Hey cowboy, was just popping in to see how the deck was treating you. I have a pretty good streak going with mine but last nights FNM it's shine wore off on one of the rounds and I was left puzzled trying to find a good sideboard.

Forgive me if I don't know the deck types but he got me with beefing up some weenie soldiers Preeminent Captain one of which had double strike which sucked big time. Most of them seemed to have >3 toughness so my 2/1s didn't do much. He also exiled most of the artifacts I had and I didn't draw a void snare.

Thoughts on some sideboard that helps in this situation? It looks like your addition of Triton Tactics and Singing Bell Strike might be helpful.

I see you swapped around your Polymorphist's Jest which leads me to believe maybe I don't understand Vortex Elemental properly. Does it count toward any blocking creature that turn or just and creature that blocks Vortex Elemental ? Maybe that should have saved my butt and I didn't realize it counted towards more than one creature. :(

Thanks for your help, I really like playing this deck.

LeBlaaanc This deck has been doing very well in my play testing as well! Usually, this deck can out race creatures with counters with the flying evasion, but a bad draw can put us behind quick. When facing a deck that relies on counters, I swap out the 4x Polymorphist's Jest or Turn to Frog (they only reduce the base to 1/1 so the counters still stick) and bring in 4x Singing Bell Strike for spot removal. Also, the best card against counters is Void Snare . When you bounce them all the counters go away. It sucks you couldn't draw one!

You idea to bring in Vortex Elemental has played awesome! It's always keeps at least one biggie at bay. He can only use his power on the creature he is blocking or that is blocking him.

I'd save Triton Tactics for when you face Drown in Sorrow , Doomwake Giant , Anger of the Gods , or Bile Blight .

LeBlaaanc vs artifact removal you could sideboard Stubborn Denial or Negate

Thanks so much, I'll definitely pick up some Singing Bell Strike . Can you explain how Illusory Angel plays out? I don't play with it but I wonder if that could help somehow. Is it just an early game fatty (relatively)?

Illusory Angel can provide some good beat down, but you have to drop her with another spell. Ornithopter is the best at 0 and then we have 11 1 drops she goes easily with. I usually get her out, but rarely she can be a dead draw. She is definitely an alternate win con if you can't get the Ensoul Artifact combo!

Frost Lynx might be an interesting addition. I was initially thinking to replace Welkin Tern so you now get another elemental for your Master of Waves .

Frost Lynx is a chill card! I wish it cost less to cast. I'll put it into the maybeboard for now, and we'll think how to put him in.

LeBlaaanc you should consider keeping Singing Bell Strike mainboarded. It functionally does the same thing as Turn to Frog , taking a creature out. But, it stays on the battle field offering more devotion for Master of Waves !

Hah. So I got my butt handed to me with lifelink and counters Sungrace Pegasus + Sunbond and some mild removal Solemn Offering , Spear of Heliod and an early Oppressive Rays on Ornithopter sucked hard.

I was thinking to throw in counterspells. Void Snare is pretty versatile but it's limited when it doesn't actually remove anything. Thoughts?

Taigam's Scheming to improve hand quality possibly and adding in any number of counterspells is all I could think of but that's not where I want to take this deck.

Fwiw I had Singing Bell Strike and Vortex Elemental in play (the latter being limited since he doesn't fly).

Good call! I had sided Dissolve to deal with Hornet Queen . Dissolve is the most versatile counter spell, and the scry is nice too. However, it costs 3 to drop and being aggro that is a lot of land to leave open.

Here are the other options I like...

Annul vs enchantment or artifact decks

Negate vs jeskai tempo, burn, removal

Disdainful Stroke vs high cost spells

Stubborn Denial is awesome if you have the angel or scissors out

Thassa's Rebuff Would work perfect for our devotion

Start thinking about a catch all counter we could main board, what to take out for it, and what our side board would like.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/14-09-14-rawr/ is a pretty good life gain deck to play test against.

Good call! I had sided Dissolve to deal with Hornet Queen . Dissolve is the most versatile counter spell, and the scry is nice too. However, it costs 3 to drop and being aggro that is a lot of land to leave open.

Here are the other options I like...

Annul vs enchantment or artifact decks

Negate vs jeskai tempo, burn, removal

Disdainful Stroke vs high cost spells

Stubborn Denial is awesome if you have the angel or scissors out

Thassa's Rebuff Would work perfect for our devotion

Start thinking about a catch all counter we could main board, what to take out for it, and what our side board would like.

Budget Junk? In standard? Is that possible? is a pretty good life gain deck to play test against.

Nullify would work for hornet queen too..

YnotElite very true! Nullify is cheaper too!

This is what is tough with a blue aggro deck. It is designed to fill the curve with creatures, but counterspells need open mana to work. I don't know if there is a balance between dropping evasive creatures as fast as possible and controlling the board state. A tempo style deck is generally seen as the balance (a few biggies backed up with board control), but I'm not sure if this mono blue can go there. If we go counterspell, we might have to rethink the whole deck. As always, the answer lies in play testing.

I could make a tempo version of this deck based on Illusory Angel , Master of Waves , and Ensoul Artifact then play test, or we could maintain the aggro focus. I'm not sure what could beat Jeskai tempo these days, but blue might have the tools!

Let me know if you guys want a tempo version! I can't make it to fnm, but I do have hours of play testing time.

Yea man let's try it. Put it in a new deck and link it though just so we have this one for reference. :)

I'm at FNM currently and am really wishin I had got those angels in the mail but I'm surving!

Hope you guys are doing well.

Play on man! Good luck! I'm brewing here at home... results soon!

Here is a very early version... I went for enchantments to control creatures (builds devotion) and counterspells for all else. Taigam's Scheming to find our threats. I only had card research time... will playtest soon!

MBD Tempo

9redxiii Good call! I like Torrent Elemental as a strong alternate win con. Do you think it is worth splashing another color for his ability? I have a playset of Temple of Deceit left over from an old deck. This deck doesn't really have any delve to exile him though.

Torrent Elemental Is a nice addition if they are using Perilous Vault. Treasure Cruise is another alternative to Dig Through Time.

9redxiii and YnotElite awesome suggestions! I weaved in some delve with with Treasure Cruise, and Torrent Elemental has been awesome. I've won more than lost in the mtgo just for fun room. Thanks!