Hi my name is Alex Neufeldt, I’ve been a dedicated [card]Splinter Twin[/card] player since its debut in Modern in 2012. I’ve been able to trick ManaDeprived.com into letting me write about the current build I’ve been running in Toronto. But before we get to the decklist, I’ve got a question for you, which do you think is the better delve card?

Round 1 – Fight!

To those of you that answered Tasigur, I understand where you’re coming from. It has found homes all over town – from Jund to Abzan, with Grixis Delver in between. Heck, there’s another Twin archetype featuring it and the black [card]Electrolyze[/card] ([card]Kolaghan’s Command[/card])! However, I’m here to convert you over to the good word of Surrak and his [card]Logic Knot[/card], explain why it’s better than Tasigur, and why it’s knot even close. Before we go too deep, let’s take a look at the list.

#ValueKnot – Alex Neufeldt

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Breeding Pool
2 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
[/Lands]
[Spells]
1 Cryptic Command
2 Dispel
1 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Logic Knot
4 Remand
1 Roast
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Snare
4 Splinter Twin
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
4 Deceiver Exarch
2 Pestermite
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Dismember
1 Dispel
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Pyroclasm
3 Blood Moon
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 Batterskull
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Why opt for UR Logic Twin over Grixis Twin, Jeskai Twin, or Tarmo Twin? You get a very consistent, resilient, and powerful (Loothouse) mana base while leveraging the format-warping card known as [card]Blood Moon[/card]. In addition to sick mana, you’ve got a comparable number of high quality cards, with [card]Tarmogoyf[/card]s being the only really enviable card from the competition.

Compared to typical builds of UR Twin, this build is more resilient to getting run over in the early game which lets you consistently reach the mid-late game where you’ll be able to leverage playskill, tricks, and sick sideboard cards. More counterspells let you not only survive the early game but increases the success rate of the combo kill which lets you come back from behind more often. If the combo doesn’t work you can utilize your [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card] engine, double [card]Desolate Lighthouse[/card], while putting pressure on your opponent by threatening the combo kill.

Why [card]Logic Knot[/card]? The card has been literally [card]Counterspell[/card] for me the vast majority of the time. After roughly 100 games with [card]Logic Knot[/card], I’ve only had 3 instances where it wasn’t able to counter its target, the rest of the time it was very strong. It’s not uncommon to Knot for 6, then snap it back for 7. There’s a lot of similarities between [card]Logic Knot[/card] and [card]Silumgar’s Scorn[/card]. It didn’t take Standard players long to realize that taxing a lowly 1 mana is enough in the majority of early game scenarios. Between 8 fetchlands, 4 [card]Serum Visions[/card], & the inconsistent 4 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card]s, 2 Dispels, & 2 [card]Spell Snare[/card]s you’re very likely (90% ish) to have access to delve 1. But unlike [card]Silumgar’s Scorn[/card], instead of needing a sweet dragon you just need to have been able to play a normal game of magic to be able to “Counter target spell”.

Here are a few tips to help you leverage the power of Logic:

Be very careful delving with [card]Logic Knot[/card]: don’t be afraid to pay extra mana if you can. Try to be aware of instances where you can pay 4 mana and delve 4 instead of paying 2 mana and delve 6.

Depending on the texture of the game you can Knot for the amount of mana they have instead of x+1. They might be too afraid to tap out if you’re threatening a combo kill, so that not only saves you a delve card but also gives your opponent a small chance to tap out and lose.

Keep [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card] targets in mind when delving, and also remember you can occasionally shrink a [card]Tarmogoyf[/card].

It’s very important to properly manage your graveyard since you’re going to want to be able to cast/flashback [card]Logic Knot[/card] at least twice in the late game.

Next, I’ll cover a few key points on how to board with Twin, followed by some sideboard plans.

Keep in Mind If You’re on the Play or Draw

This has a huge effect on how you sideboard. You want to keep cheaper cards on the draw that’ll keep you in the game and a few less big threats like [card]Blood Moon[/card], Twin, [card]Batterskull[/card], Pia/Kiran. On the play you have more flexibility and mana with your threat/answer distribution. A rough rule of thumb is to board in one less big threat when you’re on the draw in favour of keeping in a cheaper interactive spell.

