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Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Block Constructed | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Modern Beyond Horizons | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Planar Constructed | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Tiny Leaders | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch
Creature — Spirit
Defender (This creature can't attack.)
Whenever Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch blocks a creature, return that creature to its owner's hand at end of combat. (Return it only if it's in play.)
Halbrechtt on
Blue Ectoplasm [Modern W/U Spirits]
4 years ago
+1 for spirits!
Alright. So my main concern with this deck is that you have nothing to do on turn 1 and very little to do on turn 2. Conversely, you have over half of your spells vying for turn 3. So my main recommendation would be to convert some of your CMC 3 and higher spells into 1 and 2 drops. I know you purposefully stuffed the 3 CMC slot for Drift of Phantasms' transmute ability.... but honestly, you don't need a LOT of cards at 3 CMC for the transmute to matter. You just need the most important cards (notably, Drogskol Captain). Quality vs quantity. :)
So some nominations!
Another possibility is Celestial Colonnade. It doesn't make a spirit, but a 4/4 flyer is still formidable, and it'll get pumped by Empyrean Eagle. The land also produces both colors of mana, which is nice.
Whichever you choose, I'd only add 2x.
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Mausoleum Wanderer is on-board countermagic. As you play your anthem effects like Supreme Phantom, the Wanderer will naturally get bigger and make it harder for the opponent to pay the cost. But also, when combined with flash spirits, its power can grow out of nowhere, making the calculations not in your opponent's favor.
Now, the downside to an on-board counter is that the opponent knows about it.... but is that actually a complete downside? Unless you're playing against experienced players, an opponent will often durdle and hold back out of fear of your counter. Which is, in effect, allowing you to "cast" the counter for free every single turn that they DON'T play the thing they're worried about you countering. Now, a good player will "bait out" the counter so that they don't have to worry about it anymore.... but that still sometimes means they're playing suboptimally. In addition, the Wanderer will also attract their removal spells, meaning your anthem effects and other important spirits are safer. And you're fine trading a 1 mana spirit for their removal spell! -
Not as awesome, but Spectral Sailor has the important Flash mechanic, which is especially good when it only costs 1 mana. This can be anything from a surprise blocker to a buff for the Wanderer's countermagic to a surprise tap-down with Nebelgast Herald (which is extra good against decks with hasty creatures). Finally, it gives you a mana sink if the game goes long and you need to draw some cards.
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Speaking of drawing cards.... the weakest of the bunch is Dreamcatcher, but since you'll be casting spirit spells all game long, there'll be plenty of chances to trade in this early game blocker for a new card whenever it seems best.
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I would replace Geist of the Archives with Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch. Yes, it has 1 less toughness, but it's 1 mana cheaper than the former, with a potentially more potent ability (gives a small amount of bounce!), and that toughness will easily rise with all the anthem effects you have.
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Not a new recommendation, but I would run the full playset of Supreme Phantom. The anthem effects will be the key to sealing your victory. I would replace your 2x Mindshrieker with the Phantom, since you don't have enough top-deck manipulation to make Mindshrieker reliable.
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Spell Queller is an amazing sideboard card. It can replace one of your counterspells, and notably it "counters" uncounterable spells. Yes, the opponent has a chance to get the spell back, but combine Queller with Drogskol Captain, and good luck with that!
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Geist of Saint Traft doesn't have the acclaim he used to, but I still like him, and combined with p/t boosts, he likely won't die in battle. And he always brings a 4/4 buddy with him! (Which also gets buffed by Empyrean Eagle). The hexproof also makes him hard to remove.
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Probably another sideboard card, but Kira, Great Glass-Spinner is a very strong tax against removal-heavy decks.
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Callow Jushi Flip: Probably not as good as the other counterspell options, but kinda fun! Note that you don't have to flip him with just 2 ki counters on him, so you can save up the ki counters until the more crucial turns of the game. You can also have one flipped with a couple ki counters while you build up another one, because the legend rule doesn't apply until it's flipped.
