(POST ROTATION) JESKAI BURN

[Valdarith]

For the record I never said one card was better than the other or that I would never test Ojutai. In fact I flatly said I was considering it. I just took exception to your comment about flipping a situational card which we apparently don't see eye to eye on.

[BlakLanner]

Thinking of shaving the Chandra and one Slash from my list above to get 2 Anticipate. I don't want to lose the engine Chandra provides but this might make the deck run a little smoother.

Edit: Changed my mind. -1 Jeskai Charm (even though I really like having 2), -1 Wild Slash, +2 Anticipate.

[Khaospawn]

For what it's worth, LSV is on the same plan re: two Outpost Siege postboard with countermagic.

Are we talking about in the new format, or do we continue to live in the past?

I ALSO played outpost siege and countermagic. I know what siege does. It's also known technology that forces your hand. I DID NOT say siege was bad, I said ojutai is better.

Context of games: depending on how your main is set up and the level your opponent is on, it makes sense to board out spot removal against tokens in general because there just aren't good targets. Postboard, the context of games changes fairly drastically. Ojutai not only has a decent chance of rulling the skies against an opponent with zero removal main, it synergizes with ascendancy in play(Magical Christmas land, but reasonable combo) and it's a game breaking threat that trumps there sideboard cards.

Siege just generates raw CA which is nice, but it's not consistent. Sometimes you hit cards that you can't cast without ruining your plans and other times you can't cast them at all(there's a ridiculous big difference between flipping a tenth land and a stroke, hence you're comment being worth ridicule).

With Ojutai, you sacrifice speed(siege being a mana cheaper is a big cost), in exchange, you gain a self-contained plan. Siege in play for 2 turns does not guartnee victory. That's hyperbole at best, folly at worst. The second time an ojutai triggers on the other hand does something like triple your chance to win as instead of hitting 2/3 random cards, your getting 2 anticipates which is fairly close to a dig through time, AND you dealt 10 damage.

There's something called "the danger of cool things" where people are attracted to the flashy stuff be it exotic plays or new toys. You(and khaos, and most of my FOS bretheren) have the opposite problem; it's like, fucking cranky old man syndrome. "why would I play this new card, the old cards better, I'm not even gonna try it." "I played 10 games, new card sucks, old cards way better."

MOST FUCKING FRUSTRATING THING EVER. It's like everytime a set rotates, I feel like I'm exploring the new format and experimenting with shit, some good, lots of bad, and everyone else has the cards they love that they're gonna force, or just do nothing, and it's like pulling teeth trying to convince people to evolve. I don't even know why I care. But I clearly do which leads to lots of aggravation on my part.

So, can i add this as one of your name dropping posts since you referenced me?

While I'm certainly guilty of holding on to the ole "tried and true" philosophy, i also completely 'understand the "flashy card syndrome." I'm just trying to figure out why I'm lumped into the "won't change, can't change" camp. I test new things all the time but I certainly don't attempt to break the mold or the format. Suppose I could try, but i do know what works for me.

[Purp]

Played a tweaked version of Jeskai Dragons from Michael Majors article today...deck was awesome, a lot of fun. It def has potential.

[NotARobot]

Got a list? Love to check it out

[LP, of the Fires]

I guess the "I do what works for me" just rubs me the wrong way as it seems like a losing philosophy in the long run.

So like, say your good at red agro, really good at it even. Do you always play red agro then? What if it's bad? You pigeon-hole yourself. Look at Wafo-tapa, one of my 5 favorite magic players of all time. Nigga plays control exclusively to the point where he FELL OF THE PT when control was bad because he forced it. And this was when he was undisputedly one of the top players in the world if not the best.

While you may be comfortable with something, eventually you need to leave that comfort zone so that you don't always fall back into the 'safe area' or else you don't grow as a player.

From about a year ago now, I went from bad at limited to understanding limited, to being pretty damn good at it because I studied the format, applied what I learned, then finally getting to the point where I'm comfortable experimenting with it and can feel comfortable diving into a new format without guidance to steer me into the right direction.

