Is it bad, or am I missing something
Modern forum
Posted on Sept. 29, 2015, 2:14 a.m. by pretickle
Why don't people run Silence and Isochron Scepter for some sort of lock? Then Protect the board with a few paths and counter spells?
It is not bad, it is not good either. Ways it is bad:
vs control (a single counterspell can ruin the lock for a turn, which is all SPlinter twin needs)
vs aggro (the lock cannot be established before t3, which is all affinity needs)
even vs midrange decks (a turn 3 liliana or Lingering Souls in abzan is a very good win condition)
Abrupt Decay - really deserves its own bullet point. It single handedly made almost any permanent <= 3 mana worse.
I could go on, but there really is no point. If you are looking to lock someone out, try lantern control.
September 29, 2015 2:31 a.m.
Because if you cast an Isochron Scepter it will be destroyed immediately by Abrupt Decay. Also it is hard for even a control player to establish it and protect it from things like Ancient Grudge. Now if you throw in grand arbiter then it's much more efficient, but Arbiter is just another thing to be hit by Abrupt Decay. Also any deck runnign Ancient Grudge probably has Lightning Bolt, at least in modern.
It's usually better for Esper to finish them off with things like Creeping Tar Pit after a few Snapcaster Mage hits in modern or if you're playing 
in vintage/legacy to just combo off.
September 29, 2015 2:38 a.m.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #5
The others have pretty much already said it, but to reiterate, eating an Abrupt Decay, 2-for-1ing you on your lockdown combo is pretty brutal. Odds of establishing it again are low, and counterspells won't help.
September 29, 2015 5:48 a.m.
MindAblaze says... #6
It wouldn't be such a big deal if GBx wasn't so common.
September 29, 2015 12:44 p.m.
electromancer says... #7
Just my two cents: Neither card is amazing in modern. When that's the case, you only want to include those cards if they combo for the win, the way Deceiver Exarch + Splinter Twin does.
September 29, 2015 6:33 p.m.
The problems only become worse now that Kolaghan's Command is seeing play in maindecks.
The other issue is your opponent can still cast stuff in response. Not to mention, still activate abilities (already mentioned: Liliana of the Veil being one of those activated abilities).
I do miss the old Scepter Chant decks, though. I think Isochron Scepter is worth messing around with in Modern if you have the right meta. I'd probably imprint a removal spell or charm, though. Azorius Charm seems like it'd be ridiculous for aggro to try and deal with.
JexInfinite says... #2
It's a janky and unreliable lock.
September 29, 2015 2:22 a.m.