UR Midrange

[hoeiberg]

So what you are saying is just burn the voice, and then get rid of the token on the first turn where you have nothing better to do with you mana?

[Valdarith]

Or you don't even worry about the token. You have a lot of removal for the other dudes they play and Weird is more than enough to keep their lousy token at bay.

[Valdarith]

Here's where I'm at now:

[deck]
Creatures (12)
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Chandra's Phoenix

Spells (24)
2 Shock
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
2 Izzet Charm
2 Turn / Burn
2 Syncopate
2 Essence Scatter
4 Steam Augury
2 Thoughtflare

Lands (24)
2 Mutavault
4 Izzet Guildgate
4 Steam Vents
7 Island
7 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
2 Shock
2 Pithing Needle
2 Dispel
2 Negate
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Turn / Burn
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Counterflux
1 Aetherize
[/deck]

Pithing Needle is VERY good right now in Standard. Name Jace, Elspeth, Whip of Erebos, Hammer of Purphoros, etc. Just a solid card to run in your sideboard. Izzet Staticaster is a good card to bring in creature matchups, even midrange since it basically gives your burn spells one extra damage to creatures. Plus its interaction with Turn is hilarious.

One big change I'm making is Syncopate in mainboard over Counterflux. I only
really want to see Counterflux in control matchups. UU and RR spells can be awkward in this deck since our spell count is so evenly split that we have to run a similar number of R and U lands. That Syncopate can also act as a two-mana counter is significant. It even exiles Chandra's Phoenix which sees a lot of play currently. Obviously we side out Syncopate for Counterflux in blue matchups since those games are usually so slow that we can find UUR in 5-6 turns ~99% of the time.

[Valdarith]

Played a few games tonight.

1) Jund is a tough matchup. Skill-less deck, but nevertheless something we have to worry about. If they become a big player we'll have to adjust.
2) This deck is INCREDIBLY skill-intensive, especially in control matchups and UR mirrors. Knowing when to keep mana open for counters and when to be aggressive is extremely difficult and deducing the correct line of play correctly gives me the feels.
3) Aggro matchups = LOL.

[zemanjaski]

Is Turn/Burn really that much better than Mortars? Otherwise the deck looks SICK.

[zemanjaski]

Maybe sideboard a single Hammer of Purphoros of your own?

[F.I.A]

It's too bad that Obzedat, Ghost Council returns back to its owner's control instead of yours. Else, I'd include two [card]Catch // Release[/card] in the sideboard to live the dream of getting him after two turns-interaction of [card]Turn // Burn[/card] and [card]Catch // Release[/card].

[Link]

yeah props if yuo can get good at this deck.

Every single time I try to play a deck with blue I just fall flat on my face. The fuck are counterspells bro. Control deck? easy. I already know my game plan is just to survive like a bitch.

But this tempo aggro-control stuff is hard as hell

[Valdarith]

Z, in my experience I would rather have Turn / Burn about 80% of the time. It keeps Voice tokens from coming out, nullifies creature protections, and can turn combats into blowouts. I've also seen enough Desecration Demon to have me consider even mainboarding three. The only time I'd actually rather have Mortars is against Loxodon Smiter when I'm on the draw or Jund since they run so many x/4s.

Regarding Hammer, I'm beginning to think one main and one side is appropriate. I'm having a hell of a time against midrange decks, especially black-based, and I'm trying to do what I can to make those matchups better. Black just Duress and Thoughtseize me to death then play all the removal and card drawing engines until I die. With Hammer I can keep the pressure on.

[Valdarith]

[deck]
Creatures (12)
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Chandra's Phoenix

Spells (24)
3 Shock
3 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
2 Izzet Charm
3 Turn / Burn
2 Syncopate
2 Essence Scatter
1 Hammer of Purphoros
3 Steam Augury
2 Thoughtflare

Lands (24)
2 Mutavault
4 Izzet Guildgate
4 Steam Vents
7 Island
7 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
2 Pithing Needle
2 Dispel
2 Negate
1 Essence Scatter
2 Agoraphobia
1 Hammer of Purphoros
1 Turn / Burn
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Counterflux
[/deck]

Changed it up a bit. I've been having a hard time against midrange, especially resolved Desecration Demon, and I've made some adjustments to combat that.