Boarding out the Combo

In a wide range of match ups, such as Jund/Abzan, Twin, UWR Control, & Delver you’ll typically board out a decent number of your combo pieces, starting with Twin and then some copies of the blue dorks. The plan is to grind down the opponent by turning into a UR control deck that threatens a combo kill which in turn ties up your opponent’s mana. This looks to abuse the opponent when they overboard on answers to the Twin combo or over-respect it in general.

You can board out either one to three Twins. I rarely board out the whole set since 1 Twin is actually acceptable with [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card] and [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card]. It’s important to minimize the number of times you draw multiple copies of Twin. Keep in mind that in many matchups, the UR control plan just won’t be powerful enough to win you the game. Sometimes you need to focus on the combo plan regardless of how much hate they might pack, as the percentage chance of comboing off might just be higher than a random game on the control plan.

As a very rough rule of thumb I board out one blue combo piece per Twin I board out. Exceptions tend to be when the tap trigger is actually useful, such as against any blue based control deck since it’ll give you an advantage trying to resolve a key threat on your main phase. Deciding on which blue dork to remove is a bit tricky. If the majority of their removal is not damage based, like [card]Path to Exile[/card], [card]Dismember[/card], or Absurd Decay, you may want to board out Exarch. If you opponent is packing [card]Lightning Bolt[/card], [card]Kolaghan’s Command[/card], or even tiny attackers, then Exarch is favorable over [card]Pestermite[/card]. Also, the more focused you remain on the combo, in general, the more that favors Exarch.

How to Board with Twin

Ideally every game you want to shuffle your sideboard into your deck and take out 15 cards. Why do you do this? It’s really important to conceal how many cards you’re boarding in/out with Twin since you don’t want the opponent to know if you boarded out the majority of the combo or not. Also while doing this you can watch how many cards your opponent is boarding in. I’ve found this kind of hard to do quickly, so practice the physical mechanics of it and if you’re low on time just board normally.

How to Board in Blood Moon

Everytime I shuffle up my sideboard, I close my eyes and visualize how to achieve such glory:

GW HateBears vs UR Twinless Twin

“Nice [card]Torpor Orb[/card], friend.” – Glenn McIelwain 2013

In order to glean (Glenn?) such results, ask yourself these five questions when mischievously shuffling your sideboard in your deck:

• Does your opponent rely on non-basic lands?
• If those lands were instead mountains, would Team Evil be unable to cast all their spells?
• If a [card]Blood Moon[/card] is in play, does it hurt your opponent more than you?
• Is your opponent unlikely to kill you if you invest 3 mana in [card]Blood Moon[/card]?
• Does your opponent’s anguish sustain you?

If you answered yes to all of these, congratulations! you probably want to board in some number of [card]Blood Moon[/card]s.

One [card]Blood Moon[/card]: Sometimes it’s a sweet 1-of that can severely hamper your opponent’s mana but not necessarily cripple them – this happens against Grixis Twin, any 3 color deck trying to Snapcaster back a blue card, or [card]Cryptic Command[/card]. Very much a take it or leave it approach, sometimes you’ll get value just from the threat of having it but not drawing it since your opponent will weaken their mana base by fetching unneeded basics, other times you’ll strand multiple cards in their hand.

Three: Odds are you don’t have a lot to board in, a lot to board out, or you’re going for the full #yolo blowout mana screw your opponent out of the game plan. Also, keep in mind you’re likely to draw two [card]Blood Moon[/card]s, so it better be worth it. Good luck to you.

Two: Eh, this is somewhere in the middle between these two plans, it’s a fine hedge and your odds of drawing both is very low. Sometimes you go from 1 [card]Blood Moon[/card] on the draw to 2 on the play.

[card]Blood Moon[/card] has a lot of nuances when it comes to postboard games. A big thing to keep in mind is that constraining your opponent’s mana will let you make big plays like going for a combo kill with Dispel back up or winning counter wars since you’ve got more blue sources than your opponent. Also the tapping mode on your blue dorks goes a long way when they’re stuck on few useful coloured sources.