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Anthem effects: Like with Supreme Phantom, I see no reason not to run the full playsets of Drogskol Captain and Empyrean Eagle. The hexproof provided by Drogskol Captain is particularly important, and he would be my first two things to transmute for.
I also already mentioned Mindshrieker, and for a similar reason, I don't feel Callous Deceiver is good in this deck. Without anthem effects, the best it can be is a 2/3 flyer for 3 mana.... not that great. Its abilities don't help with anything else in the deck.
Another 3 drop I'd cut is Uninvited Geist Flip. Its skulk ability doesn't synergize well with anthem effects, as pretty soon most creatures can block it. If it started as a 1/1, skulk might be better.... but then it's 3 mana for a 1/1 that takes 2 turns to transform into an unblockable 3/3. Eh. It also doesn't have flying for the Eagle to buff.
As to higher CMCs, I'm personally not sold on Dungeon Geists. Maybe you have good luck with it, but I'd rather have 4x Nebelgast Herald and cheap flash spirits than the 4 drop.
I'm loathe to suggest cutting Celestial Messenger because I know you like your Yanling package.... but honestly, the Yanling package will work without this over-costed spirit. It's 4 mana for a 4/3 flyer, IF Yanling is out.... and that's it. The only thing it's got going for it is that gorgeous art. Too bad it doesn't have mechanics to match.
Curse of Echoes's inclusion confuses me. If you like to play multiplayer games, this card can actually be BAD (you might not want your other two opponents getting copies!). But even 1v1, it gives too much control to the opponent. First, they have to have a deck with enough instants/sorceries to matter, so at best this would be a sideboard card. But even then, they can play around it too easily by not casting any devastating spells until they've found a way to deal with it.
Also not sold on Sturmgeist. At best it's an 8/8 flyer, but that's if you can keep a full grip of cards. But aside from Mu Yanling, Sea Gate Restoration Flip, and Sturmgeist itself (4 cards total), you have no ways of refilling your hand. More likely it'll be a 3/3 or 4/4 flyer that sometimes draws you a card. Not that great for 5 mana. Doesn't feel like the right deck for it.
Keiga, the Tide Star: While stealing a creature is fun, Control Magic-effects usually cost less (4-5 mana), and with Keiga, you don't even get the effect until Keiga dies! If you want this effect in the deck, there's other more efficient ways to achieve it.
Finally, at the top of the CMC charts is Sea Gate Restoration Flip. And hey, if it's a pet card, keep it. But hear me out on my concern. As stated above, this deck isn't designed to draw cards, so by the time you have 7 mana (turn 8-9), how many cards do you think you'll have left in hand? I'd bet 2-3, assuming you've been playing out cards on curve. So you'll draw 3-4. Is that worth the 7 mana? That's up to you, but since the going rate on a base draw effect is 4 mana to draw 3, you should be drawing more like 5-6. (This is also comparable to Mind Spring, which would draw you 5 for 7 mana.)
P.S. I am gonna go ahead and state this for the record: Your hunch that the 3-turn idea won't pan out so well is sadly going to be correct. It involves skipping a turn and getting a planeswalker to a (scary) ultimate — the former dangerous, the latter near impossible. It would be easier to spend 1 less mana and cast a 5 CMC extra turn spell or two. That said, the idea of taking THREE turns in a row IS truly fun, so by all means, play around with it until you tire of the strategy!
Cut
-2 Mindshrieker
-2 Geist of the Archives
-2 Uninvited Geist
-1 Callous Deceiver
-3 Celestial Messenger
-3 Dungeon Geists
-1 Curse of Echoes
-1 Sturmgeist
-1 Keiga, the Tide Star
-1 Sea Gate Restoration
Add
+1 Prairie Stream
+2 Moorland Haunt
+4 Mausoleum Wanderer
+4 Spectral Sailor
+2 Supreme Phantom
+2 Drogskol Captain
+2 Empyrean Eagle
Sideboard
+2 Spell Queller
+2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
(Sideboard cuts up to you)
I'd personally replace some of the mainboard counters with Spell Queller and Kira, since they're also spirits. But there's obviously pros to running unconditional counters like Dissolve.
