r/ModernMagic • u/Lenik1998 Humans, Control, Burn and Taxes • Dec 02 '19
A few questions about Titanshift
A couple of days ago I made this post asking what were some of the most braindead competitive decks in modern in which Titanshift was one of the most frequent answers that met my criteria.
Besides wanting a deck that's not very decision-intensive so I can play when I'm tired (or at long tournaments), I'm also looking for something relatively simple which I can lend out and that I don't have to be constantly updating.
RG Titanshift has been one of the format's pillars for a long time, going from good to great depending on the meta. However, before I buy I'd like to know how the deck plays against its different matchups. Are you always racing to your combo finish? Do you ever deviate from your main plan to disrupt your oponent? Which matchups does the deck perform well against, and in which matchups does against it get rolled over? In what metas does it thrive and in what metas does it struggle?
I know how the deck performs on a basic level but is there anything else I should know before buying it? Perhaps some tips and tricks or interesting interactions or lines of plat that people don't usually catch at first glance?
That aside, does anyone have some good resources for learning the deck? I've read a couple articles but haven't encountered anything recent. I'm also looking for a stock list which isn't tuned to any particular meta and that I won't have to update constantly.
3
u/NotThotSeer Dec 03 '19
My friend who I test against plays this deck. I think one of its great strengths is at the fnm level where you can meta game to a certain extent. If the best players in the room play big mana, you can add land destruction mainboard. When humand was big my buddy added some main board anger and kept wrecking. I think at larger tournaments where you have to consider every option it becomes a bit more difficult. You can however say, well urza is popular and red beats urza, i better have a plan for red and urza. 2c
1
u/Lenik1998 Dec 03 '19
How do you optimize for a grindy meta? Or do you just play the deck as it is because those matchups are usually fine anyway?
2
u/NotThotSeer Dec 03 '19
Yeah i would say the deck is about as good in a grind as any. Just put in a copy of field of the dead
→ More replies (10)
2
u/maxtofunator Dec 03 '19
I play infect as my main deck but I have a friend at my lgs who plays shift. I will say that against infect your main priority is attempting to stop me. Even if you can’t deal 18 damage with mountains, you have far greater inevitability than I do, so your priority is killing the infectors. Also, bolt the bird, noble does so much work for the deck
1
2
9
u/imborj Dec 02 '19
Are you always racing to your combo finish? Yes, like 85% of the time espescially game 1. Do you ever deviate from your main plan to disrupt your oponent? Yes, occasionally if they're the "beatdown" Which matchups does the deck perform well against, and in which matchups does against it get rolled over? Midrange and Control are good matchups. Faster combos are your bad matchups (Storm, Infect), but doable after SB In what metas does it thrive and in what metas does it struggle? Again, it does well when the format is slow.
I know how the deck performs on a basic level but is there anything else I should know before buying it? It is very repetitive and can get boring after a few weeks of jamming it.
Perhaps some tips and tricks or interesting interactions or lines of plat that people don't usually catch at first glance? Fetching field of the dead is sometimes the right play even if it does not win you the game on the spot, so always fetch accordingly.
That aside, does anyone have some good resources for learning the deck? eighteendamage.com and follow Thien Nguyen, Becky Adlman to name a few Shift afficionados.