Being on the play or draw has a big effect on the strength of [card]Blood Moon[/card], especially if your plan is to just mana screw your opponent out of the game. Also there are decks and matchups, like GW Hatebears, where starting on the draw means you’ll probably be behind on board when you cast [card]Blood Moon[/card] and might get further punished if they’re left with a functional mana source.

Boarding between Game 2 & Game 3

It sucks, I know, but sometimes you lose game 2 and have to play game 3. Try to avoid this at all costs. On the bright side, you’re on the play and got a glimpse at their sideboard strategy, which means you can adjust yours for #value & profit!

Keep in mind what sideboard cards you saw game 2 and what that implies in regards to your opponent’s game plan and how it relates to yours. For example, against Grixis Twin you boarded into a more passive controlling build. Your opponent is onto your plan and disrespected your combo kill potential by tapping out repeatedly for powerful threats like Keranos, God of Value. At this point you can consider boarding back in more combo pieces to punish your opponent’s play.

The real God of Value.

Here are some sample sideboard plans. Just remember things can shift depending on your opponent’s list and play style. Nothing is set in stone!

vs Abzan

-3 [card]Splinter Twin[/card], -4 [card]Deceiver Exarch[/card], – 2 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card]

+3 [card]Blood Moon[/card], +1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +2 [card]Relic of Progenitus[/card], +2 [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card], +1 [card]Batterskull[/card]

vs Jund

-3 [card]Splinter Twin[/card], -3 [card]Deceiver Exarch[/card], – 2 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card], -1 [card]Cryptic Command[/card]

+3 [card]Blood Moon[/card], +1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +2 [card]Relic of Progenitus[/card], +2 [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card], +1 [card]Batterskull[/card]

My goal is just to survive the savage thrashing GB/x inflicts on me in the first four turns. After that, things start to look up. You’ve got a decent card advantage engine against them in Snapcaster Mage/Desolate Lighthouse and powerful threats in [card]Blood Moon[/card], [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card], and [card]Batterskull[/card].

vs Amulet Bloom

-1 [card]Roast[/card], -4 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card], -1 [card]Electrolyze[/card]

+1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +1 [card]Ancient Grudge[/card], +1 Dispel, +3 [card]Blood Moon[/card]

Our removal is pretty bad since [card]Azusa, Lost but Seeking[/card] is typically able to accelerate two lands in play before you get priority to bolt it, and [card]Primeval Titan[/card] is too gigantic. So the plan is to [card]Blood Moon[/card] them out of the game, combo kill them, or bring the blue faerie beat \down.

vs UR Twin

-1 [card]Splinter Twin[/card], -2 [card]Pestermite[/card], -3 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card]

+1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +1 Dispel, +2 [card]Relic of Progenitus[/card], +2 [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card]

Currently I’m a fan of keeping the combo in versus Twin since it seems relatively easy to pull off with so much counter magic paired with [card]Vendilion Clique[/card]. If your opponent is trying to combo kill you, bring in the [card]Dismember[/card].

vs RG Tron

-4 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card], -1 [card]Splinter Twin[/card], -1 [card]Electrolyze[/card]

+1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +1 [card]Ancient Grudge[/card], +1 [card]Engineered Explosives[/card], +3 [card]Blood Moon[/card]

My experience with trying to morph into a UR tempo beatdown deck vs RG Tron hasn’t been overly successful. In my opinion UR Twin lacks the ability to consistently pressure, especially since we’re only playing 2 [card]Pestermite[/card]s now. Instead I opt to try to win with the combo or [card]Blood Moon[/card].

vs Burn

-4 [card]Remand[/card], -1 [card]Cryptic Command[/card], -1 [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card]

+1 Dispel, +2 [card]Pyroclasm[/card], +1 [card]Batterskull[/card], +1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card]

[card]Remand[/card] and [card]Cryptic Command[/card] are too slow and ineffective to survive the onslaught Burn unleashes on you. The plan here is just to survive, clear the way with [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], and win with a Twin kill or [card]Batterskull[/card]. If you’re feeling really desperate, you can try out [card]Blood Moon[/card]s on the play to cut them off [card]Destructive Revelry[/card], [card]Boros Charm[/card], [card]Atarka’s Command[/card], and weaken [card]Wild Nacatl[/card] if they’re playing it.

