Icy Tides ($40)

Standard Snow_Lynx

SCORE: 109 | 192 COMMENTS | 24603 VIEWS | IN 96 FOLDERS


UmmmmmmLOL says... #1

How about Warping Wail in here?

May 24, 2016 12:58 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #2

Warping Wail requires colorless mana to be cast. Doesnt work with our mana base.

May 24, 2016 1:37 p.m.

xikaos says... #3

Snow_Lynx What would you put if you have only 2 Drowner of Hope and 2 Thing in the Ice?

That's exactly my case.

May 24, 2016 2:17 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #4

xikaos, you would need to playtest. Perhaps one Catalog, one Broken Concentration/Negate or an Adverse Conditions. However, I found that with 3 Thing in the Ice  Flip, it can have some reliability. When I used 2, it didn't appear several games, or would appear a bit too late.

May 24, 2016 2:25 p.m.

xikaos says... #5

Snow_Lynx I agree that 2 is not a reliable number of copies for the secondary wincon of the deck.

I bought only two because they are SO expensive in Brazil that I would buy another reasonable deck with the money of two copies of Thing in the Ice  Flip, so for now I need a substitute, which is likely to be Adverse Conditions.

I fell in love imediately with the deck when I first saw him, indeed is the best budget control in standard.

Appreciate your effort building the deck and anwsering questions here on the comments, keep it up bro!

May 24, 2016 4:11 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #6

xikaos, you are from Brazil as well? Eu sou de Belo Horizonte, e vc? Tenho jogado na UG aqui. Fiz 2-2 semana passada, mas agora que ajustei o deck estou esperando um 3-1 nessa sexta. Se jogar bem estou ate pensando em participar de torneios regionais em SP, ou GPs. Vamos ver...

O que eu garanto que esse deck muito legal de jogar. Anular muito do que o oponente quer fazer muito gratificante, e quase 100% de chance de vitoria contra outros decks de controle com muito removal.

May 24, 2016 4:17 p.m. Edited.

MrZessty says... #7

After playing this deck or a slightly more budget version of it on magic online, i believe it needs more TITI and something else. The deck seems a bit clunky and loses to aggro if you dont see Thing in the Ice  Flip and ramp decks put you in an awkward situation. Only decks i have beaten with this countless times is the control mirror as long as that deck doesn't have Chandra and midrange decks.

May 24, 2016 4:18 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #8

MrZessty, I have changed the deck from how it was before. It now runs 4 Engulf the Shore and 4 Grip of the Roil and 3 Thing in the Ice  Flip in the Main Deck. Did you try with those numbers? I believe it's safer against aggro even game 1. Game 2 with all those Send to Sleep and Adverse Conditions, you haven't managed to win even some?

May 24, 2016 4:20 p.m.

LeopardBluff says... #9

Snow_Lynx, Absolutely great budget deck! +1 and thanks for all the help along the way!

I'm just getting back into magic and this was a perfect build guide for me to not blow all my $$$ on just 1 deck. However when I was play testing it online, I really wanted to put in 1 more Thing in the Ice  Flip. Now i know it's not really possible to keep it under $40 with 4x Thing in the Ice  Flip. So budget slightly aside, I wanna add 1x more Thing in the Ice  Flip and I was also thinking 1-2x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets Have you run with 4x Thing in the Ice  Flip or play tested with Jace, Unraveler of Secrets ? I know earlier in the build you said Jace could see some playing time. What 3 cards would you replace in the main deck if you were to add 1 more Thing in the Ice  Flip and 1-2x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets ?

      -Thanks again
May 24, 2016 6:18 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #10

LeopardBluff, if it was me, I would put 2 Jace and take out 2 Epiphany at the Drownyard.

If I were to include a 4th Thing in the Ice  Flip, I would take out 1 Rise from the Tides

May 24, 2016 6:33 p.m. Edited.