I know that was quite a lot, but the more I dug into the available spirits, the more things I came up with! LoL. I hope at least something in all that helped.
High_Priest_of_Avacyn on
Wall defense
4 years ago
Some potential adds: Amaranthine Wall Angelic Wall Basilica Guards Bonded Fetch Colossus of Akros Consulate Skygate Doorkeeper Dragon's Eye Sentry Drift of Phantasms Charix, the Raging Isle Fog Bank Glacial Wall Golden Guardian Flip Grave Bramble Guard Gomazoa Jaddi Offshoot Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch Ludevic's Test Subject Flip Murmuring Phantasm Necropolis Order of the Stars Sprouting Phytohydra Steel Wall Sunscape Familiar Traproot Kami Tree of Redemption Wall of Hope Wall of Junk Wall of Kelp Wall of Nets Wall of Reverence Woolly Razorback Guard Duty Zephyr Net Belbe's Armor Dragon Throne of Tarkir Peregrine Mask
Hydrax on
Spirit Enchantment
6 years ago
First of all, I really like Spirts and I've built a very similar deck that I've had success with.
So I'm going to make some initial suggestions with explanations. My advice is coming from playtesting this deck for months and months. That being said, it is YOUR deck so feel free to play however you like!
What I believe you should take out:
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-3 Rattlechains
Here's what I think you should add:
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+1 Curious Obsession (or Curiosity)
And here are my reasons why:
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You want to cut down on Auras. Drawing an Aura without having a creature to equip it to feels really bad, it's a dead card. This deck should be creature-focused, all about beating your opponent down with Flying spirits occasionally buffed up with Auras; not the other way around.
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Sovereigns of Lost Alara is a great card, but most opponents won't let you survive until you have 6 mana. This deck wants to end things very, very quickly. A Geist of Saint Traft equipped with Steel of the Godhead is a very fast clock, you really don't need to go to turn 6.
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Without the Sovereigns, Eldrazi Conscription is also pointless.
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Daybreak Coronet is a great card, but unfortunately it cannot be searched by Tallowisp's effect. There is a ruling that states Tallowisp can only search for cards that say "Enchant Creature" on their first line with no other words in that same line (so things like Steel of the Godhead are fine). But Daybreak Coronet says "Enchant creature with..." so unfortunately it cannot be searched.
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You liked having the option to stall the game with Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch and Ghostly Possession, well let me tell you about Selfless Spirit and Gift of Immortality. Selfless Spirit can sacrifice itself at any time to give your whole team indestructible, so they can freely block any creature or survive damage or destruction. It's a great effect, but a Selfless Spirit enchanted with Gift of Immortality can do this EVERY TURN and there's very little your opponent can do to get out of this lock. I'd highly recommend this change above all others I've listed.
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Swords to Plowshares because you need some reliable removal in case you run into a creature that's just giving you a lot of trouble.
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Curious Obsession keeps your hand filled; the last thing you want is to run out of steam.
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I'd recommend exchanging 1 Drogskol Captain for another Spell Queller. Once you have a Steel-enchanged Geist on the field, you should try to save mana for Spell Queller, because your opponent might try to kill it with a mass removal spell like Supreme Verdict. You need to be able to stop things like that with Spell Queller.
This deck could very easily be converted to Modern if you want, just switch the Brainstorm to Serum Visions or Opt and Swords to Plowshares to Path to Exile and you'll be set (but that's up to you).
Feel free to look at my deck here: Immortal Geist
I've written some pretty detailed stuff so you can get a good understanding of the deck.
As for your sideboard, I'll take a look at the Legacy metagame and get back to you, but good luck with your deck!