1) I've added a third Shock mainboard to deal with turn one dorks. That will help slow down turn two Smiters and the like.
2) I've added a third Turn / Burn to hedge for the midrange matchups.
3) Agoraphobia in the sideboard is pretty much removal for any fat
creature I come across (though he'll still have a blocker).

I've also added a singleton Hammer in the main and one in the side to bring in against control and midrange. There's an obvious tension between Hammer and Syncopate mainboard but I'm fine with that since it's a one-of. Syncopate comes out in games two and three against control for Counterflux anyway.

[InflatablePie]

Claustrophobia could work better than Agoraphobia if you're worried about them having a blocker.

[Valdarith]

It would but it does have two drawbacks. One being that I can't bounce it back to my hand in the event something strange happens and two being the UU cost (which isn't so bad). I'll probably play it over Agoraphobia anyway.

[Valdarith]

Just noticed my last list had 25 spells instead of 24 so I have some finagling to do.

[Kizzercrate]

Here's a list I played last night to a 4-1 finish at FNM, and some thoughts.

[deck]Lands: 25
4 Steam Vents
4 Izzet Guildgate
9 Mountain
8 Island

Creatures: 10
2 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Spellheart Chimera

Spells: 22
4 Divination
3 Steam Augury
4 Lightning Strike
4 Turn//Burn
4 Magma Jet
3 Anger of the Gods

Planeswalkers: 3
1 Ral Zarek
2 Jace, Memory Adept

Sideboard: 15
3 Frostburn Weird
2 Act of Treason
2 Hammer of Purphoros
2 Smelt
2 Izzet Charm
2 Essence Scatter
1 Counterflux
1 Dissolve[/deck]

I panicked and jammed the Nivs and Jace MA's in last second because the deck felt very threat-light. I was able to control games when Phoenixes and Chimeras showed up, but otherwise just slowly lost. Also, my sideboard is a total mess. Making changes in the main today, I came up with

-2 Niv
-2 Jace
-2 basic land

+2 Mutavault (would have played them last
night but they were out on loan)
+1 Ral Zarek
+3 Rapid Hybridization

I think it was said before, but our deck suffers greatly when they resolve a Obzedat, Blood Baron, or Desecration Demon. Green devotion also has a ridiculous suite of creatures that come online very early, like 4/4 or greater Reverent Hunters, Polukranos, Kalonian Hydra, etc. Turn//Burn is great at answering most of this later in the game, but the whole five mana thing gets in the way sometimes. Also, Turn//Burn doesn't kill things with +1/+1 counters on them, rendering it all but useless. Turning things into 3/3s is a much more manageable size for us, giving us 4-6 (depending on if you play Ral or not) outs to blow it up with one card, plus a turn of tempo by stuffing an attack if need be. In addition, you can get cheeky with EOT Hybridization our own Phoenix, Jet/Burn them, recur Phoenix, go in for 5 next turn.

Also, I prefer Divination over any other draw spell because it's just so cheap. Opportunity felt too expensive,
Thoughtflare performed somewhat better, though I never quite felt comfortable with it, and I just play Steam Augury instead of Inspiration.

But seriously, the sideboard is a mess.

Edit: I might actually want to talk about matchups.

R1: Devotion Red. Opening 7 in game 1 had two Anger of the Gods. Game 2 had two Frostburn Weirds. Not much to say here. 1-0 (2-0)

R2: B/W Aggro. I didn't see Anger of the Gods, but I 1-for-1'd him to death and ended it quickly with Spellheart Chimera. 2-0 (4-0)

R3: Maze's End. It wasn't the Turbofog version for some godawful reason. It was the R/B based kill spell version. Game 1 ended with Ral taking 3 extra turns. Game 2 I just sent everything at his face. 3-0 (6-0)