LeopardBluff says... #11

I saw your other comment too Snow_lynx ; )

I think you may be right that 4x Thing in the Ice  Flip with 2x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets may throw off the synergy of the deck. I'm going to test out the 2x Jaces first before I throw in another TITI. As far as the 2 drop Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  Flip, it's just way too pricey for what makes this deck great I think.

May 24, 2016 7:09 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #12

LeopardBluff, haha, I thought you wanted a short answer rather than a long one.

On second thought, however, I think perhaps taking out the 2 Drowner of Hope for 2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets makes more sense from a mana-cost point of view. After all, it's horrible when you get a lot of cost 5-6 cards early game. Plus Jace is also a kind of win-con, just a bit worse than Drowner of Hope (since Jace dies easily to aggro and to some removal cards, while Drowner/tokens will normally survive through at least 2 cards, generating card advantage.

May 24, 2016 9:39 p.m.

UmmmmmmLOL says... #13

Take one of each Drowner of Hope and Epiphany at the Drownyard, that might be better to make room for the 2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets

May 24, 2016 11:14 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #14

MrZessty, LeopardBluff, UmmmmmmLOL

I would not put Jace, Unraveler of Secrets in this deck at all, however. He feels slow since we cast at sorcery speed, is vulnerable to Duress and Transgress the Mind, doesnt help us against aggro at all and doesnt agree with the sorcery/instant mechanic. Which is why I mentioned Jace, Telepath Unbound  Flip, since he can be played turn 2, helps with draws / building our graveyard and the planeswalker can play counters/draw from the graveyard, which also sinergize with Thing in the Ice  Flip, taking off counters.

I do agree, though, that he's too expensive, specially considering that he's NOT better than Thing in the Ice  Flip. If we must choose one, it's DEFINITELY TITI. And having both will make our deck flow with less sinergy, since I will never take a Drowner of Hope for it (believe me, that guy saves games all by itself).

So, in short, the idea of raising Thing in the Ice  Flip to 4 is actually great if you can afford it. It's a great turn 2 move, and can even see play at turns 6+. I would probably take out a Rise from the Tides for it, since it really bothers me when I get Rise from the Tides on my starting hand on the few next turns. Many games I won without even relying on the zombies anyways. Awoken Horror  Flip and Drowner of Hope can easily finish the job in many games, with the counter/tap support.

May 25, 2016 2:23 a.m. Edited.

xikaos says... #15

Snow_Lynx Sou do Rio Grande do Sul cara, comecei a jogar a muito pouco tempo, entao vai levar algum tempo at eu aparecer no competitivo :(

Eu sempre joguei com decks aggro que continham elementos de controle que eu usava especificamente pra agressao, normalmente impedindo que o adversrio me alcancasse em tempo com um board ja construido.

Sempre achei muito interessante a ideia de conseguir anular a carta de um adversrio com uma minha.

O efeito acaba por ser simetrico pras duas partes em termos de vantagem de carta, mas o adversrio utiliza mana o que diminui a probabilidade e as possibilidades de ele usar algo durante seu turno.

Sem falar que se ele nao tiver como repor essas cartas em um tempo adequado, vai ficar pra tras rapidinho dependendo do que conseguir no topo do deck.

Estou a algum tempo procurando um deck de controle budget e esse seu foi definitivamente o melhor que eu j vi aqui no TappedOut.

Ms que vem vou comprar minha terceira TITI e testar na minha LGS

May 25, 2016 9:14 a.m.

MrZessty says... #16

Snow_Lynx i have won some against aggro with that side but the deck still struggled to do so.

May 25, 2016 4:01 p.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #17

MrZessty, no one can win all matches. This deck is better against Control, then Midrange, and then aggro. There's no deck that can win against every other kind. Mine is no different. Having a 40% chance is already pretty good.

May 25, 2016 9:16 p.m.

UmmmmmmLOL says... #18

Skaab Goliath as an alternative to one or both of the drowners? It sucks if you have to exile any spells, but if the zombies aren't presenting the right moment, then this guy might do a better job of winning you the game than a Drowner of Hope anyways.

