Mono-Blue UrzaTron

[Jack]

Ah, I read your last comment wrong. I though you had said that R/G had blood moon.

[Kazekirimaru]

Why singleton Spreading Seas?

[Jack]

It's for other Tron decks, and I know that at least 1 other guy at my store plays R/G. There used to be 2, but I wanted to fit Chalice in as well, so the second got cut.

[Jack]

Kaze, do you still play this deck? If so, I'd like to see your list.

[Kazekirimaru]

I don't have this together at the moment, honestly.

[Jack]

3-1 last night at FNM. Except for my round 1 opponent (burn player; son of another player), all of my opponents were very experienced (I'd say 3 of the best 4 guys at the shop), so it was weird seeing how none of them had ever heard of Blue Tron. I got "who the hell plays this bullshit" a lot.

R1 beat bad burn (like MD shocks and Dragon's Claw bad) 2-0
R2 lost to Hate Bears 2-1 (I accidently lost game 1 by tapping a talisman instead of an island because I changed my mind from playing Simulacrum to playing Treasure Mage without changing my mana so it wouldn't hurt, but he would have won anyway. Both game 1 and game 3 were nut draws for him (his best start was off of a mull to 5), and game 2 was a nut draw for me (read: natural Tron). Bad match up.
R3 I beat U/R tempo Twin 2-0. This was really fun, as the guy didn't know what 75% of my spells did.
R4 I beat UWR Twin 2-1. He had game 1 because he was able
to bait a counterspell (I'm still learning). I had the next two games because of a fast start game 2 and a timely Mindslver into Platinum Angel game 3. It was fun Mindslavering this guy, since he traded one to me before the tournament (I was still waiting on my pair to arrive in the mail).

Fun deck, especially if you meta is right for it. Actually, don't run this if your meta isn't right for it (aggro - heavy). Otherwise, 8/10 would recommend.

[Kazekirimaru]

Good stuff!

[Nibiru]

I just want to confirm an interaction between sundering Titan and Oboro, Palace in the Clouds. When I am force to target my own island, I can target Oboro, then bounce it before it gets destroyed? I feel like that is why the combo is mentioned, but I have only just started building this deck so I don't have any real matches played yet. Thanks.

[Jack]

Oboro isn't an island.

[Jack]

New list:
[deck]Instant (17)
4x Condescend
1x Dismember
4x Remand
3x Repeal
1x Spell Burst
4x Thirst for Knowledge

Sorcery (2)
2x Fabricate

Creature (8)
1x Platinum Angel
3x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Steel Hellkite
1x Treasure Mage
2x Wurmcoil Engine

Land (23)
1x Academy Ruins
9x Snow-Covered Island
1x Tectonic Edge
4x Urza's Mine
4x Urza's Power Plant
4x Urza's Tower

Artifact (10)
4x Expedition Map
2x Mindslaver
1x Oblivion Stone
3x Talisman of Dominance

Sideboard (15)
2x AEtherize
3x Dismember
1x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Ratchet Bomb
1x Relic of Progenitus
3x Spell Pierce
2x Spreading Seas
1x Squelch
1x Sundering Titan
[/deck]

I'm liking the switch to Fabricates and Dismember in the main a lot better. I think I might try to fit a snappy in there as well. He's not a perfect fit for this deck (for a lot of our spells, we don't like to see them late game, and we can't afford to
cast them for 2 extra before we get tron), but he's still an excellent card.

The sideboard is a mess.

[Jack]

This is probably a better sideboard:
[deck]
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Aetherize
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Sundering Titan
2 Negate
2 Spell Pierce
3 Dismember
[/deck]

[Darth B8R]

This is probably a better sideboard:
[deck]
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Aetherize
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Sundering Titan
2 Negate
2 Spell Pierce
3 Dismember
[/deck]

What's your meta? I recommend Pithing Needle if you face a lot of man lands, especially Inkmoth/Blinkmoth. Your board looks legit but I think Squelch is better than Cage if you are going after Pod, the card draw is $$. Ratchet Bomb looks too slow, EE instead? or just more Needle or a Snap is what I would go with.

How's Steel Hellkite been in the main? Seems slow with no value if you don't get to trigger him! I like singleton Snappy better! Also makes your Repeals better in the match ups where G1 Repeals aren't' that exciting. Bouncing your Snap, drawing a
card, Snapping again….that's value town baby!

[Jack]

I haven't played in tournaments in a while, but if I remember correctly, my meta has a bunch of different flavors of midrange (usually green-based), some Pod, some Twin, a few fringe combo decks, and a little bit of aggro. I don't think I want Pithing Needle, since I already have a lot of cards for Colonnade decks and I feel that dedicating more cards to the Robots match-up is unwise (turn 3 Wurmcoil is pretty much the only way we beat that deck).
Ratchet Bomb will usually go off at 0 or 1, since bigger stuff is better answered with targeted removal. EE is unplayable in a monocolor deck.

[Jack]

I like Steel Hellkite. I don't really view him as a removal spell and rarely tutor him up, but its nice to have another big beater to play off of early Tron, and he presents a fast clock on an evasive body with the upside of being able to quickly decimate your opponent's board. He and Sundering Titan have swapped around a lot, and I've found that I like the flying beater a lot more in the main.

[Darth B8R]

Right on, sounds like you're all set.

FWIW, this is my current SB that has worked pretty well in covering my bases:

[deck]
4 Dismember
1 Repeal
1 Snapcaster Mage
2 Spell Pierce
2 Aetherize
3 Squelch
2 Pithing Needle [/deck]

Cheers.

[Jack]

I took this to FNM last night. I'd forgotten how rage-inducing this thing is.

[Jack]

New sideboard:
[deck]
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Squelch
3 Spell Pierce
2 Aetherize
3 Dismember
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ratchet Bomb
[/deck]

[Jack]

When do you bring Snappy in, Darth?

[Darth B8R]

When do you bring Snappy in, Darth?

…most of the time! Bring him in vs. aggro with the Dismember/Repeal package. Great surprise blocker to trade with a Goblin Guide or Bob. He's extra Squelches or Pierces vs. Twin and BGx, he's a great Repeal target in a pinch. He makes Fabricate better, too.

[Jack]

Those are my thoughts as well, so I feel that he's really better suited to be in the main. How many do you have in your 75?

[Jack]

One thing I've noticed is that this deck really can't play SB cards if they aren't really, really strong against a certain deck, since sideboarding is already very rough, forcing you to sacrifice consistency for power in many match-ups (cutting cards like Talisman or Solemn or Condescend for hate/removal).

[Darth B8R]

1 MD, 1 SB. I think more than 2 might start to be detrimental, though. My aim is to be really flexible G1, and bring in very powerful and specific cards G2/3. (Not really a novel approach, I know!) Going up to 2 Snap post board helps amplify those strong effects that I have moved into the deck. I could see just running 1 either MD or SB being fine too, if space is tight.

Agree with your thoughts on power/consistency issue in sideboarding.

[Darth B8R]

Jack, playing any Tron games this weekend? Let me know your results if you do.

(I sold my Tron deck to a good friend to get him into modern, but I still am interested in following and studying this archetype.)

[Jack]

Probably not, this weekend is shaping up to leave me zero time for magic.