R4: Green Devotion. This is where things get interesting, and also where I feel like I played horribly. What I'm supposed to do is just sit back, hold up mana, and shoot out threats as they come (and also responding to Reverent Hunter ETB triggers). What I did do in all three
games was try to race with Phoenix and Spellheart. Game 1, it worked because I hit a Steam Augury into an 11-point Chimera swing. Game 2, I was staring down a 4/4 Reverent Hunter, an 8/8 Reverent Hunter, and a Nylea. Game 3, my opponent found a Scavenging Ooze when I jammed my second Chimera. With one creature in either bin and four lands in play, he chose to tap out to eat most of my graveyard, assuming I had the Lightning Strike. I had a Magma Jet instead, and was able to kill the Ooze and topdeck a Lightning Strike to kill him. I got away with murder this match, but I learned that I have to play much more control-ish against them and find a way to kill off resolved Reverent Hunters as well to have a much better time in the match. 4-0 (8-1)

R5: B/W midrange. I'm probably off base here, but it's not the activation of the Whip that scares me. It's the lifelink. A lifelinked Obzedat is probably the most terrifying thing I've seen in a while. This is why I chose Smelt in the board instead of
Pithing Needle. In both games, he Thoughtseized a Turn//Burn on turn 4. Game 1, I never hit the fifth land, but he landed a Blood Baron right after it, so it wouldn't have mattered. Game 2 I mulled to 6 and saw one Chimera and two spells all game, neither of which were Smelt or Turn//Burn. 4-1 (8-3)

[Valdarith]

Are we ready to go deep?

[Deck]

3 chandra's phoenix

3 shock
4 lightning strike
4 magma jet
3 turn / burn
2 essence scatter
3 syncopate
2 izzet charm
2 hammer of purphoros
1 counterflux
2 dissolve
4 steam augury
2 thoughtflare

4 izzet guildgate
4 steam vents
9 island
8 mountain
[/deck]

[Valdarith]

Playing this in the MODO practice room. This is hilarious.

[Valdarith]

OMG this deck...LOL.

[Deck]
Creatures (3)
3 Chandra's Phoenix

Spells (32)
3 Shock
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
3 Turn / Burn
2 Essence Scatter
3 Syncopate
2 Izzet Charm
2 Hammer of Purphoros
1 Counterflux
1 Dissolve
4 Steam Augury
3 Thoughtflare

Lands (25)
4 Izzet Guildgate
4 Steam Vents
9 Island
8 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
2 Dispel
2 Pithing Needle
1 Smelt
1 Shock
2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Counterflux
1 Turn / Burn
1 Aetherize
[/deck]

So sick.

[hamfactorial]

TOO STRONK

[InflatablePie]

oh that looks hilarious

it also simultaneously looks terrible

but also hilarious

if I didn't love PyroWhite/Heisenburn so much I'd play this on Friday for the lols.

[Valdarith]

It is deceptively good. Against aggro it's flat-out unfair. Against midrange and control it requires a lot of thoughtful play and efficient use of counters and burn spells. It's a very rewarding deck to pilot.

I intend to stream sometime this week and I'm either going to stream this deck or my RB deck. I actually have more fun piloting this.

[kloned1]

It is deceptively good. Against aggro it's flat-out unfair. Against midrange and control it requires a lot of thoughtful play and efficient use of counters and burn spells. It's a very rewarding deck to pilot.

I intend to stream sometime this week and I'm either going to stream this deck or my RB deck. I actually have more fun piloting this.

For your latest iteration, would you add two Aetherling for a wincon?

[Valdarith]

Maybe one. The nice thing about my wincons is that they are so cheap. I can play them for three mana and pass the turn to leave up mana for counterspells.

[kloned1]

Maybe one. The nice thing about my wincons is that they are so cheap. I can play them for three mana and pass the turn to leave up mana for counterspells.

Death by a thousand paper cuts...

[Valdarith]

Maybe one. The nice thing about my wincons is that they are so cheap. I can play them for three mana and pass the turn to leave up mana for counterspells.

Death by a thousand paper cuts...

Exactly. Once I've resolved a Hammer there's not much my opponent can do to stop me. I do think one Aetherling is probably correct though.

