I am a pessimist at heart and I did not expect any good cards to come out of Battle for Zendikar. I was wrong. Of the cards spoiled so far (I am writing this on September 10th) some have given rise to an interesting discussion about the future of RG Tron in Modern.
First among these is Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, obviously competing for the Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre/Sundering Titan spot in the deck.
Emrakul and Kozilek left Zendikar and trusted Ulamog to be in charge of the place. Can he handle it?
I think we have to look at the card and not just the pretty picture in this case.
OK, maybe we even have to look at the old Ulamog as well.
How does New Ulamog compare to Old Ulamog?
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger costs 1 mana less.
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger exiles two permanents instead of just destroying one.
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger can be reanimated
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre has Annihalator 4 which seems better than Mill 20 (at least it wins the game quicker)
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre has inevitability as he always comes back and can be fetched again and again with Eye of Ugin.
For the record, I think this is brilliant card design. Actually, the two Ulamogs serve two entirely different purposes. Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, wrecks aggro decks, killing their biggest threat and then annihilating their board. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger exiles two lands for combo decks, giving himself enough time to finish the game.
I could even see you playing both. But things get even more complicated.
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger has a friend
This card is yet unconfirmed so please have that in mind while reading on.
The big thing here is of course T3: Conduit of Ruin T4: Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger removing two lands. Goodnight, combo.
It is a risky plan. A lot can go wrong. Even though both Conduit of Ruin and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger has cast triggers the plan does not work if Conduit of Ruin is not on the battlefield on turn 4. Path to Exile, Thought Scour, bounce .... a lot of stuff just wrecks this plan. It is still an extremely strong, game-winning play.
So what do you cut for Conduit of Ruin? I have heard different opinions. People seem to be fine cutting Relics (apparently they are not good in this meta - I am not sure I agree with that) for expensive cards (hey, it worked with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, did it not?) but there is another very clear target for cutting; Wurmcoil Engine. While that might seem insane at first, Wurmcoil Engine's main job against combo is to be the clock and that can be accomplished with a 5/5.
So, once again, the new card is good against combo and the old card (Wurmcoil Engine) is good against aggro. Do we see a sideboard switch plan here? Maybe we can cut all our matchup specific cards (Slaughter Games, Torpor Orb etc) and just switch between Wurmcoil +Infinite Gyre team and the Conduit of Ruin + Ceaseless Hunger team?
Other interesting cards in Battle for Zendikar
There are none. Moving on.
OK, I will mention the one perhaps worth mentioning:
Desolation Twin: While 20 power for 10 mana seems like a fantastic deal (10 of it uncounterable) Desolation Twin really does not help us significantly in any matchup.
As a sidenote I have seen some lists playing Alchemist's Vial. It cantrips and provides a critical single-creature-fog effect, but is that really better than Relic of Progenitus?
I should also mention that people are considering cutting Red and playing Hangarback Walker in the Pyroclasm spot. I will address that again if that actually becomes a thing. People try all kind of crazy stuff in RG Tron.
Next week we will cover some more matchups, unless there is another big spoiler we need to talk about.
For a full list of the chapters of The Modern Bible: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/02/the-modern-bible-o
Today we will get vary specific and give a straight SB plan for the first of the deck builds we looked at in chapter 5 - The Ulamog Deck.
You can find the article on the deck here: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/03/the-modern-bible-of-rg-tron-chapter_22.html
The Deck List
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Powerplant
4 Urza's Tower
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
3 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Spellskite
4 Oblivion Stone
4 Karn Liberated
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Expedition Map
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Ancient Stirrings
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Pyroclasm
Sideboard
4 Nature's Claim
3 Slaughter Games
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Spellskite
2 Boil
2 Torpor Orb
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
A word of warning
Your sideboard will and should depend on your metagame. This is just a snapshot, an example of what a sideboard plan could look like. The intention is to show you what a sideboard plan could look like and give you ideas how to make your own - not to give you a template that will win every game. So be warned. With that said, lets get on with it.
Also, the sideboard plan does not contain every known deck. Please add to it in the comments below.
