Slycne Deckling

I hope you realize that Pro Tour Dragon's Maze was block constructed not standard, it's only cards in the RTR block. There are a bunch of cards you'd still want to run from M13 and Innistrad block.

Clifftop Retreat , Searing Spear , Stromkirk Noble , Hellrider , Lightning Mauler , Pillar of Flame

May 25, 2013 1:38 a.m.

I'm considering pulling 2 Pillar of Flame and 3 Izzet Staticaster into the main.

May 25, 2013 1:12 a.m.

If you're worried about control I would say cut the Jarad's Orders , tapping out a whole turn against control to not directly effect the board just isn't worth it. No matter what you go tutor up they have so much time to find answers for it.

I would replace those 3 with more threats you have that cause them to expend multiple resources, like Experiment One or Wolfir Avenger . This would also let you shave some of the BU lands in favor of more G sources, making Strangleroot Geist better.

May 24, 2013 2:07 p.m.

Sure, I also mentioned something similar in my original post. If you're dropping something like Sire Of Insanity or Angel of Serenity that can absolutely warp the game then it could be worth it because these cards can recoup the 2 card investment you put in.

I guess my biggest gripe with the card is that it doesn't work well against the deck it's designed to combat. Control decks these days run relatively few counter spells, but they are chalked full of removal, with less and less of it being sorcery speed, and they will absolutely punish decks for using 2 cards to land 1 threat. Even with Cavern of Souls leaving standard, I don't see counters coming back that much, unless Mana Leak gets reprinted. A counter spell is only useful at a single time, where as removal can be top decked and instantly affect the board.

Flashing in on end step might win you a game every now and then in the control match-up when all they have are Wrath of God -like cards, but I'd rather just have a steady stream of threats that demand them to deal with. This is why cards like Thragtusk have seen so much dominance, because it's the opposite of this card. It takes 2 of their cards to deal with a single Thragtusk .

May 24, 2013 10:41 a.m.

Well there's a lot more to a deck than just its colors. What do you want the deck to do? Beat down with creatures? Control the board? Etc?

May 23, 2013 9:57 p.m.

"I see where all of you are going with this, but in practice, using 2 spells to get a desired effect isn't always bad. In an average game, you use maybe 40% of your deck anyway, and the rest just gets scooped up after you win or lose."

That's not what anyone was concerned about. It's the negative card advantage that's the major drawback here. When it's boiled down Magic is a game about trading resources. I Doom Blade your Grizzly Bears , or you Giant Growth and eat a Hill Giant . These are all one for one trades, you've used one card to deal with one card. Supreme Verdict ing a board full of opponent's creatures gives you much better value for the single card. The game is won by who can more efficiently and effectively use their resources against their opponents.

While in some conditions you may be able to flash in a blocker with Savage Summoning, or the tempo can be worth flashing in while they are tapped out. It will always be a 2 for 1 investment. In most instance you'd rather just have another creature because you're forcing them to have another card to deal with your 2nd creature.

May 23, 2013 9:53 p.m.

Underworld Connections and Mercurial Chemister are another two draw engine in the colors. Also don't forget about the planeswalkers: Jace, Memory Adept , Jace, Architect of Thought can still draw you cards.

I agree that Think Twice is still likely the best bet since you can hold up a counter or removal until end of turn. Though I have had Staff of Nin do good work in my Grixis control deck.

May 23, 2013 6:29 p.m.

Well this will be interesting because I honestly think it's a neigh unplayable trap.

Yes, flash, uncounterable, +1/+1 for a single green is a cost you'd be happy to tack on to any creature. The problem is you aren't tacking it on to a creature you're using a whole other card for it. Short of flashing in a blocker, it's almost impossible to get a card out of this, and if you're flashing in blockers chances are you're not playing against a deck running counters. Heck if they snap kill it, congratulations you've just been 2 for 1'ed. There's a reason why the enchantment decks all revolve around hexproof. You also just turned any bounce spells into 1 for 1s instead of simply tempo hits.

The only time I see this being worth it is to drop some threat that's guaranteed to get you a lot of value if it hits the board, like Sire Of Insanity . Otherwise I'd gladly just have another spell instead.

May 22, 2013 10:30 p.m.

I would try to squeeze in a 4th Cranial Plating .

Cranial Plating , Tempered Steel , and Steel Overseer are the cards that really give the deck its muscle. Otherwise you're playing a bunch of really under-classed creatures, so you absolutely need one or more of these cards throughout the game to make the difference.

Memnite is currently the card with the least impact, it doesn't carry a plating well because it lacks evasion and best case is getting up to 3 or 4 power to trade with something on the ground. So it's likely the first up to get shaved down to 3, though with a fairly low creature count I'm not sure dipping that anymore is a great move. Maybe one of the Boros Charm ?

May 20, 2013 6:01 p.m.

Barter in Blood and Gaze of Granite are both decent because they get around the value creatures that Bant Hexproof puts out. Voice of Resurgence loves to sit next to giest and invisible stalker to play defensive and soak up edicts. Some of the decks are running Mending touch , so watch out for that.

Devour Flesh is another edict, and since it comes down earlier you can sometimes grab the creature you want. Another option would be to run the hexproof hate of Glaring Spotlight . While it sucks to invest a whole card that doesn't directly solve the problem, it opens up all your existing removal.

May 20, 2013 4:25 p.m.