The Teachings deck is basicly a build that works around the engine of the card Mystical Teachings to get massive card advantage and an access to several silver bullets (1of's for specific situation). It is what we may call a Draw-Go deck. The strategy is to never tap out during your own turn, counter spells you may have trouble dealing with and rely on teachings to get your win condition, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, or basicly any other card in your deck.
Here is a sample decklist from the master deckbuilder Guillaume Wafo-Tapa (aka WatoO on MTGO):
Despite his absence in the current list, Crovax, Ascendant Hero would be of better use instead of the Plumeveil. He litterally shuts down Thopter combo / Faerie decks if he gets to resolve and he's an unkillable Night of Souls' Betrayal effect against zoo. I guess Tapa expected alot of zoo decks.
A very special thanks to: i-never-smile, for massivly contributing to the discussion of the deck building / piloting. WacKy ZacKy, for providing us with the following links
Is Shadow of Doubt really good enough to be in the main deck? Wouldn't Aven Mindcensor be a better choice? As it is a continuous effect and can double a a beater.
Is Shadow of Doubt really good enough to be in the main deck? Wouldn't Aven Mindcensor be a better choice? As it is a continuous effect and can double a a beater.
Just to be clear here, Shadow of doupt is used main-board to counter: Fetch-a-land effects, gifts ungiven, scapeshift, any transmute card or other tutor effects such as beseech the queen used in the dark depths archetype. A single card act as a counterspell+draw a card against 4 of the many good decks out there. That's pretty good if you ask me. That is why it is used maindeck.
As for the ''which one is better'' question, I think both of them are very good. But I believe shadow of doupt is slightly better because, like you said, mindcensor is a creature. It can be dealt with with a burn or any creature removal while shadow of doupt instantly gives you a card in your hand. Even if in the long term, both gives you a 2 for 1 CA, I would say the choice as of which one to choose would depend on your meta. Also keep in mind that preferably, you do not want to ever miss a land drop, so that extra card shadow of doupt draws you is a big plus. I have often used it as a think twice effect turn 2 when I had no third land in hand; it will save you sometimes.
It also comes down a turn faster which is pretty relevant in this meta full of decks with 8 fetch lands. At worst, doupt is a cycling card and the bird is a 2/1 flash, I believe the card is a better for a control deck. Not to mention that mindcensor allows your opponent to search in their top 4, so they still (not consistantly) have a chance to get what they want.
FAKE EDIT: Here's the list I would use if there was a ptq tomorrow.
According to the internet (mostly www.Deckcheck.net and www.MTGOnline.com), the first person to use this 7-pack was Wafo-Tapa, under his MTGO moniker of WaToO. A lot of people (including me) have followed suit and played these 7 cards as the core of the deck. I personally swear by those 7 cards as my draw department, and I believe, from lots of testing, they are the correct numbers.
3 Teachings is just right. Having 3 of them in your deck means you have enough that you're probably going to draw one every game, given that 1/20 cards in your maindeck is a Teachings. And with 3 of them, you have the ability to set up a reasonable Teachings chain (where you play one Teachings, then flash it back for a second one, then use that to get something, then flash it back for the third. This turns 1 Teachings into a 4-for-1 by itself, assuming the cards you tutor for are not card advantage themselves). Ultimately, if you go up to 4 Teachings they tend to clump the hand, and if you go down to 2 Teachings you'll have trouble drawing them.
4 Esper Charm is what gives this deck the power level necessary to beat faster decks. As a 3-mana Draw2 that's instant-speed, Esper Charm is a good deal. That makes it comparable to Thirst for Knowledge in a deck filled with artifacts, as a draw spell. However, what gives this card serious power is the discard ability. Say you're playing an attrition war with Zoo and your opponent is running out of cards, but so are you. You are almost out of countermagic and removal, and the last thing you want is for the Zoo player to hang onto a Tarmogoyf and Knight of the Reliquary for when he thinks you're out of counterspells. So he sandbags them for a while, to try to use other threats to draw out your counterspells. But if you have an Esper Charm, you can clear out the last 2 cards in your opponent's hand and stop them from ever hitting the stack, much less resolving and being a threat. It's not always advisable to make your opponent pitch the last 2 cards in his hand, but the option is a strong one and it's what gives Esper Charm its teeth. Being able to back your counterspells (and Engineered Explosives) up with discard often forces your opponent into rough situations where the correct course of action is unclear, and the Teachings player is holding all the answers.
It is possible to play even more draw spells, and you'll often see people run 1-2 Think Twice or 2-4 Ancestral Visionin addition to the Charms and Teachings. The big reason for this is that Esper Charm is often used to discard the opponent out of a hand, and if you're using it that way then it becomes difficult to dig into more business and win the topdeck war you just created. The way I see it is this: hey, if you can find the space, I'm all for putting more card advantage into the deck. I like hitting land drops and drawing more business. I like having more cards than my opponent. If you like these things, too, feel free to cram as much draw into the deck as possible. It's not superfluous at all to play 8-11 spells in your deck devoted to drawing cards; the real trouble is finding space for all that glorious raw card advantage.
2. Countermagic.
Based on the WaToO lists and many other lists that have followed suit on MTGO, it seems most people support the following base of countermagic:
The counterspell base should start with 4 Cryptic Commands, and no less. Why play a full set of 4-drop countermagic in Extended, you may ask? Well, it's a proven fact that Cryptic Command is one of the most powerful blue cards in Extended, and it's also about as versatile an answer as you can play. While it counts as a hard counter and it's often used as a simple Dismiss, it's also able to alter board positions and stop incoming attacks. Sometimes when I play this deck, I joke that the 3 Mystical Teachings are actually just Cryptic Commands #5-7. It may be humorous, but there is a lot of truth to that statement. Even in this fast, combo-driven format, Cryptic Command is insane. Why play less than 4 of the strongest answer in your deck?
It's generally accepted that 4 Spell Snares is the right number for this deck. The reasoning behind this is that you really need the early game power, and Snare gives the deck the ability to win otherwise extremely difficult games on the draw. Even if a Spell Snare or 2 sits dead in your hand for several turns, because this deck will always go for the long game, you're probably going to end up using every Snare you draw. That's the nature of the attrition aspect of Teachings. If your games are lasting at least 10 turns each game, your opponent will draw several Goyfs or Dark Confidants or Hexmages or Tribal Flames. As a 1-mana answer that helps you deal with early threats, Spell Snare is great, but because it's rarely dead in the late game it can (and should) be run as a 4-of here.