The Ulamog Deck sideboard plan
8-Rack: -4 Pyroclasm, , -1 Spellskite , +4 Claim, +1 Emrakul,
Abzan: +3 Claim, +1 Wurmcoil Engine, +1 Emrakul, - 1 Spellskite, -4 Pyroclasm
Ad Nauseam: +4 Nature's Claim, +1 Wurmcoil, -4 Pyroclasm, -1 Spellskite
Affinity: +4 Claim, +1 Wurmcoil, -3 Relic, -1 Karn Liberated, -1 Eye of Ugin,
America Control; +4 Claim, +2 Boil, -4 Pyroclasm, -1 Spellskite, -1 Oblivion Stone
Amulet of Vigor: +3 Slaughter Games, +4 Nature's Claim, - 4 Pyroclasm, -2 Relic -1 Spellskite
BW Tokens: +2 Claim, +1 Pyroclasm, +1 Firespout, -1 Spellskite, -3 Relic
Bogles: +4 Nature's Claim, +1 Spellskite, -3 Relic, -1 Ulamog, -1 Karn Liberated
Burn: +4 Nature's Claims, +1 Wurmcoil, +1 Pyroclasm, +1 Spellskite, -2 Karn, -2 Stone, -3 Relic
Delver: +2 Claims, +1 Wurmcoil, +1 Pyroclasm -1 Karn Liberated, -3 Relic
Dredge: +1 Relic, -1 Spellskite
Eggs: +4 Nature's Claim +1 Relic, +3 Slaughter Games, -4 Pyroclasm, -1 Spellskite, -1 Ulamog, -1 Karn, -1 Wurmcoil Engine
Faeries: +2 Torpor Orb, +2 Boil, -1 Spellskite, -3 Relic of Progenitus
Green Ramp: +1 Emrakul, +1 Wurmcoil, +1 Pyroclasm, -2 Spellskite, -1?
Hatebears: +2 Nature's Claim, +1 Pyroclasm, +1 Wurmcoil, -1 Eldrazi (you will not have mana), -3 Relic
Infect: +4 Nature's Claim, +1 Spellskite, +1 Pyroclasm, -1 Emrakul/Eldrazi, -1 Wurmcoil Engine, -3 Relic, -1 Karn, -2 Sylvan Scrying
Living End: +1 Relic, +1 Wurmcoil, +1 Emrakul, +1 Nature's Claim -4 Pyroclasm,
Jund +1 Relic, +1 Engine - 1 Spellskite, -1 Scrying/Sphere
Merfolk: +3 Nature's Claim, +1 Wurmcoil, -3 Relic, -1 Spellskite,
Mono-Black Devotion: -1 Spellskite, -1 Relic, +1 Emrakul, +1 Wurmcoil
Ninja Bear Delver: +1 Wurmcoil, + 2 Boil , - 1 Spellskite, -2 Relic
Scapeshift: +3 Slaughter Games, +1 Spellskite, +2 Boil, -4 Pyroclasm, -2 Oblivion Stone
Soul Sisters: +1 Emrakul, +2 Torpor Orb, +1 Wurmcoil, -3 Relic, -1 Spellskite,
Splinter Twin: +2 Torpor Orb, +2 Boil, +4 Claim, -1 Wurmcoil, -4 Pyroclasm, -2 Relic, -1 Karn
Storm: -1 Spellskite, -2 Wurmcoil Engine, -4 Oblivion Stone, -2 Scrying
+4 Nature's Claim, +3 Slaughter Games, +1 Relic, +1 Pyroclasm (for electromancer)
Tron, Blue: -4 Pyroclasm, -1 Spellskite, -1 Oblivion Stone, , +1 Emrakul, +2 Boil, +1 Relic of Progenitus, +2 Claim. Never forget to TAKE OUT SPELLSKITE!
Tron, RG: -4 Pyroclasm, -3 Relic of Progenitus, +3 Slaughter Games, +1 Emrakul, +1 Spellskite, +1 Wurmcoil, +1 Nature's Claim
Zoo: +3 Claims, +1 Wurmcoil, +1 Spellskite, -1 Emrakul, -3 Relics, -1 Karn,
For a full list of the chapters of The Modern Bible check out this link: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/02/the-modern-bible-of-rg-tron-part-1.html