[LP, of the Fires]

To stay on top of my name dropping history, while I didn't think of it till now, I HAVE met Wafo-Tapa at my first GP where he scrubbed out playing in his words, 'very bad control'. I also sat next to Saito at the same GP in a hotel lobby at 130 am as we each where hustling trades with willing participants.

[Purp]

[deck]
Creatures (15)

4 Icefall Regent
4 Mantis Rider
4 Orator of Ojutai
3 Dragonlord Ojutai
Lands (25)

4 Island
2 Plains
1 Battlefield Forge
4 Flooded Strand
4 Mystic Monastery
4 Shivan Reef
4 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Triumph
Spells (20)

3 Anticipate
3 Dig Through Time
1 Gods Willing
2 Lightning Strike
4 Silumgar's Scorn
3 Valorous Stance
4 Wild Slash
Sideboard

2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Disdainful Stroke
1 Erase
1 Negate
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Narset Transcendent
2 Glare of Heresy
3 Seismic Rupture
[/deck]

[LP, of the Fires]

Vomit.

Looks fun for FNM, would not take to a large event.

[Valdarith]

Yeah, neat FNM deck, which isn't a bad thing. It's just not for competitive events.

[Purp]

Crushed 2 abzan decks, 1 GW devotion and lost to sidisi whip. 3 of the players made day 2 of the invi, the deck has some legs but def needs tweaking.

[BlakLanner]

I hate these weeks prior to MODO release. I have no idea if I want to run my default list of the one with the two Anticpates for the Open this weekend.

[Khaospawn]

I guess the "I do what works for me" just rubs me the wrong way as it seems like a losing philosophy in the long run.

So like, say your good at red agro, really good at it even. Do you always play red agro then? What if it's bad? You pigeon-hole yourself. Look at Wafo-tapa, one of my 5 favorite magic players of all time. Nigga plays control exclusively to the point where he FELL OF THE PT when control was bad because he forced it. And this was when he was undisputedly one of the top players in the world if not the best.

While you may be comfortable with something, eventually you need to leave that comfort zone so that you don't always fall back into the 'safe area' or else you don't grow as a player.

From about a year ago now, I went from bad at limited to understanding limited, to being pretty damn good at it because I studied the format, applied what I learned, then finally getting to the point where I'm comfortable experimenting with it and can feel comfortable diving into a new format without guidance to steer me into the right direction.

The "I do what works for me" philosophy works for a lot of people, pros included. However, forcing a deck that's already badly positioned is just idiocy.

[LP, of the Fires]

This actually goes back to what me and Z would talk about on Facebook all the time.

Some players as Mathias Hunt actually said on stream at the invitational the other day understand 'power' in a certain way. But to be the absolute best, you need to expand your range so that you're still a viable competitive entity when lifebane zombie gets printed and you can't play green anymore.

Wescoe, Kibler, Cox, etc. always play the same decks and do well when there specific archetypes are viable.

Owen, Huey, Reid, LSV, and Wraptor respectively are the best because they can play anything which was honed over years of growing pains. LSV went from mono-loxodon hiearch at PTs to PT win with elves, GP win with TEPS, 11th place worlds with Swan Combo, and 16-0 swiss PT with Boss Naya. Owen(unknown to most players) is an agro MASTER. Nigga finished second at a GP with goblins when flash hulk was THE legacy deck. Now he dominates the world of magic because he can play mono-black, ub control, UWR delver, or mono-red agro.

If your satisfied with your level of play, keep jamming along and you might eventually be THE red mage. But be the #1 red mage in the world when you can strive for being the #1 magician in the world regardless of color?

