So this happened last night
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Posted on March 18, 2016, 10:12 a.m. by BloodoftheBloodMoon
So I was playing in my weekly Thursday modern tournament. My buddy lent me his lantern control deck since he couldn't make it. I'm 2-1 by the end of the third round. Round 4 comes and I'm against grixis control. Game 1 I managed to get a lock, except I had no lantern. He kept wiffing on his top decks. I was at three life. I had 4 mill rocks and he had about 10-15 cards in his deck. I decide to let him draw his card instead of milling on his upkeep. And he top decks the bolt. He wins game 1. Go to game 2. I manage to get a spellskite on the board and a grafdiggers cage. I get a nice lock out, but only one mill rock at that point. I do have an Academy Ruins out though with mana to use it. He manages to stick a Jace, Vryn's Prodigy Flip AND ult him. I start milling out very fast. Soon enough I have no cards in my deck. I know he has no instants in his hand, so I use ruins to put a card on top of my deck at the end of his turn and draw that one for turn. I keep doing this until I mill him out. Holy crap. We went to time and decided to split packs. I pulled a Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and he pulled a sea-gates wreckage. He was a bit salty, but man were they good games.
Coinman1863 says... #3
Boza, No shuffling every turn. Lantern just reveals the top card and ships it, compared to reordering the cards, putting top on top drawing the card, cracking the fetch land you just played. Play top, look at the top 3, Reorder your top 3 etc.
See where this is going? Lantern is quite tame compared to top when you look at time.
March 18, 2016 10:40 a.m.
but... Top is so much fun. I want to make my miracles deck in modern QQ
March 18, 2016 10:59 a.m.
I believe what he was getting at is, if top is out because it makes games go for 3 hours, then why is something that makes games go for an hour ok. Sure in a vacuum being compared to just the top, lantern control is tame, but in reality when your playing timed rounds it's not really any better or less time consuming than the top if it still prevents you from finishing rounds. Sure your games take 2 hours less than if you were using the top, but that's irrelevant if you can't finish the round before the time limit.
March 18, 2016 11:06 a.m.
I've yet to play a Lantern Control deck that didn't go to time. I think it needs to be evaluated due to speed of play. Granted, someone who knows the deck well can play it at a slightly faster pace, but I'm tired of watching new players learn the deck and taking the rounds to time. I have PTSD from Top and Eggs.
March 18, 2016 11:28 a.m.
"I've yet to play a Lantern Control deck that didn't go to time." "I have PTSD from Top and Eggs."
Was that not the same problem with SDT? How is this any different? IS it any more fun or interactive than top was? No, the feeling is the same
"No shuffling every turn." With a mana base of fetch/shock, players do that most of the turns anyways.
OP barely managed to finish 2 games, ie, if Lantern control drops a game, the round is almost assuredly going to time.
IMO, Lantern control is just not prominent/consistent/played enough to be banned for the same reason eggs was.
March 18, 2016 11:35 a.m. Edited.
Boza I'm advocating that Lantern Control should be assessed as a speed of play issue in Modern. I don't like banning things in Modern, but it's highly UN-entertaining to sit across from someone playing Lantern Control. I don't even care if I lose to is, it's just way to slow for the format.
March 18, 2016 noon
BloodoftheBloodMoon says... #9
Look at a lot of control decks in the format. Even they go to time quite often. It all depends on the matchup and the opponent. If the opponent has lots of ways and Answers to deal with the deck, they will be less willing to concede. Whereas if it's a straight aggro deck with no way of winning and I drop a bridge, they might as well concede if they can't kill the bridge. People have to realize when they're beat. I'm not saying as soon as there's a lock, that they should concede. It's at a point where I've surgicaled their artifact hate, pithing needled their alternate win cons, striped their hand and have nothing in their deck that they can use to win, that's when it would be a good idea to concede.
March 18, 2016 12:05 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #10
To be fair, I played Esper Draw-Go against Lantern a little while ago, and finished before most of the other matches. We were done even faster than multiple guys who were on Eldrazi. I won 2-0 against it with a glacially slow control deck. So I'm not inclined to think it's a big issue. =D
March 18, 2016 12:46 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #12
DrFunk27 Surgical Extraction on Ensnaring Bridge was involved g2. Heh
March 18, 2016 2:13 p.m.
TheAnnihilator That's awesome. I love Extraction. Criminally underplayed in my opinion.
Boza says... #2
Hearing such stories makes me think: why is Sensei's Divining Top not OK in Modern, but Lantern control is?
March 18, 2016 10:19 a.m.