The debate between Rune Snag and Mana Leak is dependent on several factors, but what's most important is that you have 2-mana counters for the early game. Whether you like the long-game capability of Rune Snag or you like the reliability of Mana Leak is your call, but make sure you pack at least 4 of them. I say at least 4 because it's also possible to play a split of the 2, such as 4/2 Snag/Leak. It's also possible to run other 2-mana counters like Remand and Logic Knot. It all depends on the number of 2-drop counters you want to fit into your deck. I personally like 5-6 counterspells at 2 mana, but use your discretion.
Other countermagic options include other 1-drop disruption like Thoughtseize/Mana Tithe and late-game utility counters like the sneaky Pact of Negation and the frustrating Spell Burst. Those cards' inclusion are debatable, and one of the best reasons to discuss this deck on a forum in the first place.
3. Removal and Utility.
Every build of Teachings that runs Esper Charms naturally has access to 3 different colors of removal, which is a considerable amount of options in Extended. Generally speaking, though, you're going to see the following removal used here:
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but these are some of the most common tools used to handle resolved threats in an Extended Teachings deck.
As far as utility is concerned, every single Teachings deck plays a singleton Extirpate main. This is not open for debate or questioning; if you choose to play Teachings in Extended, one of the biggest boons is a tutor-able Extirpate. The applications are nearly limitless, from solving Sword of the Meek or Punishing Fire to getting rid of your opponent's Scapeshifts to simply taking a look at your opponent's hand and getting rid of one of his counterspells. The utility is so strong that this card is a staple of the archetype's maindeck.
Other utility options include (but are not limited to):
Many of these are sideboard tools, but it's reasonable to include a maindeck Mindcensor or Pulse if the metagame calls for it. There is something distinctly powerful about being able to find a silver bullet in game 1.
4. Finishers.
You will notice that Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is a 2-3 of in every single Teachings list. It is a very powerful creature, and often against aggro you can get a 2-for-1 by simply dropping it in combat to eat a Wild Nacatl or Treetop Village, then either having a creature on the table or trading it with a removal spell in your opponent's second main phase. Teferi is especially useful with Teachings because it gives creatures in your deck the flash ability. So you can use a Teachings to find Teferi, then put the Teferi on the table, and then use a Teachings to tutor for any creature in your deck while Teferi is on the board. I personally stand by 3 Teferis because, like Teachings, I want to see one every game. It does so much for the deck, and running 3 means you don't have to be as careful with your first Teferi because you know there's 2 more in the deck after the first one. But I can understand cutting the third one to make room for something else in the deck. Space is far beyond limited in this deck.
There are a host of other creatures worth playing in this deck, but the most common ones seen in the maindeck are:
Almost every build runs 1-2 Baneslayer main because it seals the deal against aggro and it's just a big creature in general. Crovax has also been adopted as 1-of inclusion in the maindeck because it shuts off Thopter Foundry completely, and it also screws up a lot of other things (Vampire Hexmage, Bitterblossom, Spellstutter Sprite, Vendilion Clique, Dark Confidant, and Heritage Druid, just to name a few). Most lists stop at 3 Teferis and then 2-3 other creatures, but I've seen some lists with a bunch of Vendilions or a handful of various 'silver bullet' creatures to find with Teachings. I can understand wanting to make the deck a bit threat-heavier, but it's not important enough to the point where it's mandatory. Think of it more as a metagame call when you put more dudes in the maindeck.
It's also possible that Dralnu, Lich Lord is worth inclusion here. I have been testing it lately, and so far it has proven to be quite solid. Dralnu literally doubles up your countermagic and removal, doubles up your Esper Charms, and basically wins any game where you can untap with him. The clincher here is that he almost completely requires Teferi because he's so fragile against burn spells, but often that's also the case with Baneslayer Angel or Crovax as well because you don't want to tap out on your turn to play them. Dralnu, I would say, is an experimental choice right now. However, in time it may prove to be a staple inclusion in the deck. We'll find out soon enough, with the amount of Extended tournaments on the near horizon.
I excluded a lot of other information, but this should be a pretty strong help to people trying to learn about the archetype. There's a lot of lists out there, and I recommend looking at all of those lists. However, it's helpful to know how to compare and contrast the lists, to be able to see what sets them apart, and to understand what each player decided to include or exclude when they piloted a specific list.
I find it surprising that you're even considering Dralnu! How did he work out for you? You specified in your post that when you get to untap, he seals the deal, but did you get any horrifying experience with him? (eg losing 6 lands or somethin')
I personnaly think you don't really need him. If, like you said, you lay him when you already have a Teferi in play, I don't see why he's needed at all. At this point, all you need to do is continuously attack you're opponent for 3 and they will die eventually. I also don't see him being useful when you're in a bad situation (getting clocked by some creatures / approaching bolt range vs burn decks for instance). Don't feel like I'm bashing him, I'm just shocked by such an irregular card choice O_o
I am curious, what is your actual list and what did you cut for him?
I am thinking about trying out some of the lands from Worldwake. Obviously there could be value extracted from Bojuka Bog, but does anyone think that Halimar Depths or the manlands could deserve a spot.
I can see trying to fit in a Bojuka Bog or Halimar Depths, but any of the man lands that were printed are unlikely to make it in my opinion. It goes against the the mentality this deck has as far as tapping out on its own turn. You don't want to be doing that, and for five mana and getting an active Celestial Colonnade, you're just setting yourself for hurt the following turn. If one were possible, it would have to be Creeping Tar Pits, but as I said, I don't think the addition of the man lands is necessary.
The above is the MD I began testing with last night. The two matches I worked on last night was against Dark Depths/Thopter and Elves. Dark Depths was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I thought it would be much tougher than it was, but it was not that bad. Elves is tougher to say at the moment only because my partner was very new to the Elf deck and was making a fair number of mistakes. Regardless, this match did make me wish I had some kind of sweeper I could draw into, because if you let just one or two Elves by, they are going to quickly overwhelm you.
This is made me start reconsidering Engineered Explosives, as i-never-smile has been running. I'm not sure what I'd cut for it though. I'd consider the Logic Knot but I'm not sure what else. The card was very valuable while playing Gifts, but the only difference was it could be fetched with Trinket Mage. I know this deck has great card drawing ability, but enough that you get it reliably enough when you need it?