[Valdarith]

[deck]
2 wild slash
2 secure the wastes
1 valorous stance
1 roast
3 anticipate
4 dragon fodder
4 raise the alarm
3 lightning strike
4 jeskai ascendancy
1 outpost siege
4 hordeling outburst
4 stoke the flames
4 treasure cruise

3 flooded strand
4 mystic monastery
2 shivan reef
3 battlefield forge
3 temple of triumph
3 temple of epiphany
2 island
2 plains
1 mountain

2 erase
1 glare of heresy
1 valorous stance
1 roast
2 twin bolt
3 negate
3 disdainful stroke
1 outpost siege
1 end hostilities
[/deck]

Got top 4 at FNM with this. Only loss was in the Swiss to Abzan Aggro. That matchup went from 50/50 to a mess thanks to Dromoka's Command. Managed to snag a hard fought game two bbut lost one and three on the draw and mull to six each time.

I hot Commanded a few times at this event and it felt gross. If that card gets more popular I'm not even sure Ascendancy will be good. Might be better to play fair Jeskai at that point.

[LP, of the Fires]

^Ties into why Ojutai is an amazing tool out the board.

[Jamie]

[deck]3 Seeker of the Way
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
4 Dragon Fodder
2 Secure the Wastes
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

2 Valorous Stance
2 Lightning Strike
4 Stoke the Flames
3 Wild Slash
1 Roast

3 Anticipate
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
4 Treasure Cruise


2 Island
3 Mountain
2 Plains
2 Battlefield Forge
4 Flooded Strand
4 Mystic Monastery
2 Shivan Reef
2 Temple of Epiphany
4 Temple of Triumph

Sideboard
4 Disdainful Stroke
2 Negate
1 Valorous Stance
1 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Narset Transcendent
2 Glare of Heresy
3 Seismic Rupture
[/deck]
I found this list on a certain website's left-side listed content, by Todd Anderson. From what I'm seeing on stream, it's dangerously close to what he's playing this weekend.

[GoblinWarchief]

Todd made eleventh place at the open. His list is basically what i am playing except - 4 seekers , - 1 ojutai, +3 fodders, +1 raise the alarm, + 1 jeskai charm.
The big question is if its worth it to play real creatures main deck or just go all in on the tokens, and honestly i don't see any reason to make opponents removal live in game 1 just to play seeker of the way.

[LP, of the Fires]

The reason to play seeker specifically is that it's a semi-consistent source of lifegain.

[Valdarith]

Yeah, in a meta like the one at this Open, having Seeker and/or Soulfire is excellent. I went creatureless at my FNM because the meta at my particular store is balanced out (usually not the case since they love Gx) but Todd made the right call for this event.

[BlakLanner]

Tournament Report - SCG Open Syracuse

[deck]Jeskai[/deck]

I was unable to get any real testing on this deck before the event (people on Cockatrice really suck) other than some input from the forum. I just knew that I wanted to get off Rabblemaster as the ground has gotten more and more clogged and that I wanted to try out a few of the new cards from DTK.

Round 1: Abzan Constellation (2-0)
G1: Opponent mulled to 5 but drew 4 lands off Courser and 2 off of Eidolon of Blossoms to put up a close fight that I managed to eke out with Thunderbreak.
G2: Opponent mulled to 4 and got ran over.
1-0

Round 2: GW Devotion (2-1)
G1: A close race that I won with fliers, most importantly Stormbreath Dragon and its protection from white stopping Dromoka's Command.
G2: I mulled to 5 and put up a bit of a fight but he gained 50 life and I never saw my sweeper.
G3: He had 2x Caryatid and 1x Voyaging Satyr on turn 3. I played a Brimaz on turn 3 and an Anger on turn 4. The game ended right there.
2-0

Round 3: UB Control (0-2)
G1: I drew 9 lands and nothing else but dead cards for the matchup and died horribly.
G2: His Dragonlord Silumgar stole my Thunderbreak and I saw none of my sideboard with witch to fight back.
2-1

Round 4: Esper Control (2-0)
G1: I played a few Mantis Riders and Draconic Roared the one he stole. Relatively easy win.
G2: Keranos and burn beats 2x Silumgar.
3-1

