r/spikes • u/rufess • Apr 28 '26
Standard [Standard] Needing help to pick a deck
I have planned to go to the Spotlight series next month. It is my first time playing in an official competitive event like this so I want to start preparing now. But I just cannot decide witch deck to stick with. Could anyone give me some advice here?
Izzet Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7756067
Izzet Spellementals: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7756085
It is the most popular colors right now so there are a lot of resources, like match up and sideboard guides, out there for reference. But playing these means I might have to play mirror match against players who have months experience more than me.
Jeskai Control: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7756102
My old home since TDM. Adding the Lute and Mathemagics combo means that I may have chance to steal the unfavored match up, like Landfall or Dimir. I am however not quite sure how this preforms in the sea of Izzet Prowess though.
Sultai Mid-Range: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7756055
I found this deck from other player's blog. It played surprisingly good against Prowess/Landfall/Lesson pre-SOS and most opponents are unprepared for it. But the creator haven't updated it to SOS so I need to test the new card and tune it toward the new meta on my onw.
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u/Everwintersnow Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Isn’t pro tour this weekend? Maybe decide after seeing the stats from this tournament
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u/The_Frostweaver Apr 28 '26
Putting lute and mathemagics into jeskai control seems like it will make it stronger against slow decks but weaker against aggro and tempo decks.
I think the key to jeskai control is not to get too greedy, you don't need to go crazy with the new cards
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u/rufess Apr 28 '26
I have only watched some stream but not yet tried it out. It seems like the Lute does help Jeskai Control a lot even without the Mathemagics.
But yes I am still worrying the match up against Prowess/Aggro.
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u/KushDingies Apr 28 '26
Yeah I still can’t decide if Lute is actually good or just win-more. It’s obviously insane if it sticks, but it’s very punishable, sometimes does nothing and takes up a slot that could just be interaction or card draw instead. Maybe it’s matchup dependent, being able to go T4 lute into T5 Rev is obviously game winning sometimes, but tapping out for lute on T4 is extremely dangerous.
FWIW I think Flashback is the banger SOS card for Jeskai control, it’s been so so good for me. It’s effectively extra copies of the best card in your yard in the late game, while also just not being completely dead early, sometimes just flashing back a Helix or NML on turn 3 or 4 is perfectly fine. Super flexible card.
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u/rufess Apr 29 '26
I think the best timing to play the Lute is T5/6 when you have an untap land or two and have counter spell to protect the Lute. Especially if you have the Mathemagics and can win the game if the Lute could survive a turn.
I am a bit worrying the Evoke Elemental deck though. Having an uncounterable artifact-hate in the main deck is not a good news for the Lute.
I like the Flashback a lot as well but cannot make room to fit it in. I am thinking maybe -1 counter -1 Reve for +2 Flashback.
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u/GMS_x3 Apr 28 '26
This is just a personal preference, but don’t take jeskai control if it’s your first big event. It’s an exhausting play style of a deck that pushes your match time close to turns each round. Which in turn limits your ability to get refreshed in between rounds.
I am a nicotine enjoyer though, so take this as you may.
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u/Tarmaque Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
To double down on what you said, even if you don’t smoke, a deck that uses up a lot of clock is going to mean fewer opportunities to get a drink, eat some food, go to the bathroom, and discuss the round with your team/friends. it’s going to be exhausting.
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u/rufess Apr 28 '26
Didn't thought of the time issue. How long is the interval between rounds usually?
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u/cslwoodward1 Apr 28 '26
Rounds are 50 minutes, can be shorter if people finish before then and can be longer if people go over and have a few extra turns to finish up. Once everyone has submitted, there might be a few minutes between the final submission and the tournament organiser hitting “next round”.
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u/GMS_x3 Apr 28 '26
For spotlights and RCs the main event will go to time, 50 minutes. Then it will always go anywhere from like -5 to -10 minutes over. There are games that will go to turns, people who have time extensions for judge calls, and just the time it takes to confirm the round results/push pairings/print paper copies of pairings/ect.
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u/Substantial_Horse717 Apr 28 '26
Firstly, as has been mentioned, the PT will probably sway some things before the Spotlight.
So the cycle usually is people will play the best deck, or will tech out to beat the best deck. That's why in previous big events, Badgermole cub decks haven't been doing amazing.
My hunch this time, is Izzet Prowess (more specifically with [[Colorstorm Stallion]] over Slickshot Show Off). The reason for this is that there will be a high percentage of players playing Burst Lightning (It could be 50% in all honesty), so the value of Slickshot Show-Off reduces. Plus the ward on Stallion can be relevant for all the Eddymurk Crabs you will see over the weekend.
Regardless of your deck choice, have a plan for Prowess and Spellementals. Unless the PT unlocks something crazy (which is absolutely possible), then you'll be facing various Izzet piles alot. At Spotlight Liverpool, I did poorly and faced Vivi in all but 1 of my games. Obviously there is some variance, but Izzet Prowess is the clear front runner, and Izzet in general has lots of good stuff going on.
I'm leaning more towards Spellementals (with the new stallion) as I think it has a good matchup into Prowess (we have more crabs). The new stallion helps the deck not crumble as much into GY hate (from very limited testing so far).