Also, there was a fair amount of talk in the other thread about Blood Moon and the effects it can have on this deck. Has anyone considered SBing Disenchant? It is fetchable with Mystic Teachings and is on color with the deck. If we splash a Plains and then switch one or two fetchlands to Marsh Flat, it would still give us access to both of the blue duals and only retracts from one of two ways of getting a blue basic. It might be worth considering. It gives an alternative out to active Jitte's, Cloudstone Curio, Bitterblossom, etc. I know we can counter those, but we can't counter everything, as much as we'd like to be able to. Just some food for thought.
I can see trying to fit in a Bojuka Bog or Halimar Depths, but any of the man lands that were printed are unlikely to make it in my opinion. It goes against the the mentality this deck has as far as tapping out on its own turn. You don't want to be doing that, and for five mana and getting an active Celestial Colonnade, you're just setting yourself for hurt the following turn. If one were possible, it would have to be Creeping Tar Pits, but as I said, I don't think the addition of the man lands is necessary.
Also, there was a fair amount of talk in the other thread about Blood Moon and the effects it can have on this deck. Has anyone considered SBing Disenchant? It is fetchable with Mystic Teachings and is on color with the deck. If we splash a Plains and then switch one or two fetchlands to Marsh Flat, it would still give us access to both of the blue duals and only retracts from one of two ways of getting a blue basic. It might be worth considering. It gives an alternative out to active Jitte's, Cloudstone Curio, Bitterblossom, etc. I know we can counter those, but we can't counter everything, as much as we'd like to be able to. Just some food for thought.
A blood moon turn 3 can easily be dealt with. You can float mana in response and esper charm it away once it resolved or simply leak it. However, if you're playing against AIR, they can land it turn 1-2 so your only hope here is having an Island and a repeal. Other than that, you have a fair chance of having a counter ready for it.
Bitterblossom gets hosed nonsense by crovax. By the time you should worry about your life total, you already drew probably more than 1 third of your deck. Not to mention the 4x spell snares main that can answer a BB on their turn 2 on the play. Explosive's also here.
I am thinking about trying out some of the lands from Worldwake. Obviously there could be value extracted from Bojuka Bog, but does anyone think that Halimar Depths or the manlands could deserve a spot.
Bojuka bog is the only CIPT land powerful enough to run in my opinion. It's not like we're trying to assemble a combo here. Man lands just don't do enough either. If we get our win condition, we can either protect it with counters or use built in abilities to take control of the game and win.
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I find it surprising that you're even considering Dralnu! How did he work out for you? You specified in your post that when you get to untap, he seals the deal, but did you get any horrifying experience with him? (eg losing 6 lands or somethin')
I personnaly think you don't really need him. If, like you said, you lay him when you already have a Teferi in play, I don't see why he's needed at all. At this point, all you need to do is continuously attack you're opponent for 3 and they will die eventually. I also don't see him being useful when you're in a bad situation (getting clocked by some creatures / approaching bolt range vs burn decks for instance). Don't feel like I'm bashing him, I'm just shocked by such an irregular card choice O_o
I am curious, what is your actual list and what did you cut for him?
The maindeck is 61 cards, and that is definitely something I don't want. I can feel the land:spell ratio sucking every time I play the deck. However, I wanted to test the Dralnu and the 2/2 split of Remand/Repeal in this deck and I wanted to experiment with those cards before figuring out what else could possibly be shaved in order to make it 60 cards.
Dralnu is actually very solid. What he does for the deck is not win-more at all. Dralnu, in this deck, acts like Future Sight from last seasons' Faeries/Wizards/Level Blue decks. In a control or rock match-up, you play your 5-drop and protect it, then it basically draws your deck. In an aggro match-up, you can just board it out for a CoP: Red or Deathmark and therefore dodge the problem of it getting Bolted (thereby causing you blowouts).
If you have a Teferi on the table, you are not necessarily winning. Sure, a lot of games are decided by simply beating for 3 with the blackest man in Magic. However, sometimes you can only get a couple of beats in before the Teferi dies. A lot of the time I have a Teferi on the table, I don't necessarily have enough gas left over to keep countering or otherwise solving everything my opponent plays, and Teferi is only a 3/4 creature. That's why we play Baneslayer; it's bigger and badder and more evasive. Crovax is similar in that it's harder to deal with a Crovax than a simple Teferi. So the true finishers in this deck are not Teferi, but Baneslayer and Crovax. Each of those 2 finishers is for specific match-ups and board positions, and you would tutor one over the other depending on what the game state is like. In my build, Dralnu acts as the third finisher; the third method of attack; a flanking maneuver to cut off my opponent's potential topdecks.
I have had a few situations where it was unwise or unfavorable to drop a Dralnu and I lost 6 permanents to double Bolt. However, a lot of the time he comes down against Zoo, eats one Bolt, then throws an avalanche of answers at my opponent after that. How often do you find yourself sitting on a couple extra fetchlands in the late game? I usually sac 1-2 fetches to the Bolt aimed at my Dralnu, if that Bolt even resolves. I'm cool with my opponent getting a 3-for-1 off his Bolt, since it's not going to my dome and it's not actually solving the Dralnu. It's just killing my weakest lands and/or a random Explosives laying around. Then I proceed to draw a billion more cards with Dralnu and basically never run out of answers for the rest of the game.
I have also used Dralnu to block and kill an attacking Wild Nacatl, thrown away 3 Islands, and still been fine with mana. Usually by the time Dralnu comes down, I have at least 7 lands on the table. I'm fine with going back down to 4 lands if that means I can start flashing back a Cryptic Command every single turn. You do what you have to do to set him up, and if your plan is successful he rarely breaks down.
Now, I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that I'm definitely running Dralnu in upcoming events, but the results have been positive so far and I like what I'm seeing. This deck has a problem with crapping out and running out of gas sometimes, and Dralnu fixes that problem rather well. Some builds run Think Twice or Ancestral Vision in order to up the card advantage capability of the deck and give it the ability to dig harder. I play a Dralnu and some cantrip bounce spells instead.
@Worlwake lands: I tested 1-2 maindeck Bokuga Bogs for a while, and I would not advise it. I believe that it may be correct to board a 26th land for some match-ups, and a land that is also grave hate is great against modern Extended control and combo-control decks. Bokuga Bog could also come in against Dredge, and in general it's just a solid board card that overlaps several match-ups. I have my eye on it and it's very good, but it's not powerful enough to maindeck. The manabase is already so fragile as things stand, I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot any more than I already have to by playing some tapped lands.