Round 5: Abzan Aggro (2-1)
G1: Opponent stalled on 3 lands with no white mana.
G2: I mistook him for a larger deck and sided out my Slashes incorrectly. He beats me down with Death Dealers and Rhinos.
G3: Opponent mulled to 5 and Seeker plus Brimaz was able to beat his slower draw, even with two Rhinos.
4-1

Round 6: Esper Control (1-2)
G1: I kept what I thought was a reasonable hand but it was way too slow for what he had.
G2: I kept a very reactive hand, dropped a Rider and a Thunderbreak and protected them to win.
G3: Drew too many Glares when, as I found out later, he borded out his Narsets. He had more counters than I had threats.
4-2

Round 7: GW Devotion (2-1)
G1: I swear that he snuck in a Raptor during one of our turns but I couldn't convince a judge that I was right. Guy didn't speak much English and I couldn't follow all his movements. I probably lose this game anyway.
G2: I kill his mana dorks and let Mantis, Thunderbreak, and Stormbreath beat him down.
G3: Opponent mulls to 5 against triple Mantis Rider. Justice.
5-2

Round 8: Esper Control (2-0)
G1: Opponent mulled to 6, missed his 4th land drop for a turn and I protected my Seeker and Regent long enough to win.
G2: Opponent again missed 4th land drop for a few turns. Beat him down with an Ojutai that I protected with a very reactive hand.
6-2

Round 9: Abzan Aggro (1-2)
G1: It was a major attrition battle where both of us had no hands, 7+ lands and playing off the top of our deck. He drew Fleecemane Lion, I drew Stormbreath. I win that fight.
G2: I ran out of removal and he dropped a raided Roc into Sorin.
G3: Mulled to 6, kept Plains, Temple, Glare, Roar, Strike, Rider. I never see land 3 and he plays back to back Rhinos.
6-3


After day 1 I felt pretty good, even with the last round loss. I had only won two of the die rolls (and lost those matches) and the deck was playing reasonably well aside from some variance issues. I got a reasonable night's sleep and prepared for day 2.


Round 10: Jeskai Aggro (0-2)
G1: I keep a two land hand and draw two more. Only problem is that I had all 3 Plains in my deck at that point.
G2: I tried to put up a fight but ended up drawing 11 lands by the end.
6-4

Round 11: Abzan Aggro (0-2)
G1: Stalled on two lands and drew all my Treasure Cruises.
G2: I removed some early creatures but drew 10 lands (and had 3 more on top of my deck) against multiple Rhinos.
6-5

Round 12: Jeskai Aggro (2-0)
Simply put, this was a textbook mirror match. Removed his threats and protected my own.
7-5

Round 13: Mono Red (2-1)
G1: Opponent started slow which gave my Riders time to win the race. Valorous Stance proved essential.
G2: Opponent played Denizen, Fodder, Outburst, Fodder and I didn't see a sweeper.
G3: Removal and Mantis Rider beats make this one look simple.
8-5

Round 14: RG Dragons (0-2)
G1: He double Draconic Roar, with reveal, my Stormbreath in a slower game. I can't catch up from there.
G2: Multiple Draconic Roar into Ashcloud with a Craters Claws finisher.
8-6

Round 15: RG Dragons (0-2)
G1: He had Roar, Ashcloud, and Claws. I had little to fight back with.
G2: I managed to keep my head above water with removal for a while but end up drawing 11 lands and bricking on 2 Treasure Cruises before he finishes me off with Craters Claws.
8-7


This was a very disappointing finish to a reasonable start. I feel like variance wasn't on my side today. I mentioned my worst floods but still often ended up with 7-8 lands in a lot of games.


Wins
23 lands: I know people were saying that I was nuts for playing less than 24 but I still drew a ton of them. The scries and Anticipates proved enough to give me what I needed. I would not want to go lower than 23 just for consistency sake. I did win a lot of games with 4-6 in play and I don't want to jeopardize that.