May 26, 2016 2:34 a.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #19

UmmmmmmLOL, wrong!! Have you ever played with Drowner of Hope?

Let me explain why he's SO GOOD.

(1) 3 creatures instead of 1. What that means - they can't just 1-card-removal on him. Plus they are all immune to Ultimate Price, a common and cheap removal. They also don't all die to a Languish. That means my opponent MUST waste 2 or 3 cards to kill each of my 3 creatures. That means CARD advantage. Plus they have to pass my counters!

(2) My 2 eldrazi spawns can give me 2 mana. That means I can play more spells, can even play Rise from the Tides turn 7 and STILL have 3 mana for a counter left behind!

(3) 3 blocking creatures against fast aggro.

(4) I can sacrifice 1 eldrazi to tap manlands for 2 turns, allowing me to attack for 7+6+5 damage and denying their strongest creature to be able to block or attack.

(5) Can attack for 7 each turns, instead of 6, if they don't have creatures on board, which is common with all my bounce/grip/counter unless pure aggro.

Trust me, I've won more matches with Drowner than with zombies last FNM. It's a beast.

Plus, that Skaab Goliath REQUIRES me to sacrifice 2 CREATURE cards from my graveyard. I have almost no creatures!

May 26, 2016 2:53 a.m. Edited.

UmmmmmmLOL says... #20

my mistake, I thought you only had to exile any card from the graveyard, not specifically creatures. I tried the deck out on Tuesday and I struggled to find the right rhythm. Will keep playing it as is, and let you know if I think of any other changes.

May 26, 2016 3:31 a.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #21

UmmmmmmLOL, playing with counters is not as easy as it seems. You can't just try and counter everything, all their turns. You have to understand what kind of cards would be worst for you on the short term, and understand their deck more or less so you can save some counters for major threats. And try and use Clash of Wills over any other counter when they tap all their mana or when you have 2 mana, because later on it isnt very effective against most decks.

So, in short, to play well with counters you don't only need to understand your own deck, but the other major kind of decks as well, to know what to expect and how to make the best use of counters. For example, I normally don't counter Read the Bones, ramp spells and some others that do not directly impact the battlefield (unless I have 3-4 counters in my hand, then it's a different story).

This deck is all about patience and cunning. And it is not easy to play, but the more I play with it, the more I understand how to win against each deck.

May 26, 2016 3:40 a.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #22

Edit - changed 2x Drowner of Hope for 2x Disciple of the Ring.

Reasons:

  • Fits the deck theme (instant/sorcery)
  • Is a counter gattling gun for non-creature spells (plus can use it to defend itself)
  • Can tap threats (allowing it to attack or just to stall)
  • Can boost itself to attack. Can deal insane damages late game.
  • Good synergy with Epiphany at the Drownyard late game.
  • Costs 5 instead of 6.
May 27, 2016 2:24 a.m.

The only problem with Disciple of the Ring is that you need your graveyard to be full of instants and sorceries for a big Rise from the Tides.

May 27, 2016 2:30 a.m.

Snow_Lynx says... #24

K00lDudE1, yea, Im treating it as another win-con. That means, if we do decide to rely on it, then we forget about winning with Rise from the Tides and try to win with Disciple of the Ring and Thing in the Ice  Flip. Ideally, we play it AFTER we play a Rise from the Tides, not before.

It depends how many spells you already have on your yard and how's the state of the board. It has bad sinergy with Rise but it works with Thing in the Ice  Flip just fine.

It can also survive Engulf the Shore if we boost it to be big enough, allowing it to attack without blockers.

May 27, 2016 2:35 a.m. Edited.

Snow_Lynx says... #25

K00lDudE1, changed Disciple of the Ring for 2 Skywise Teachings. Not sure how effective the strategy might be, but I think it fits better in the deck and don't screw Rise from the Tides much.

Also thinking about Ojutai's Summons

May 27, 2016 10:21 a.m. Edited.

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