Is Leyline binding worth it?
Modern forum
Posted on Sept. 28, 2023, 12:38 p.m. by Icbrgr
Without question universal instant removal for is great considering how 2 of the Tri-Lands sets up full Domain very easily.
- But does it last?
I have been really struggling with building control decks over the years... and in my most successful attempts at piloting control to victory the games go very very very long... does Leyline Binding fail to stay around for long games? Especially after the opponent sideboards?
I only have 1 copy of binding as of now so I dont really use it personally... but I get reminded of Spell Queller... I really liked that card and thought it would do work for both countermagic as well as applying pressure.... but honestly I found it to be absolutely backbreaking when the creature got killed and then they got there creatures/threat back.
Does anyone have any insight or experience on this subject?
wallisface says... #3
Leyline Binding is very powerful, but if you think its likely to be removed, then you have to be conscious of what you’re taking. At either end of the spectrum, exiling a Hangarback Walker is permanently killing it, where as exiling a Hornet Queen is giving your opponent a chance to get a strong etb they can trigger again.
But, its more complicated than that. Leyline Binding is currently one of the absolute best forms of removal, and there’s a bunch of reasons for this. Comparing it to Spell Queller doesn’t seem fair:
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Spell Queller existed in creature decks where it would often end up trying to exile a killspell - which means that the opponent just had to kill the Queller and you would have felt really blown-out. There’s nothing close to that kind of feel-bad outcome from Leyline Binding. Binding exists in control or grindy decks looking to buy themselves time to “win by default” - they can either protect the Binding easily, or assume that by the time its removed the game is already soo far in their favour that it doesn’t matter.
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Queller is a whopping 3 mana, Binding is effectively 1 (or 2 in a pinch).
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Queller, being a creature, is trivially easy to remove compared to Binding, a high-mana enchant. Added to this, as Queller was in creature-based builds, it was actively beneficial for your opponent to remove it regardless of whether a spell was under it - there’s nothing inherently beneficial to removing Binding other than getting your spell back… in fact taking time off to removal an enchantment likely plays into the control-players hands.
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Just added to the above, a massive swath of decks have absolutely 0 ways to deal with enchantments in their mainboard. Most of these decks are unlikely to bother sideboarding-in enchantment removal either.
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Queller being unable to remove high-powered threats like Fury, Solitude, or our friend Leyline Binding is all-too painful.
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Queller having to remove cards when they’re cast is very different to Binding being able to remove them whenever you deem appropriate.
Now, Queller is still a fine card, I still run it in one of my decks, but it’s no Leyline Binding. Binding is super powerful because it can remove almost any threat for a single mana, is one of the hardest card-types to remove itself, and is played in decks that aim to mitigate its downsides through control and/or card-advantage.
Binding is one of the strongest removal cards, but does take some deck-building consideration… perhaps your personal build isn’t a good home for it?
September 28, 2023 2:41 p.m.
I think thats what im thinking wallisface; that perhaps my personal build isnt a good home for it...because the games I win that are not just blowouts or an opponent conceding; games that get played out are very very close.
Currently my brew is extremely fair (as far as control decks go) with basically the win condition being getting the opponent in topdeck mode and essentially winning the card advantage 1-for-1 trade war via countermagic/removal and getting in damage with Celestial Colonnade/Hall of Storm Giants and sometimes getting an emblem and snowballing from there. But the truth is in the games I do end up in this kind of situation Im honestly in a pretty vulnerable state myself with low resources and probably low life total as well.
by no means did i mean to imply that Spell Queller was on the same level as Leyline Binding i am just trying to draw attention to the same result as quelling or binding an opponents planswalker or creature and it being removed and then suddenly to momentum hard shift back into the opponents favor.
September 28, 2023 3:15 p.m.
wallisface says... #5
Icbrgr chuck your list up here and we can give some more informed feedback on whether Binding is a good fit… though from the sounds of what you’ve said so far it appears to not be working for what you’re after.
September 28, 2023 4:28 p.m.
My Inspired Control
Modern
SCORE: 15 | 9 COMMENTS | 1649 VIEWS | IN 3 FOLDERS
The description is out of date but the deck list is correct.
I know its not COMPETETIVE but im just looking to do well enough at locals... Sometimes the shop i go it is extremely cut throat and fields very meta decks but I can still steal some games now and then.
September 28, 2023 5:09 p.m.
wallisface says... #7
Yeah Leyline Binding doesn’t feel very good here - primarily because the cheapest you can cast it is for 3 mana, which is far too steep a cost to ever be worthwhile.
Even with a change of manabase to make it effectively cost 1 mana, there’s a few other setbacks which might make it less powerful here than in other decks:
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Shark Typhoon, Alpine Moon, Rest in Peace, and Stony Silence all encourage your opponent to bring-in enchantment hate from their sideboard, which might make Binding more vulnerable than it usually would be.
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your deck is neither hard-control, neither focused on card-advantage, so the potentially-temporary nature of Binding poses a bit more of a threat than it would in the decks that typically run it.
I think Binding probably still works in this deck pretty fine, and I don’t imagine it causing any real issues (local meta depending) - but in order to run it your deck would really need to be fielding the landbase to provide all 5 colours (I would imagine you’d want this anyway for the sake of Prismatic Ending, though its less common to require soo many colours for that card).
September 28, 2023 5:46 p.m.
yeah i figured just adding a Ziatora's Proving Ground to run alongside Raugrin Triome combined with my fetches (because they can all grab mountains} would be enough to get domain with little effort if i went that rout.
September 28, 2023 7:46 p.m.
wallisface says... #9
Yeah Ziatora's Proving Ground should suffice as far as providing the colours, though its probably going to also require going up to ~12 fetches to ensure you can reliably get everything you need early
September 28, 2023 8:10 p.m.
[yup payday happened... went to the LGS and i picked up 3 copies of Leyline Binding for 10 bucks.... im super pumped considering my 1st copy I bought/already owned i got for like $15
I also picked up some copies of the Teferi Planswalkers... I built a new list that is less gimmick and more "Full Power" (probably need to go up in the number of fetchs but i my wallet needs a break)... at its core its the same list but apparently changing out 7-8 cards really makes a deck feel different with playtesting.... looking forward to trying this out at the store.
Jeskai Goodstuff Control
Modern
SCORE: 1 | 28 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS
October 2, 2023 9:24 a.m.
wallisface says... #11
Nice to hear!!
I’m reslly surprised to see Path to Exile still in the list though - that card is a massive liability. I’d be replacing them with either March of Otherworldly Light, or more copies of Prismatic Ending or Counterspell
October 2, 2023 1:54 p.m.
It could just be the boomer in me but I have trauma from just needing an answer for Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and hope to as quickly/efficiently REMOVE Grief and also a plausible target for Snapcaster Mage... I know it's a dated card I just am having a hard time letting go... I see march or prismatic filling in though for 9/10 times.
I am also forgetting that I just got these Leyline Bindings so yeah maybe its time to move on.
legendofa says... #2
My actual direct experience with Leyline Binding is very light, but my impression is that it's very useful, but very prone to sideboard counters. So basically what you said.
It gets around Chalice of the Void easily enough, and the flash is pure joy. Best value is in 3+ color decks, since you want the biggest discount you can get.
Downsides include Blood Moon (can't get a discount if your Hallowed Fountain becomes a Hallowed Mountain) and the usual array of removal (Haywire Mite, Wear / Tear, Boseiju, Who Endures, etc.) gets their card back.
It's hard to play around, but easy enough to deal with. If your games tend to go long, you need to have a really good support structure around it.
September 28, 2023 2:17 p.m.