be cheaper than Spell Pierce, non-conditional as it is and safer than Swan Song.
July 15, 2015 7:58 a.m.
TheNinjaJesus says... #7
I can cite you as an inspiration if you would like, Wiktul. I found Quest for Ula's Temple in an errant Zendikar booster pack at a hobby shop where they didn't know what they had (they charged 2 bucks for each because "those things never sell", according to the shop owner) built out a fair portion of the deck on my own, and then hit a wall. I eventually found your deck, which helped me flesh out the rest of the deck. Turn Aside would definitely work, the only exception would be for sac effects, since those don't target. I'm working on getting a few Spellskites. The splash is for when your opponent mainboards something that either prevents you from playing something with a specific name, or something like Surgical Extraction. By mainboarding all that stuff, you switch the deck from a Quest deck to an Unexpected Results deck. I will definitely switch Sage Owl for Clockspinning, though clockspinning is how you are able to drop a kraken turn 3.
July 15, 2015 11:06 a.m.
Yup, but only in single condition - drawing it in opening hand, what is highly unlikely with digging for Island and Ula at once. Third element to get at start is just too much. If you draw later, it works only as a creature card would, with that exeption, that you need to make yourself counter on Ula by casting this spell and creature card grants you one only due to draw. In that matter, Clockspinning seems to me the same kind of a trick as Thrummingbird is.
July 15, 2015 1:13 p.m.
TheNinjaJesus says... #9
So, maybe a few Thrummingbirds instead, since Thrummingbird is proactive (you can attack, block, etc), and Clockspinning is reactive? Also, would you like some credit for this deck in my deck description?
July 15, 2015 1:38 p.m.
I leave this up to you ;)
As for the Thrummingbird, it only works this way:
Opening hand:UlaLandIslandIslandThrummingbirdSage of EpityrAugury Owl
1st turn:
Land - Ula
2nd turn:
draw - counter - land - thrummingbird
3rd turn:
draw - counter - attack with thrummingbird - counter
With any other scenario this creature is simply redundant or useless at all. Anything that hits this - kills it, so to use it's ability is also a matter of luck. That's why, after several tests, I dropped this card.
Clockspinning works just the same way. If you draw it in opening hand, you can do the trick. Any other turn later, as a draw, it gives you only the very same effect as everything else with one important difference - you have to pay for it. If, for an instance, Ula will be bounced with Cryptic Command and you will be forced to build it all over again, with Clockspinning instead of Sage of Epityr, Sage Owl or anything else like this, you'll really gonna cry and blame yourself for that situation :)
But we're far from the topic right now. If you wish to answer other questions about this type of deck, take a look at chat I've had with robrone9 in my deck or his - Quest for the Turn 4 Leviathans (I guess it will suit you even better than my idea).
KillDatBUG says... #2
Mana Leak is way better than Swan Song unless you're a fast combo deck like Amulet; you're clearly not, so why bother? The drawbacks to Swan Song are far too high otherwise.
July 15, 2015 2:45 a.m.