Draconic Roar: This card was great. I only had it truly dead once in a control matchup, even if some of those non-dead points were hitting creatures he stole from me. About 2/3 of the time, I had a dragon for extra value but didn't feel bad if I didn't as I would have used a Lightning Strike anyway. I don't think I want to increase the count any more just to protect against it being dead.

Brimaz: This card won me a lot of games where Rabblemaster would not have. His extra resilience to removal and vigilance made a big difference.

Thunderbreak Regent: Unless I needed a specific answer to something, I was never unhappy to see it. My opponents cringed every time they tried to remove it and I watched their shoulders slump any time I managed to protect it.

Anger of the Gods: The key to beating GW Devotion is to drop one early.

Keranos: Won every time he hit the board.


Losses
Chandra: Nearly dead all day. I almost always wanted to play a different 4 drop when I had her. Outpost Siege would have been no better in those spots so she will probably just get cut to put the Slash back in the deck. I might keep the sideboard copy out of stubbornness.

Jeskai Charm: I burned a few faces and bounced a creature but never lifelinked it. Not sure if I want to keep it as it got awkward farily often.

3 Treasure Cruises: I feel like I drew far too many that I could never cast and often shaved one during sideboarding. Might cut to 2.


Draws
Dragonlord Ojutai: Cast 3 times, resolved once. Won the game due to protection but most other spells would have done it there. I will keep it in just in case.

Anticipate: It was neat and did help smooth my draws but I had a lot of trouble finding the time to cast it. I may go up to 3 just to see if it helps if I see it more.

Narset: Only saw it once. It missed and died to a Downfall. Will keep in for now until testing shows I should do otherwise.


Matchup notes
RG Dragons: This matchup is hard. We really need a game plan to fight this deck. They hit harder and nearly as fast as we do, especially with easier access to Searing Blaze mode on Roar. They are keeping Ashclouds around so maybe bringing in Anger to neuter them and their mana creatures is a start.

Esper Control: I played against 4-ish of these on day 1. Dragonlord Silumgar is a pain. We have to have a sideboard plan to deal with them. These were the only matches where I wish I had kept in Rabblemaster. They really, really hate Thunderbreak.

Changes
Most likely going to try the following:
-1 Chandra, -1 Jeskai Charm, +1 Anticipate, +1 Wild Slash
I need to find a better plan for RG but not sure where to go after Stoke and Anger. Maybe it is time to put Deflecting Palm back in the board like I had the last time it was popular.

[Jamie]

Ouch. Grats on the day2.

[BlakLanner]

This is my next version for testing. It has shown some promise so far.

[deck]Jeskai[/deck]

I decided to cut the Charm altogether since I am not sure how many racing situations I might actually get into. I didn't use lifelink mode at all in the Open. Cutting that and the Chandra gave me room for the 4th Slash and 3rd Anticipate to help me dig better. I am experimenting with cutting one Cruise for a Dig just to see how reliably I can cast it when I want it and if the instant factor is of more use than extra cards.

I cut the Chandra and Narset in the sideboard for 2 Deflecting Palms to help fight against RG. I really want to try out Narset more but I think having something to help fight against the new menace is more important than a 1-of in the sideboard for the control fight. The only card I could realistically see cutting to put her back in is Sarkhan. I think he is more valuable in the RG fight than Narset will be against control. Eventually, testing will decide that.

[Purp]

It seems like your trying to play the same role as the GR decks except they do it better. I don't think Jeskai wants to be playing thunder break. I'd rather protect my 3drops or counter my opponents 4-5 drops.

[Jamie]

Anderson has a new list. Made me realize how absolutely awful I am at making lists because he goes on about the problems of the deck and I'm like yeah I agree I've found the same problems. But his changes are always so clean compared to mine.