Also a fringe problem with Bog is that it screws up the ability to Extirpate something later on. If you make your land drop and remove Remand against Scapeshift and then later on want to Extirpate your opponent's Remands before the upcoming counter-war, the Bog screws you over in that regard. Most of the time when you sideboard Bog in, the grave hate is worth messing with Extirpate, but in the maindeck if one of your land drops messes up your eventual plans, that land doesn't belong.
I wouldn't play Halimar Depths in here because this is not a combo deck and I like all my Islands to come into play untapped. I would rather play a basic Island untapped to present Spell Snare mana on turn 1 than play a turn 1 Depths to set up my draws. Depths is a very good card and I think it's going to make a big impact on Standard control decks as well as a number of decks in older formats, but ultimately the tempo is too important here for me to play the card. This is not just speculation, either; I tested this one, too.
The only thing close to a manland that I would ever run in this deck is Urza's Factory. I choose to play a storage land over that one, as a matter of personal preference. But I understand if someone plays a Factory or an Academy Ruins in here. Space is so limited for these kinds of utility lands because of Esper Charm and Spell Snare forcing the deck to be beyond greedy.
This is my decklist. I built it differently because I wanted a deck that could handle aggro better than a regular teachings list. So far it has a 3-0 match record against 3 different zoo decks so I'm fairly satisfied.
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Reading your posts is like drinking a cup of win. But yea, I run like 2 to 3 TT's because they always were so nice to me in so many situations, so the Dralnu here isn't much needed. But I definitivly see where you're coming from with your explanation. I have a foil dralnu sitting around in a dusty box, I might give him a try one day if I see my meta slowing down
Speaking of which, I have a small EXT tournament tomorrow at my local store; I'll let you guys know how I did.
I wish I was arrogant enough to put this in my signature, lol. Quite the compliment.
But yea, I run like 2 to 3 TT's because they always were so nice to me in so many situations, so the Dralnu here isn't much needed. But I definitivly see where you're coming from with your explanation. I have a foil dralnu sitting around in a dusty box, I might give him a try one day if I see my meta slowing down
Speaking of which, I have a small EXT tournament tomorrow at my local store; I'll let you guys know how I did.
Something I just noticed. Tapa's playing 24 lands in the decks with 2 additionnal card draw (visions/tt/tfk). An additionnal spot is very interesting considering there is like NOTHING you can cut...
I think if you're playing a draw spell over your 25th land, that's rather dangerous. Suppose your opponent is applying a lot of pressure and you need to TD a land, but you draw that visions/tt/tfk? You don't have time to cast a draw spell; you need to be stopping your opponent from running you down! I could see maybe shaving a land if it's to play more cantrip spells like Remand/Repeal in here, but even that seems like thin ice. I feel like I'm always struggling to hit my 4th and 5th land drops with this deck as things stand, so I couldn't imagine dropping a land and ending up ahead because of it.
Would Draining Whelk be a viable option for this deck? Also whats the reasoning behind people playing Academy Ruins? They don't seem to be running many, if any artifacts to make it worth adding.
I played against a Teachings Deck yesterday w/ my Affinity Deck and won 2-1. He barely won game 2 by drawing his single Fracturing Gust turn 5.
I think 3x Mystical Teachings Main is fine but maybe adding the 4th to the SB is a good idea for the matchups that NEED a Turn 4 Search for something.
Would Draining Whelk be a viable option for this deck? Also whats the reasoning behind people playing Academy Ruins? They don't seem to be running many, if any artifacts to make it worth adding.
Been waiting for ages for this to show up here.
Draining whelk would be a finisher in this deck. He looks too vulnerable though. He's a 1/1 when it comes into play, which is very killable. On top of that, against certain decks like zoo, it is a very slow finisher.
I don't think that academy ruins is good in here unless you have gifts ungiven. Academy ruins is only good when you either intentionally chuck stuff in the yard, or you play a ton of artifacts.
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3. Super Mario 64
2. Ocarina of Time
1. Cave Story
^ Seriously, play it and thank me later.
This deck is a monster! It really hasn't gotten enough recognition yet.
On the topic of 2 mana counter magic: Remand is very good, if you cast it against a non blue deck before turn 4 you just played an early time walk! It should be Run as a 2-4 of in this deck.
On Remand: it does give you tempo, but you don't really need tempo... you need to establish board control. Just my thought, I'm might be wrong...
On Shocklands: I've cut those to only 1 of each, since I've found that sometimes you want your land to cip untapped and can't afford to pay 2 life.
Wacky: I notice that you don't run Spell Burst. I never use all of it's potential, it's always a Spell Blast to me. You also have an extra Crovax in your SB, is that really necesary?
As a side note, I've been playing a Celestial Purge as a silver bullet MD and it's working just fine (I got some "what?!1? maindeck??" on MWS :rolleyes:)
I believe WoTC's new policy is to make sure that every color can enjoy the exciting gameplay mechanic of making undercosted dudes and then turning them sideways. Clearly the future of magic.
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I played against a Teachings Deck yesterday w/ my Affinity Deck and won 2-1. He barely won game 2 by drawing his single Fracturing Gust turn 5.
I think 3x Mystical Teachings Main is fine but maybe adding the 4th to the SB is a good idea for the matchups that NEED a Turn 4 Search for something.
I second a 4th teachings in the side. Besides, it is funny how this list has almost an identical MD to mine O_O
Wacky: I notice that you don't run Spell Burst. I never use all of it's potential, it's always a Spell Blast to me. You also have an extra Crovax in your SB, is that really necesary?
Most of the original list had it. But it is probably one of the first card to cut for another because it is a very slow card. Most of the time, I just use it without the buyback to counter something that I must. If you're going to use it that way, might as well just play a second logic knot.
I really dont see the reason why Think Twice should be in the deck, even if its only 1 or 2 of.
Firstly, you never want or will Teachings for this card.
Secondly, I prefer card quality over quantity and I believe Telling Time or even Ponder would be so much better, especially since this is a deck that does not want to miss a single land drop from turn 1 to 7.
I think you can forget Ponder. It does not fit the "spirit" of this deck: from turn 1 to turn 5 you will use your mana for counterspell likes or spot removals... the only possibility is on turn 1 if you are on the play... (and we can already have troubles with ancestral vision).
Telling time has always been a very bad card, even in standard.