vs Affinity

-4 [card]Remand[/card], -1 [card]Cryptic Command[/card], -2 [card]Logic Knot[/card]

+2 [card]Pyroclasm[/card], +1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +1 [card]Ancient Grudge[/card], +1 [card]Engineered Explosives[/card], +2 [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card]

You board out a lot of your less relevant spells and bring in ways clear the board and play more like a UR Control deck. The combo kill is still very good against them and can let you win despite them having an explosive draw. If you see particularly disgusting sideboard cards like Choke or [card]Illness in the Ranks[/card] feel free to bring back in a [card]Cryptic Command[/card] or [card]Logic Knot[/card].

vs RUG Scapeshift

-1 [card]Roast[/card], -3 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card], -1 [card]Splinter Twin[/card]

+1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +3 [card]Blood Moon[/card], +1 Dispel

[card]Scapeshift[/card] has inevitability on you due to their ability to out mana you in a counter war. At some point they will resolve a [card]Scapeshift[/card] and kill you, so the pressure to make something happen is on you. The plan here is to pressure them by threatening a combo kill or beatdown and at some point wiggling down either a [card]Blood Moon[/card] to lock them out or combo kill them. Ancient grudge can be a hedge against cards like [card]Torpor Orb[/card] or [card]Spellskite[/card].

vs Merfolk

-4 [card]Remand[/card], -1 [card]Cryptic Command[/card], -2 [card]Spell Snare[/card], -2 [card]Logic Knot[/card]

+2 [card]Pyroclasm[/card], +1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +1 [card]Ancient Grudge[/card], +1 [card]Engineered Explosives[/card], +1 [card]Dismember[/card], +2 [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card], +1 [card]Batterskull[/card]

The combo kill is still good in this matchup, but your counters besides Dispel are absolute garbage thanks to [card]Cavern of Souls[/card] & [card]Aether Vial[/card]. Your game plan is basically to keep Merfolk off a critical mass of lords, and either win with the combo or beats.

vs Infect

-4 [card]Remand[/card], -1 [card]Cryptic Command[/card], -1 [card]Splinter Twin[/card], -1 [card]Deceiver Exarch[/card]

+2 [card]Pyroclasm[/card], +1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +1 [card]Ancient Grudge[/card], +1 Dispel, +1 [card]Dismember[/card], +1 [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card]

Similar plan as versus Merfolk: stay alive by killing stuff, win with beats or a combo kill. If your opponent is aggressively fetching [card]Breeding Pool[/card]s and you’re on the play you can consider boarding in 2 [card]Blood Moon[/card]s, it’s knot the worst idea. I’ve also been happy boarding out every combo piece in favor of turning into a straight UR Control deck to really mess up their plans.

vs UWR Control

-3 [card]Splinter Twin[/card], -2 [card]Pestermite[/card], – 3 [card]Lightning Bolt[/card], -1 [card]Roast[/card]

+3 [card]Blood Moon[/card], +1 [card]Vendilion Clique[/card], +1 Dispel, +2 [card]Relic of Progenitus[/card], +2 [card]Pia and Kiran Nalaar[/card], +1 [card]Batterskull[/card]

Here your plan is to diversify your threats to make it hard for them to have all the appropriate answers. Your blue creatures go a long way in helping you set up plays since they’ll either trigger a counter war at end of turn or, at worst, tap down a land. [card]Blood Moon[/card] does a ton of work in this matchup since it, also at worst, turns off [card]Celestial Colonnade[/card] and [card]Cryptic Command[/card]. At its best, it absolutely cripples them.

Well, that concludes my write up of UR Twin. I think this list is really well positioned in Modern right now, as with all Twin decks it’s highly malleable to any metagame so feel free to change cards that don’t fit your meta or playstyle, such as [card]Pyroclasm[/card] to [card]Anger of the Gods[/card] if you play against [card]Wild Nacatl[/card] all day everyday. I hope this article has brought you over to the side of Logic. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, thanks for reading.