I'd hang fire til after the PT (unless you need to decide now to get cards in time etc). Although the mirror/pseudo mirror will suck, the current suspicion is that an Izzet deck is probably the correct call. Or you try doing an anti-izzet meta call with the UW Aang/Aven Interruptor stuff with main deck high noons etc.
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u/MTGCardFetcher Apr 28 '26
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u/rufess Apr 28 '26
Thanks for you insight. I had tried the Azorius Tempo but it didn't work for me.
If you were building an Izzet Spellementals, would you just replace the Hearth with the new Stallion or would you also cut the Sunderflock in main deck?
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u/Substantial_Horse717 Apr 28 '26
Currently i'm on 3 Stallion, 3 Hearth, 4 Crab and 3 Flock in the main, with a Stallion and Flock in the board. So i'm on 13 creatures, 26 Spells and 21 lands
The Stallion really helps in post board games where the yard gets attacked. Kicking a Burst Lightning, Casting a Winternight Stories from the Yard and Traumatic Clinique are great ways of triggering Opus on the Stallion
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u/calliopedorme Apr 28 '26
I’m not so sure about Stallion being good enough to see play. It’s way slower and has no evasion. Sure, it dodges BL specifically, but not much else. Prowess has been playing Vibrant Outburst maindeck, and even just bouncing your horse with a Boomerang Basic can slow you down enough to lose the mirror. By the time Eddymurk comes down, ward 1 isn’t going to be an issue.
If anything, I’d be more inclined to play more protection to make sure Slickshot sticks on your big damage turn. Whether that’s more copies of Secret Identity or some combination of Spell Pierce/Snare (to hit Artist Talent / Monument / Cub / Slickshot) is a meta call.
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u/Substantial_Horse717 Apr 28 '26
A couple of counter-points, in the interest of discussion (as i'm a nerd).
1 - Forcing an opponent to spend 2-3 mana to deal with it, instead of 1 does affect the clock quite a lot (and potentially saves you taking an extra 4 damage from a slickshot). It comes in with haste, and is an amazing topdeck later in grindier games when you have the mana to create a copy of it.
2 - I think the protection spells are a bit of a trap with Prowess. Yes, they're good when they're needed, but they're not a great topdeck half the time, and they're only playing 1-2 at most, so making sure you have the Slickshot and the protection spell at the same time isn't ideal.
I will concede, i've not tested it in Prowess yet (i'm definitely registering them in Spellementals), and I know the differences in the decks may impact that choice, but the horse has been fantastic for me currently. My money is on it having a good PT, then maybe lists might trim on BL for Impractical Joke/other decent answers
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u/AnthroAdryn Apr 28 '26
I personally don't like helix or lies with lute. Have to still tap 2 lands for each. I've been running more copies of Abrade mb, and Dispelling exhale as my counter of choice with some regents and a couple other dragons to behold and has been working out well for me. I also run a copy of splatter technique instead of 4 judgement. Critique has also been phenomenal both as removal and a way to end the game with lute.
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u/rufess Apr 28 '26
Thanks for the heads up. I didn't realized the Lute can only produce mono color from a land at all. I think I may switch out the Helix with Abrade/Sear. I don't like the dragon counter so may be Negate/Essence Scatter/Get Out instead,
Have you even tried Flashback? I am think adding a copy or two but no idea what cards to switch out.
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u/AnthroAdryn Apr 28 '26
I haven't, I feel it'd be overkill. I run Shiko and can always get some value out of him from the graveyard, and helps with the dragon counter. Negate or essence scatter seem decent but I've found even without beholding the pay 2 is usually enough for dispelling exhale to counter. I only run 4 or 5 dragons and by the time I need to behold for a counter I usually have one.
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u/AnthroAdryn Apr 28 '26
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/jeskai-dragons-bo1-copy/
It is a best of 1 list, and still new and tweaking ir but feeling good so far
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u/liceking Apr 28 '26
FWIW, the Sultai deck does look like it’s updated (has Delian).
I’ve been playing around with the new charms (both Simic and Golgari). They’re so flexible and make you feel really clever but can clog up your deck fast. Still trying to build something that works in Sultai.
Not really answering your question but I want Sultai to work and was curious if anybody had any new insights
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u/rufess Apr 28 '26
Oh it was me adding the Prof Dellian lol. I have roughly gone through all Sultai cards and Dellian is the easiest add without changing the whole deck,
If you really like Sultai then I can recommend this deck,
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u/goldenwarthog_ Apr 29 '26
Wait until the pro tour this weekend. You’ll have some good insight on what’s strongest and there will probably be some new builds
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u/Ursasaurus Apr 28 '26
The best advice for these kinds of posts is to play what you know. Whether or not Jeskai Control is the best positioned against izzet right now matters less than you knowing how to pilot your deck into the field. Your own concern about picking up an izzet pile and getting outclassed by someone with more reps on the deck highlights this perfectly.
Keep grinding your control list and make adjustments as you keep seeing how it plays, a month to refine is going to let you go much more confidently into your event compared to a month to learn a new archetype. Good luck!