K4m4r0 on
Nobody has the intention of building a Wall
6 years ago
AlphaAuthority Thank you for your suggestions. Isochron Scepter would be a good addition. I have yet to playtest more and see what to take out for it. I mentioned Aura Shards in the "Other Cards" Tab as a good addition. I have to see how my meta evolves and if I will finally add it to the deck. Hornet Nest and Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch are too slow in my opinion and I would rather attack than block and would not get that much value/ it's very situational in my opinion. Shield Sphere and Stalwart Shield-Bearers are already in the deck. I think Thing in the Ice Flip is a great card but you can't control the flip very well. If I'd be in a situation to decide wether or not to counter a spell that's threatening the boardstate just because I would transform Thing in the Ice Flip that would be awful. 1W for Wall of Hope is not bad but I have better 1-drops with better effects than getting a bit life. Lurking Predators is too expensive cmc-wise and Mother of Runes can be good but I don't know yet what to scrap for her.
Zacheria10 You don't need the ability, Wall of Forgotten Pharaohs is a "4/4" for two colorless mana and you don't need mana-fix and can play it very early.
AlphaAuthority on
Nobody has the intention of building a Wall
6 years ago
I see a lot of room for improvement, I'll suggest some. Isochron Scepter Aura Shards Cathedral Membrane Hornet Nest Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch Shield Sphere Stalwart Shield-Bearers Thing in the Ice Flip Wall of Mulch Mother of Runes Wall of Hope Lurking Predators
Vesosoft on
Bystander Mode Activate
6 years ago
Thank you both for the clarification! I suspected it didnt enter the battlefield, even though it becomes a creature; but thought Id ask.
Doesnt matter though, I think Im going to go with Rattlechains. Not replacing all the Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch though. Need to work it out.
The reasons I am choosing Rattlechains:
- Once in play, it allows me to wait until my opponents end turn to play my creatures; creating a draw/go playstyle for the spirits. This will allow me to hold mana open for counterspells if needed, but not have it be wasted, because I can play my spirits each cycle of untapping.
- I can use any of my spirits to pump up Mausoleum Wanderer for attacking or saccing to counter.
- It turns Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch into an instant bounce against attacking creatures, that lingers after. Still not sure on this, but I think this make Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch useful
Now, I just need to figure out how to get that all to fit...lol
colton815 on
UW tempo spirits - Modern
6 years ago
i think a counterspell would help more than Essence Flux. it'd still protect your creatures from targeted removal while also helping against literally everything else as well. re-using your ETB abilities is a minimal benefit.
you could also cut Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch. if you have it on the board, you're opponent probably won't attack unless they can kill it, in which case you're permanently losing your own creature while the opponent only temporarily loses theirs. and with so many of moderns creatures being low cost, the opponent will likely just re-cast their creature in the same turn, and attack again the following turn.
i would also cut the Ojutai's Command for the 4th Path to Exile. in my opinion, 22 lands isn't enough to support a 4cmc spell (you need 24 lands for that) and having only 1 copy of a card means your chances of drawing it are very slim.
going back to the topic of counterspells, they interact really well with Rattlechains. with a Rattlechains in play, you can simply hold up mana for a counterspell every turn, and then if you decide you didn't need one, just flash in a spirit during your opponents end step.
if counterspells aren't your thing and you want to be more aggressive, theres always Favorable Winds or even Honor of the Pure.
colton815 on
UW tempo spirits - Modern
6 years ago
i think a counterspell would help more than Essence Flux. it'd still protect your creatures from targeted removal while also helping against literally everything else as well. re-using your ETB abilities is a minimal benefit.
you could also cut Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch. if you have it on the board, you're opponent probably won't attack unless they can kill it, in which case you're permanently losing your own creature while the opponent only temporarily loses theirs. and with so many of moderns creatures being low cost, the opponent will likely just re-cast their creature in the same turn, and attack again the following turn.
i would also cut the Ojutai's Command for the 4th Path to Exile. in my opinion, 22 lands isn't enough to support a 4cmc spell (you need 24 lands for that) and having only 1 copy of a card means your chances of drawing it are very slim.
going back to the topic of counterspells, they interact really well with Rattlechains. with a Rattlechains in play, you can simply hold up mana for a counterspell every turn, and then if you decide you didn't need one, just flash in a spirit during your opponents end step.
if counterspells aren't your thing and you want to be more aggressive, theres always Favorable Winds or even Honor of the Pure.
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