[deck]
1 Monastery Mentor
3 Soulfire Grand Master
3 Raise the Alarm
1 Secure the Wastes
2 Dragon Fodder
4 Hordeling Outburst

2 Lightning Strike
4 Stoke the Flames
1 Valorous Stance
4 Wild Slash
2 Roast

4 Jeskai Ascendancy
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Treasure Cruise

1 Island
2 Mountain
2 Plains
3 Battlefield Forge
3 Flooded Strand
4 Mystic Monastery
3 Shivan Reef
3 Temple of Epiphany
3 Temple of Triumph


board

3 Disdainful Stroke
2 Negate
1 Valorous Stance
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Arc Lightning
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Roast
[/deck]

I like the list except I've never won a game I've resolved an elspeth. It's too hard to get to 6 mana when you want to be discarding lands for action. 1 secure the wastes is too many and I think 0 is correct, for the same reason. I've cat it for x=3 once, x=0 once, and x=2 the rest of the times. He claims it's good against ugin but I don't want to draw it game1.

[Purp]

Cut secure for 25th land. Make the 2nd Md roast become the 2nd valorous stance.

[Purp]

Elspeth is good vs gw devotion and abzan aggro.

[Valdarith]

I disagree on 0 Secure. I've won games I should have lost because I could cast it for a large amount. You definitely want 1.

[BlakLanner]

Tournament Report - SCG States NY - Standard (29th)

[deck]Jeskai[/deck]

Round 1 - Jeskai Myth 2-0
Win die roll
I am not sure this was a real deck as my opponent only showed me two or three cards total in two games. I saw Myth Realized and Monastery Siege.
1-0

Round 2 - Mardu Dragons 0-2
Win die roll
G1: Mull 5, Opponent mull 6. I saw no red mana and died pretty fast.
G2: He burned down my early plays and landed a Sarkhan I had trouble removing. He then dropped a Stormbreath that I killed twice but was re-bought each time with Haven of the Spirit Dragon
1-1

Round 3 - RG Monsters 2-0
G1: Mull 6. I stall on 2 mana for a few turns but he keeps blocking my Seeker and I throw out a cheap burn spell to kill his blocker and gain 12 life overall. I start hitting land drops and burn him out in a somewhat close race.
G2: A game I had no right to win. He has 2 Thunderbreak, a Stormbreath, and 2 Coursers and sits there against my Thunderbreak, Mantis Rider, Soulfire, and Brimaz while I continually buy back Draconic Roar to hit him and gain 6 each turn, knocking out his mana creatures and Ashcloud Phoenix. He had a reasonable chance of winning a straight race, even with Soulfire on my side.
2-1

Round 4 - Mono Red 2-1
G1: Opponent mull 6. Opponent opens with Mana Confluence and takes 8 damage off it over the game. I burn his two Swiftspears and let a pair of Thunderbreaks finish the job.
G2: Mull 6. I kept a slightly land heavy 6 and drew zero nonland cards all game.
G3: My opponent started very early with burn and no creatures. I dropped a pair of Seekers and started beating in and dropped a Stormbreath to finish the job.
3-1

Round 5 - Jeskai Tokens 1-2
G1: Mull 5. Stalled on two lands and died.
G2: I glare his Ascendency and drop a pair of Thunderbreaks. A timely Negate on his Stoke targeting one of them seals this game.
G3: Mull 6. My first three lands are Battlefield Forge. I manage to hold out even with the pain lands, never seeing blue until he drops an Elspeth late. I draw a tapped blue source a turn later but it is too late. Held Dig, Negate, Stroke, Anticipate in hand at that point.
3-2

Round 6 - GW Devotion
G1: I kept a two land hand with two Temples but didn't see land 3 until it was too late.
G2: His draw was a bit slow and I dropped multiple dragons on his head.
G3: A slow start for both of us. He bricks on a pair of Genesis Hydras and he rage concedes. I was starting to lose control of the game at that point as well since my draw was mediocre at best.
4-2

Round 7 - RB Dragons
G1: A Soulfire drops two opposing Thunderbreaks with Stokes but he plays Ambuscade Shaman into Stormbreath into a dashed Heelcutter that takes out my last blocker to finish me off.
G2: He stalled on two lands, had his Dragon Whisperer Roared at as soon as it lands, and I drop two Mantis Riders.
G3: I kept a slow hand and drew a few extra lands while he beats me with a Lightning Berserker. I end up trading off his attacker with Thunderbreaks to stabilize. He Roars away Mantis Rider showing me Kolaghan. At 6 life, I hold up Disdainful Stroke and attack with my only creature with him holding two cards when he Kolaghan's Commands me to shock me and buy back the Berserker and hit me for exactsies. He never cast the dragon.
4-3


Wins
Soulfire Grand Master: The card was excellent every time I had him. I probably want to bump him up to two.