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Here is a sample decklist from the master deckbuilder Guillaume Wafo-Tapa (aka WatoO on MTGO):
3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2 Baneslayer Angel
1 Plumeveil
Others
4 Spell Snare
4 Mana Leak
4 Cryptic Command
1 Logic Knot
1 Pact of Negation
1 Spell Burst
4 Doom Blade
1 Path to Exile
1 Repeal
1 Extirpate
1 Shadow of Doubt
4 Esper Charm
3 Mystical Teachings
4 Drowned Catacomb
3 Glacial Fortress
2 Mystic Gate
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Island
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
2 Flashfreeze
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Shadow of Doubt
3 Deathmark
3 Thoughtseize
2 Night of Souls' Betrayal
1 Ghost Quarter
Despite his absence in the current list, Crovax, Ascendant Hero would be of better use instead of the Plumeveil. He litterally shuts down Thopter combo / Faerie decks if he gets to resolve and he's an unkillable Night of Souls' Betrayal effect against zoo. I guess Tapa expected alot of zoo decks.
A very special thanks to:
i-never-smile, for massivly contributing to the discussion of the deck building / piloting.
WacKy ZacKy, for providing us with the following links
Here's some other successful Teachings decklists that either went 4-0 or 3-1 in numerous EXT Daily Events.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889172
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889173
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889177
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889179
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889180
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889183
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889188
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889189
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/889192
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/909477
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/909478
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/909479
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/909481
Original thread:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=207515
Is Shadow of Doubt really good enough to be in the main deck? Wouldn't Aven Mindcensor be a better choice? As it is a continuous effect and can double a a beater.
Just to be clear here, Shadow of doupt is used main-board to counter: Fetch-a-land effects, gifts ungiven, scapeshift, any transmute card or other tutor effects such as beseech the queen used in the dark depths archetype. A single card act as a counterspell+draw a card against 4 of the many good decks out there. That's pretty good if you ask me. That is why it is used maindeck.
As for the ''which one is better'' question, I think both of them are very good. But I believe shadow of doupt is slightly better because, like you said, mindcensor is a creature. It can be dealt with with a burn or any creature removal while shadow of doupt instantly gives you a card in your hand. Even if in the long term, both gives you a 2 for 1 CA, I would say the choice as of which one to choose would depend on your meta. Also keep in mind that preferably, you do not want to ever miss a land drop, so that extra card shadow of doupt draws you is a big plus. I have often used it as a think twice effect turn 2 when I had no third land in hand; it will save you sometimes.
It also comes down a turn faster which is pretty relevant in this meta full of decks with 8 fetch lands. At worst, doupt is a cycling card and the bird is a 2/1 flash, I believe the card is a better for a control deck. Not to mention that mindcensor allows your opponent to search in their top 4, so they still (not consistantly) have a chance to get what they want.
FAKE EDIT: Here's the list I would use if there was a ptq tomorrow.
3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
Others:
4 Spell Snare
4 Mana Leak
4 Cryptic Command
1 Logic Knot
1 Pact of Negation
1 Extirpate
1 Shadow of Doubt
4 Esper Charm
3 Mystical Teachings
1 Think Twice
1 Doom Blade
3 Path to Exile
2 Engineered Explosives
4 Drowned Catacomb
3 Glacial Fortress
3 Mystic Gate
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Island
1 Urza's Factory
2 Watery Grave
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Deathmark
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Flashfreeze
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Shadow of Doubt
1 Pulse of the Fields
1 Extirpate
1. Card Advantage.
The core of the deck's card advantage is the following draw spells and tutors:
4 Esper Charm
3 Mystical Teachings
According to the internet (mostly www.Deckcheck.net and www.MTGOnline.com), the first person to use this 7-pack was Wafo-Tapa, under his MTGO moniker of WaToO. A lot of people (including me) have followed suit and played these 7 cards as the core of the deck. I personally swear by those 7 cards as my draw department, and I believe, from lots of testing, they are the correct numbers.
3 Teachings is just right. Having 3 of them in your deck means you have enough that you're probably going to draw one every game, given that 1/20 cards in your maindeck is a Teachings. And with 3 of them, you have the ability to set up a reasonable Teachings chain (where you play one Teachings, then flash it back for a second one, then use that to get something, then flash it back for the third. This turns 1 Teachings into a 4-for-1 by itself, assuming the cards you tutor for are not card advantage themselves). Ultimately, if you go up to 4 Teachings they tend to clump the hand, and if you go down to 2 Teachings you'll have trouble drawing them.
4 Esper Charm is what gives this deck the power level necessary to beat faster decks. As a 3-mana Draw2 that's instant-speed, Esper Charm is a good deal. That makes it comparable to Thirst for Knowledge in a deck filled with artifacts, as a draw spell. However, what gives this card serious power is the discard ability. Say you're playing an attrition war with Zoo and your opponent is running out of cards, but so are you. You are almost out of countermagic and removal, and the last thing you want is for the Zoo player to hang onto a Tarmogoyf and Knight of the Reliquary for when he thinks you're out of counterspells. So he sandbags them for a while, to try to use other threats to draw out your counterspells. But if you have an Esper Charm, you can clear out the last 2 cards in your opponent's hand and stop them from ever hitting the stack, much less resolving and being a threat. It's not always advisable to make your opponent pitch the last 2 cards in his hand, but the option is a strong one and it's what gives Esper Charm its teeth. Being able to back your counterspells (and Engineered Explosives) up with discard often forces your opponent into rough situations where the correct course of action is unclear, and the Teachings player is holding all the answers.
It is possible to play even more draw spells, and you'll often see people run 1-2 Think Twice or 2-4 Ancestral Vision in addition to the Charms and Teachings. The big reason for this is that Esper Charm is often used to discard the opponent out of a hand, and if you're using it that way then it becomes difficult to dig into more business and win the topdeck war you just created. The way I see it is this: hey, if you can find the space, I'm all for putting more card advantage into the deck. I like hitting land drops and drawing more business. I like having more cards than my opponent. If you like these things, too, feel free to cram as much draw into the deck as possible. It's not superfluous at all to play 8-11 spells in your deck devoted to drawing cards; the real trouble is finding space for all that glorious raw card advantage.