[kloned1]

[Deck]
Creatures (4)
3 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Aetherling

Spells (31)
3 Shock
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
3 Turn / Burn
2 Essence Scatter
2 Syncopate
2 Izzet Charm
2 Hammer of Purphoros
1 Counterflux
1 Dissolve
4 Steam Augury
3 Thoughtflare

Lands (25)
4 Izzet Guildgate
4 Steam Vents
9 Island
8 Mountain

Sideboard (15)[card][/card]
2 Dispel
2 Pithing Needle
1 Smelt
1 Shock
2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Counterflux
1 Turn / Burn
1 Aetherize
[/deck]

I added one Aetherling and took out one Syncopate from the main deck. I might add Spellheart Chimera. I'll test the current configuration without the Spellheart Chimera and come back with a report. Now, in the main deck, we have more sheets of paper to kill with: BURN, Chandra's Phoenix,
Aetherling, and Hammer of Purphoros.

[Valdarith]

The problem with Chimera is that it dies to pretty much everything our opponent plays with no way for us to get it back. We want our deck to be soft to removal spells.

[rcwraspy]

Val, you've gone off YP$ for this build? I understand he presents a doom blade or ultimate price target where normally those are dead cards (or you can bring Phoenix back), but you can play him late and respond to their kill spells on the stack to pump out some tokens and get the value. Plus counters.

[Valdarith]

I did because I always found myself wanting to play more of a draw-go strategy to the deck, and I always felt like I didn't have enough counters in the YP builds.

[kloned1]

The problem with Chimera is that it dies to pretty much everything our opponent plays with no way for us to get it back. We want our deck to be soft to removal spells.

Yeah, Spellheart Chimera's toughness of 3 is a problem. I'll leave it the way it is and test the hell out of it.

[Valdarith]

Was thinking about this deck a few minutes ago and got the feels. It's a great way to get started on MODO if you're looking for a budget option. Steam Vents is one of the cheapest shocks available and the deck ought to total out at around 15 tickets. I do think it needs some tuning, particularly the sideboard.

[Link]

might convince nuwen to sleeve this up so I can use crypts for baddie jund...

Considering a Prognostic Sphinx as a 1-of win condition as well.

[Valdarith]

I would play Aetherling instead, but Sphinx is fine if you can't get one.

[Link]

I was gonn jam both >_> I just always tend to put more win cons in my deck when tweaking a list, especially since the store tonight features plenty of U/W control and Mono Black primarily

[Valdarith]

This deck eats UW for breakfast. They can literally do nothing about Counterflux. Just save it for their Elspeth and Elixir and watch the tears flow.

[Valdarith]

Tuning a few things in case I decide to go back to this. I feel like this deck is pretty well positioned in both paper and online metas.

[deck]
Creatures (3)
3 Chandra's Phoenix

Spells (32)
3 Shock
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
3 Turn / Burn
2 Essence Scatter
4 Syncopate
2 Hammer of Purphoros
2 Counterflux
3 Dissolve
4 Thoughtflare
1 Opportunity

Lands (25)
4 Izzet Guildgate
4 Steam Vents
9 Island
8 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
2 Dispel
2 Pithing Needle
2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Counterflux
1 Turn / Burn
2 Aetherize
[/deck]

Took out Steam Augury for two more Dissolve, another Thoughtflare, and one Opportunity. I'm sure Steam Augury will eventually find a home, but not until more cards are printed that make it matter more than raw card draw.

[rcwraspy]

it's a shame that some are speculating no U/R scryland until JOU. Would definitely get the other 2 or 3 cards I need to build something like this otherwise.

[Valdarith]

Yeah, lack of scryland would be disheartening but the deck works okay without it. Between Magma Jet, Dissolve, and Thoughtflare, you're going to find your stuff!

It's possible that there should be two Opportunity. I'd love to fit Mutavault in but the mana in this deck is pretty tight.

[Link]

just jam mutavaults regardless, everybody's doin it

[Valdarith]

Perhaps in an environment where the risk/reward warrants it. In other environments like FNM and DEs I'd stay with 0-1 Mutavault. There's such an even split on red to blue in the deck that you really want 16-17 blue sources and 15-16 red sources.