Seeker of the Way: Won me at least one game with the lifelink.


Losses
Colored Mana: Several issues with color screw cost me games.

Dig Through Time: Instant speed was nice but couldn't cast it at least twice due to double blue. Never got me what I wanted.


Notes
This was a very wierd tournament. Lots of variance and games I should never have won. I certainly think I could have done better, R7G3 especially. Perhaps I mulligan the slow hand or drop my shields to deploy another threat. I definitely need to reevaluate how I sideboard as a few of my lost games had dead cards in hand that I perhaps should have boarded out.

I have been thinking about cutting the Brimaz for something else in order to smooth out my mana base. I have to skew heavily to white in order to cast him on time. Not sure what I would do from there.

[LP, of the Fires]

Lol.

With the way your deck is configured, you losing to color screw from time to time is not variance.

This I've learned from jamming a lot of jeskai.

[Purp]

23 lands is not variance. You need 25.

[LP, of the Fires]

The fact is Jeskai already has ambitious color requirements and you pumped my variance into your manabase by adding several dual colored cards AND cutting mana-sources.

[BlakLanner]

23 lands is not variance. You need 25.

I was repeatedly flooding horribly at 24 as it was. Even on 23 I only stalled out twice when I didn't mull to 5. I flooded out about as often as I stalled. At FNM the night before I never stalled but flooded in 4 out of 9 games. With 6 scries and 3 Anticipates, I should be ok. I operate very well on 4 lands and never want more than 6.

The fact is Jeskai already has ambitious color requirements and you pumped my variance into your manabase by adding several dual colored cards AND cutting mana-sources.

I do not argue that the color requirements are being difficult. The one without blue I was frustrated but understood since I am only on 12 blue sources. The one where I saw no red hurt. I am seriously considering cutting the Brimaz to lower my need for white mana and add some blue and possibly another red. I just don't know what to put in their place. Perhaps a second Soulfire and the fourth Seeker even if they are lower impact.

[Valdarith]

23 lands is definitely wrong. No arguing it. Your anecdotal evidence does not refute this.

[LP, of the Fires]

23 lands is definitely wrong. No arguing it. Your anecdotal evidence does not refute this.

[LP, of the Fires]

I can't tolerate emotional decisions in others or myself.

[BlakLanner]

I can't tolerate emotional decisions in others or myself.

I used to be like you. Then things fell apart. You would start to get emotional too if everything you did ended up in failure. It tends to make one more desperate and willing to take crazy risks. Not just referring to Magic, btw.

[LP, of the Fires]

All I hear are excuses and a lack of accountability.

You can get/be emotional, but that doesn't mean you let it affect your decision making.

The only thing you have control over in magic and in life are the decisions you make and how you play with the cards your dealt.

Making excuses only hinders you in the long run.

[Jamie]

i took tokens to states and faced multiple dromoka's command in every game for a 1-3 drop
how do you stop the variance demon from giving you abzan aggro every match?

[BlakLanner]

We can go back and forth about this until the day I finally die but this is not the place.

On a more productive note, I think I am going to cut the Brimaz for a second Grand Master and fourth Seeker. This will let me remove the skew towards white in my color base. For the sideboard, I will cut the Sarkhan and one Glare to add two Circle of Flame to help against mono red since I will be losing the blocker. I will also trade in one Negate for one Disdainful Stroke. I really want to replace the last two Lightning Strikes for Draconic Roar as they have been so good for me but I will wait and see how much more control shows up after its performance at the PT.