2. Countermagic.
Based on the WaToO lists and many other lists that have followed suit on MTGO, it seems most people support the following base of countermagic:
4 Spell Snare
4 Mana Leak/Rune Snag
4 Cryptic Command
The counterspell base should start with 4 Cryptic Commands, and no less. Why play a full set of 4-drop countermagic in Extended, you may ask? Well, it's a proven fact that Cryptic Command is one of the most powerful blue cards in Extended, and it's also about as versatile an answer as you can play. While it counts as a hard counter and it's often used as a simple Dismiss, it's also able to alter board positions and stop incoming attacks. Sometimes when I play this deck, I joke that the 3 Mystical Teachings are actually just Cryptic Commands #5-7. It may be humorous, but there is a lot of truth to that statement. Even in this fast, combo-driven format, Cryptic Command is insane. Why play less than 4 of the strongest answer in your deck?
It's generally accepted that 4 Spell Snares is the right number for this deck. The reasoning behind this is that you really need the early game power, and Snare gives the deck the ability to win otherwise extremely difficult games on the draw. Even if a Spell Snare or 2 sits dead in your hand for several turns, because this deck will always go for the long game, you're probably going to end up using every Snare you draw. That's the nature of the attrition aspect of Teachings. If your games are lasting at least 10 turns each game, your opponent will draw several Goyfs or Dark Confidants or Hexmages or Tribal Flames. As a 1-mana answer that helps you deal with early threats, Spell Snare is great, but because it's rarely dead in the late game it can (and should) be run as a 4-of here.
The debate between Rune Snag and Mana Leak is dependent on several factors, but what's most important is that you have 2-mana counters for the early game. Whether you like the long-game capability of Rune Snag or you like the reliability of Mana Leak is your call, but make sure you pack at least 4 of them. I say at least 4 because it's also possible to play a split of the 2, such as 4/2 Snag/Leak. It's also possible to run other 2-mana counters like Remand and Logic Knot. It all depends on the number of 2-drop counters you want to fit into your deck. I personally like 5-6 counterspells at 2 mana, but use your discretion.
Other countermagic options include other 1-drop disruption like Thoughtseize/Mana Tithe and late-game utility counters like the sneaky Pact of Negation and the frustrating Spell Burst. Those cards' inclusion are debatable, and one of the best reasons to discuss this deck on a forum in the first place.
3. Removal and Utility.
Every build of Teachings that runs Esper Charms naturally has access to 3 different colors of removal, which is a considerable amount of options in Extended. Generally speaking, though, you're going to see the following removal used here:
Doom Blade
Smother
Deathmark (sideboard only, but worth noting)
Path to Exile
Condemn
Repeal
Engineered Explosives
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but these are some of the most common tools used to handle resolved threats in an Extended Teachings deck.
As far as utility is concerned, every single Teachings deck plays a singleton Extirpate main. This is not open for debate or questioning; if you choose to play Teachings in Extended, one of the biggest boons is a tutor-able Extirpate. The applications are nearly limitless, from solving Sword of the Meek or Punishing Fire to getting rid of your opponent's Scapeshifts to simply taking a look at your opponent's hand and getting rid of one of his counterspells. The utility is so strong that this card is a staple of the archetype's maindeck.
Other utility options include (but are not limited to):
Plumeveil
Shadow of Doubt
Aven Mindcensor
Pulse of the Fields
Fracturing Gust
Ravenous Trap
Echoing Truth
Celestial Purge
Disenchant
Many of these are sideboard tools, but it's reasonable to include a maindeck Mindcensor or Pulse if the metagame calls for it. There is something distinctly powerful about being able to find a silver bullet in game 1.
4. Finishers.
You will notice that Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is a 2-3 of in every single Teachings list. It is a very powerful creature, and often against aggro you can get a 2-for-1 by simply dropping it in combat to eat a Wild Nacatl or Treetop Village, then either having a creature on the table or trading it with a removal spell in your opponent's second main phase. Teferi is especially useful with Teachings because it gives creatures in your deck the flash ability. So you can use a Teachings to find Teferi, then put the Teferi on the table, and then use a Teachings to tutor for any creature in your deck while Teferi is on the board. I personally stand by 3 Teferis because, like Teachings, I want to see one every game. It does so much for the deck, and running 3 means you don't have to be as careful with your first Teferi because you know there's 2 more in the deck after the first one. But I can understand cutting the third one to make room for something else in the deck. Space is far beyond limited in this deck.
There are a host of other creatures worth playing in this deck, but the most common ones seen in the maindeck are:
Baneslayer Angel
Crovax, Ascendant Hero
Glen Elendra Archmage
Vendilion Clique
Almost every build runs 1-2 Baneslayer main because it seals the deal against aggro and it's just a big creature in general. Crovax has also been adopted as 1-of inclusion in the maindeck because it shuts off Thopter Foundry completely, and it also screws up a lot of other things (Vampire Hexmage, Bitterblossom, Spellstutter Sprite, Vendilion Clique, Dark Confidant, and Heritage Druid, just to name a few). Most lists stop at 3 Teferis and then 2-3 other creatures, but I've seen some lists with a bunch of Vendilions or a handful of various 'silver bullet' creatures to find with Teachings. I can understand wanting to make the deck a bit threat-heavier, but it's not important enough to the point where it's mandatory. Think of it more as a metagame call when you put more dudes in the maindeck.
It's also possible that Dralnu, Lich Lord is worth inclusion here. I have been testing it lately, and so far it has proven to be quite solid. Dralnu literally doubles up your countermagic and removal, doubles up your Esper Charms, and basically wins any game where you can untap with him. The clincher here is that he almost completely requires Teferi because he's so fragile against burn spells, but often that's also the case with Baneslayer Angel or Crovax as well because you don't want to tap out on your turn to play them. Dralnu, I would say, is an experimental choice right now. However, in time it may prove to be a staple inclusion in the deck. We'll find out soon enough, with the amount of Extended tournaments on the near horizon.
I excluded a lot of other information, but this should be a pretty strong help to people trying to learn about the archetype. There's a lot of lists out there, and I recommend looking at all of those lists. However, it's helpful to know how to compare and contrast the lists, to be able to see what sets them apart, and to understand what each player decided to include or exclude when they piloted a specific list.
Yes.
I find it surprising that you're even considering Dralnu! How did he work out for you? You specified in your post that when you get to untap, he seals the deal, but did you get any horrifying experience with him? (eg losing 6 lands or somethin')
I personnaly think you don't really need him. If, like you said, you lay him when you already have a Teferi in play, I don't see why he's needed at all. At this point, all you need to do is continuously attack you're opponent for 3 and they will die eventually. I also don't see him being useful when you're in a bad situation (getting clocked by some creatures / approaching bolt range vs burn decks for instance). Don't feel like I'm bashing him, I'm just shocked by such an irregular card choice O_o
I am curious, what is your actual list and what did you cut for him?
