Cryptic Command?
Deck Help forum
Posted on Feb. 19, 2014, 10:46 a.m. by megawurmple
I'm building an Izzet tempo deck at the moment, and it looks like this:
Schni Schna Schnappi Playtest
Modern*
SCORE: 14 | 24 COMMENTS | 711 VIEWSDo you guys think 2 Cryptic Command would be a good addition to the deck? It would make a nice curve topper and fits nicely in the tempo strategy, but I think that it may be a bit too risky mana-wise with only 21 land, in spite of all of the card draw I have in the deck. Any opinions are valued.
CanadianShinobi says... #3
21 lands is iffy... Cryptic Command is a demanding card since it requires 3 blue mana. I suppose that's what fetches are for, but again, 21 land. I would drop something, maybe 1x Vendilion Clique and add in another Island of Sulfur Falls.
February 19, 2014 12:39 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #4
I playtested your deck several times. It's nice! I didn't once get mana screwed, even with Cryptic Command . I was thinking you might even be able to remove a land...
February 19, 2014 12:41 p.m.
megawurmple says... #5
Cheers SharuumNyan, I'm glad you find it nice. (Make sure to bring a rod, 'cos I'm about to go fishing) Don't forget to +1 if you like it. I am considering dropping a land, but what for? Another Electrolyze or Cryptic Command maybe?
CanadianSamurai I agree that 21 lands looks really iffy on paper, but the amount of draw I have in the deck more than makes up for it. I have 15 cards that straight up draw in there, as well as 3 Vendilion Clique to use on myself in times of emergency and 4 Snapcaster Mage to recur all my card draw. I usually end up flooded rather than screwed due to how far into my deck I dig.
As for the Cryptic Command thing, it's won me a couple of games so far in the 2 or 3 matches I've played since adding it, so I'm considering going up to 3. Thoughts?
February 19, 2014 12:58 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #6
Another Cryptic Command might work. I mainly played this against Merfolk to see what would happen in a tempo matchup. It was about 5-3, with the Merfolk taking the edge. Another piece of counter/removal might balance this out.
By the way, the biggest advantage Merfolk has over this deck is Islandwalk.
February 19, 2014 1:05 p.m.
megawurmple says... #7
I know! I'll remove all of the Island !
Joking aside, if I put in another Command, should I take out something other than a land? If so, what?
February 19, 2014 1:09 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #9
I would try it out with 20 lands first and see what happens. If you have to remove something, it would probably be a Gitaxian Probe because it's one of the less useful targets for Snapcaster Mage .
February 19, 2014 1:18 p.m.
megawurmple says... #10
True, but it's a free trigger for Young Pyromancer and allows me to get a cheeky peek at their hand. I'll try with 20 lands first and if that works, then I don't have to remove anything.
fluffybunnypants says... #2
Cryptic is prettymuch mandatory in tempo decks.
February 19, 2014 11:46 a.m.