I can see trying to fit in a Bojuka Bog or Halimar Depths, but any of the man lands that were printed are unlikely to make it in my opinion. It goes against the the mentality this deck has as far as tapping out on its own turn. You don't want to be doing that, and for five mana and getting an active Celestial Colonnade, you're just setting yourself for hurt the following turn. If one were possible, it would have to be Creeping Tar Pits, but as I said, I don't think the addition of the man lands is necessary.
For reference -
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Island
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Drowned Catacomb
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Watery Grave
1 River of Tears
3 Mystic Gate
3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Crovas, Ascendant Hero
2 Ancestral Vision
1 Logic Know
4 Spell Snare
3 Mystical Teachings
1 Extirpate
1 Path to Exile
4 Cryptic Command
4 Mana Leak
2 Repeal
4 Esper Charm
3 Smother
This is made me start reconsidering Engineered Explosives, as i-never-smile has been running. I'm not sure what I'd cut for it though. I'd consider the Logic Knot but I'm not sure what else. The card was very valuable while playing Gifts, but the only difference was it could be fetched with Trinket Mage. I know this deck has great card drawing ability, but enough that you get it reliably enough when you need it?
Also, there was a fair amount of talk in the other thread about Blood Moon and the effects it can have on this deck. Has anyone considered SBing Disenchant? It is fetchable with Mystic Teachings and is on color with the deck. If we splash a Plains and then switch one or two fetchlands to Marsh Flat, it would still give us access to both of the blue duals and only retracts from one of two ways of getting a blue basic. It might be worth considering. It gives an alternative out to active Jitte's, Cloudstone Curio, Bitterblossom, etc. I know we can counter those, but we can't counter everything, as much as we'd like to be able to. Just some food for thought.
I don't see the need for manlands as well.
A blood moon turn 3 can easily be dealt with. You can float mana in response and esper charm it away once it resolved or simply leak it. However, if you're playing against AIR, they can land it turn 1-2 so your only hope here is having an Island and a repeal. Other than that, you have a fair chance of having a counter ready for it.
Bitterblossom gets hosed nonsense by crovax. By the time you should worry about your life total, you already drew probably more than 1 third of your deck. Not to mention the 4x spell snares main that can answer a BB on their turn 2 on the play. Explosive's also here.
Bojuka bog is the only CIPT land powerful enough to run in my opinion. It's not like we're trying to assemble a combo here. Man lands just don't do enough either. If we get our win condition, we can either protect it with counters or use built in abilities to take control of the game and win.
Best video games of all time:
4. Metal Gear Solid
3. Super Mario 64
2. Ocarina of Time
1. Cave Story
^ Seriously, play it and thank me later.
My current list is this:
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Watery Grave
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Island
1 Plains
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Drowned Catacomb
1 Mystic Gate
1 Calciform Pools
4 Spell Snare
4 Rune Snag
2 Remand
4 Cryptic Command
3 Engineered Explosives
2 Repeal
1 Extirpate
4 Esper Charm
3 Mystical Teachings
3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Crovax, Ascendent Hero
1 Dralnu, Lich Lord
4 Circle of Protection: Red
4 Aven Mindcensor
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Ravenous Trap
3 Deathmark
1 Dispel
1 Spell Pierce
The maindeck is 61 cards, and that is definitely something I don't want. I can feel the land:spell ratio sucking every time I play the deck. However, I wanted to test the Dralnu and the 2/2 split of Remand/Repeal in this deck and I wanted to experiment with those cards before figuring out what else could possibly be shaved in order to make it 60 cards.
Dralnu is actually very solid. What he does for the deck is not win-more at all. Dralnu, in this deck, acts like Future Sight from last seasons' Faeries/Wizards/Level Blue decks. In a control or rock match-up, you play your 5-drop and protect it, then it basically draws your deck. In an aggro match-up, you can just board it out for a CoP: Red or Deathmark and therefore dodge the problem of it getting Bolted (thereby causing you blowouts).
If you have a Teferi on the table, you are not necessarily winning. Sure, a lot of games are decided by simply beating for 3 with the blackest man in Magic. However, sometimes you can only get a couple of beats in before the Teferi dies. A lot of the time I have a Teferi on the table, I don't necessarily have enough gas left over to keep countering or otherwise solving everything my opponent plays, and Teferi is only a 3/4 creature. That's why we play Baneslayer; it's bigger and badder and more evasive. Crovax is similar in that it's harder to deal with a Crovax than a simple Teferi. So the true finishers in this deck are not Teferi, but Baneslayer and Crovax. Each of those 2 finishers is for specific match-ups and board positions, and you would tutor one over the other depending on what the game state is like. In my build, Dralnu acts as the third finisher; the third method of attack; a flanking maneuver to cut off my opponent's potential topdecks.
I have had a few situations where it was unwise or unfavorable to drop a Dralnu and I lost 6 permanents to double Bolt. However, a lot of the time he comes down against Zoo, eats one Bolt, then throws an avalanche of answers at my opponent after that. How often do you find yourself sitting on a couple extra fetchlands in the late game? I usually sac 1-2 fetches to the Bolt aimed at my Dralnu, if that Bolt even resolves. I'm cool with my opponent getting a 3-for-1 off his Bolt, since it's not going to my dome and it's not actually solving the Dralnu. It's just killing my weakest lands and/or a random Explosives laying around. Then I proceed to draw a billion more cards with Dralnu and basically never run out of answers for the rest of the game.
I have also used Dralnu to block and kill an attacking Wild Nacatl, thrown away 3 Islands, and still been fine with mana. Usually by the time Dralnu comes down, I have at least 7 lands on the table. I'm fine with going back down to 4 lands if that means I can start flashing back a Cryptic Command every single turn. You do what you have to do to set him up, and if your plan is successful he rarely breaks down.
Now, I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that I'm definitely running Dralnu in upcoming events, but the results have been positive so far and I like what I'm seeing. This deck has a problem with crapping out and running out of gas sometimes, and Dralnu fixes that problem rather well. Some builds run Think Twice or Ancestral Vision in order to up the card advantage capability of the deck and give it the ability to dig harder. I play a Dralnu and some cantrip bounce spells instead.
@Worlwake lands: I tested 1-2 maindeck Bokuga Bogs for a while, and I would not advise it. I believe that it may be correct to board a 26th land for some match-ups, and a land that is also grave hate is great against modern Extended control and combo-control decks. Bokuga Bog could also come in against Dredge, and in general it's just a solid board card that overlaps several match-ups. I have my eye on it and it's very good, but it's not powerful enough to maindeck. The manabase is already so fragile as things stand, I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot any more than I already have to by playing some tapped lands.
Also a fringe problem with Bog is that it screws up the ability to Extirpate something later on. If you make your land drop and remove Remand against Scapeshift and then later on want to Extirpate your opponent's Remands before the upcoming counter-war, the Bog screws you over in that regard. Most of the time when you sideboard Bog in, the grave hate is worth messing with Extirpate, but in the maindeck if one of your land drops messes up your eventual plans, that land doesn't belong.
I wouldn't play Halimar Depths in here because this is not a combo deck and I like all my Islands to come into play untapped. I would rather play a basic Island untapped to present Spell Snare mana on turn 1 than play a turn 1 Depths to set up my draws. Depths is a very good card and I think it's going to make a big impact on Standard control decks as well as a number of decks in older formats, but ultimately the tempo is too important here for me to play the card. This is not just speculation, either; I tested this one, too.
The only thing close to a manland that I would ever run in this deck is Urza's Factory. I choose to play a storage land over that one, as a matter of personal preference. But I understand if someone plays a Factory or an Academy Ruins in here. Space is so limited for these kinds of utility lands because of Esper Charm and Spell Snare forcing the deck to be beyond greedy.
1 oona, queen of the fae
1 thopter foundry
1 sword of the meek
2 gifts ungiven
3 mystical teachings
3 esper charm
1 grim discovery
3 spell snare
3 muddle the mixture
2 condescend
1 pact of negation
1 day of judgement
1 damnation
1 wrath of god
2 engineered explosives
3 path to exile
1 terror
2 azorious signet
1 dimir signet
2 hallowed fountain
2 watery grave
4 misty rainforest
4 marsh flats
2 bojuka bog
1 ghost quarter
1 tolaria west
1 urza's factory
1 academy ruins
3 plains
3 island
4 Circle of Protection: Red
2 cryptic command
1 spell snare
1 muddle the mixture
1 extirpate
2 ravenous trap
1 runed halo
1 open slot
1 terror
1 smother
This is my decklist. I built it differently because I wanted a deck that could handle aggro better than a regular teachings list. So far it has a 3-0 match record against 3 different zoo decks so I'm fairly satisfied.
Best video games of all time:
4. Metal Gear Solid
3. Super Mario 64
2. Ocarina of Time
1. Cave Story
^ Seriously, play it and thank me later.
Reading your posts is like drinking a cup of win. But yea, I run like 2 to 3 TT's because they always were so nice to me in so many situations, so the Dralnu here isn't much needed. But I definitivly see where you're coming from with your explanation. I have a foil dralnu sitting around in a dusty box, I might give him a try one day if I see my meta slowing down
Speaking of which, I have a small EXT tournament tomorrow at my local store; I'll let you guys know how I did.
I wish I was arrogant enough to put this in my signature, lol. Quite the compliment.
Cool, let us know how it goes.
Do it. I am dead serious.
OK, here goes....
Been waiting for ages for this to show up here.
Draining Whelk just costs too much to be a playable counter.
More MODO Lists
_Batutinha_ (3-1)
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/909493
kaOz.Zeh (3-1)
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/909495
Sergio_Dominaria (8th Place)
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/909670
3 Drowned Catacomb
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
5 Island
4 Marsh Flats
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Mystic Gate
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
Creatures: 5
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
4 Cryptic Command
2 Doom Blade
2 Engineered Explosives
4 Esper Charm
1 Extirpate
1 Logic Knot
4 Mana Leak
3 Mystical Teachings
2 Path to Exile
1 Repeal
4 Spell Snare
2 Think Twice
1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
2 Deathmark
1 Doom Blade
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Extirpate
1 Fracturing Gust
3 Kitchen Finks
1 Pact of Negation
1 Pulse of the Fields
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Shadow of Doubt
1 Vendilion Clique
I played against a Teachings Deck yesterday w/ my Affinity Deck and won 2-1. He barely won game 2 by drawing his single Fracturing Gust turn 5.
I think 3x Mystical Teachings Main is fine but maybe adding the 4th to the SB is a good idea for the matchups that NEED a Turn 4 Search for something.
Draining whelk would be a finisher in this deck. He looks too vulnerable though. He's a 1/1 when it comes into play, which is very killable. On top of that, against certain decks like zoo, it is a very slow finisher.
I don't think that academy ruins is good in here unless you have gifts ungiven. Academy ruins is only good when you either intentionally chuck stuff in the yard, or you play a ton of artifacts.
Best video games of all time:
4. Metal Gear Solid
3. Super Mario 64
2. Ocarina of Time
1. Cave Story
^ Seriously, play it and thank me later.
On the topic of 2 mana counter magic: Remand is very good, if you cast it against a non blue deck before turn 4 you just played an early time walk! It should be Run as a 2-4 of in this deck.
Sprout
On Shocklands: I've cut those to only 1 of each, since I've found that sometimes you want your land to cip untapped and can't afford to pay 2 life.
Wacky: I notice that you don't run Spell Burst. I never use all of it's potential, it's always a Spell Blast to me. You also have an extra Crovax in your SB, is that really necesary?
As a side note, I've been playing a Celestial Purge as a silver bullet MD and it's working just fine (I got some "what?!1? maindeck??" on MWS :rolleyes:)
I second a 4th teachings in the side. Besides, it is funny how this list has almost an identical MD to mine O_O
Most of the original list had it. But it is probably one of the first card to cut for another because it is a very slow card. Most of the time, I just use it without the buyback to counter something that I must. If you're going to use it that way, might as well just play a second logic knot.
I would say it's because they have a favorable matchup against slowers decks and wafo tapa has been dragging attention with his good results with it.
Firstly, you never want or will Teachings for this card.
Secondly, I prefer card quality over quantity and I believe Telling Time or even Ponder would be so much better, especially since this is a deck that does not want to miss a single land drop from turn 1 to 7.
Telling time has always been a very bad card, even in standard.