Introduction of "WishValakut", the latest titanshift

Nice to meet you.My name is Udon and I've been playing Titan Shift since I got back into MtG with Amonkhet.

This blog is an introduction to titanshift.This blog was only in Japanese, but I found out that there are people using titanshift overseas, so I decided to try and translate some of my past articles into English.(I'm using the DeepL translation, so I apologize if the wording is strange.)

This is a very long article, about 14,000 words, but I hope it will be useful to you.

※This article is a combination of the following two articles, translated into English. (Links are in Japanese only)

Table of Contents

What is Wish?

This is a card that can't be added to your hand, but you can use cards from your sideboard only on the turn you cast it.In the past, the list is similar to the one using Karn, the Great Creator.

It requires extra mana because it goes through Wish once. However, since the card type is not specified like the past Wish cycles, it can be used flexibly in any metagame or battle situation.

This form of wish will be common in titanshift in the future. However, I believe that good old titanshift will remain, so I will call the form that employs wish "WishValakut" in this blog.

Pros and Cons of WishValakut

Pros

1. It casts directly from SB, so it is very strong against hand destruction.
2. Missing a card in the SB makes it strong against cards that exile directly from the library, such as Surgical Extraction and Extirpate.
3. You can use SB cards from the MB game, so you can be flexible depending on the metagame and battle situation.
4. Missing scapeshift to SB creates a free slot for MB.
5. Invisible options are suddenly generated against the opponent, making it highly ambiguous.

Cons

1. It's a heavy move when you draw a bunch of Wish.
2. The color of mana required varies depending on the opponent, making the search more difficult.
3. The number of MB's scapeshift is reduced, so the probability of land search from 6 lands→scapeshift cast on 7 lands is reduced.
4. Disadvantage against burn archetypes due to difficulty in taking multiple actions in one turn.
5. It casts directly from the SB, so it can't do anything if Drannith Magistrate is on the battlefield.
6. If Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer or Dauthi Voidwalker takes away Wish, MB will put Blood/Alpine moon on it.

The sixth weakness is fatal, but it is not a problem because the advantages outweigh it.

I'll just briefly explain the second weakness.This should be done carefully because the color pattern of mana needed depends on the opponent's archetype and the battle situation.

For example, until now, the correct answer on the first turn was usually to search for a forest from a fetchland and then suspend Search for Tomorrow. However, since the color patterns have become more complex, there are more opportunities to search for shocklands from fetchlands on the first turn, so life management has become relatively more severe.The pattern with Search for Tomorrow and Castle Garenbrig in the first hand is the most difficult. Practice various patterns with these two cards in your hand so that you don't make mistakes in the tournament.

The following are some of the most common color patterns that appear in the actual game.

1. (2)(R)(R):Wish→Flame Blitz
2. (2)(R)(R)(G):Wish→Engineered Explosives(X=2)
3. (2)(R)(U)(G):Wish→Engineered Explosives(X=3)
4. (3)(R)(R)(R):Wish→Anger of the Gods
5. (4)(R)(G)(G):Wish→Scapeshift
6. (2)(R)(R)(G):Lightning Bolt→Wish→Run Afoul
7. (4)(R)(G)(G)(G):Wish→Scapeshift(in your hand)→Veil of Summer

About WishValakut's list

This is the sample list of WishValakut.. Now let's write about Wishboard.※Veil of Summer, Force of Vigor and Weather the Storm are not considered Wishboards, so they are omitted.

Snow-Covered Forest

There are times when you can't get a forest onto the battlefield due to draw and search, and you lose one way or another because you can't take care of blood moon. It is also possible to recover from a lack of lands by casting Wish and then setting lands, so it is more flexible than expected.

There is also a reason why it is called Snow-Covered Forest instead of Forest, which is very detailed. I'll write more about it later.

Anger of the Gods

In Modern, it's important to be able to deal 3  damage, and it's nice to be able to interfere with Delirium and Delve a little bit.

If there are a lot of creatures with PW or toughness 4 in the metagame, change to Storm's Wrath, which is recommended if the metagame has a lot of Cascade Crash.

Scapeshift

I'm sure everyone reading this knows this, so I'll skip it.

Deglamer

To counter Kaldra Compleat, Wurmcoil Engine, and Heliod, Sun-Crowned, we use something that returns to the library instead of destroying it.If Heliod Company dominates the metagame, change to Mystic Repeal so that you can actively sabotage it.

There are more people who use Unravel the Aether than any other card with the same effect, for reasons unknown, so it may be more advantageous to use Deglamer to avoid cards that specify the card name.

Run Afoul

Adopted to ensure that Murktide Regent is removed.There are some cards that have similar effects, but Fry is not countered, Plummet can target creatures, Clip Wings does not target at all and is strong against Hexproof.

Since Run Afoul is so light, Dragon's Rage Channeler with Lightning Bolt on turn 3.

and then cast Wish to smartly remove Murktide Regent with Run Afoul.

Foundation Breaker

In the modern world where FoNs are common, it is worth it just to not get caught by one. It can also be searched from Summoner's Pact in WishValakut, which is highly valued.

It can be used for one mana less than Reclamation Sage, so the fastest cast changes by one turn, which makes a big difference in usability.

Flame Blitz

In Modern, there are so many powerful PWs such as Ashiok, Dream Render, Teferi, Time Raveler, Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Liliana of the Veil, Wrenn and Six, etc. that it rarely becomes an unnecessary metagame.

Unlike the Pithing Needle cards, you can almost certainly remove it if you proceed to the end step.

Engineered Explosives

Useful for dealing with pesky creatures, tokens, enchantments, and artifacts all at once.

In a metagame with a lot of blood moons, employ Ketria Triome to make it easier to get X=3.

Chalice of the Void

Recommended for Living End and Cascade Crash, and easy to deploy from Wish since it is 0 mana.

These are the two that work the most dramatically, so pull them out as soon as you run low.

Tormod's Crypt

It's 0 mana, so you can cast Wish and set it up right away. You can use it up, but you can also exile all of it, so it can be used as a check against your opponent and you can see a big delay.

I have two Endurance in the MB and one Tormod's Crypt in the SB, so I don't think I need to use any more since I can actually counter 6 cards to the graveyard.

The finer points of the list

Increased the number of mountains.

In the past, titanshift used to have 13 mountains, but Ragavan and Nimble Pilferer often took them away, so I increased the number by 1. This allows you to play the same way as before even if one of your cards is stolen.

I added Cinder Glade because it's important to be able to untap into red and green lands in order to solve the aforementioned various color patterns and act each turn without losing tempo. If you're in a metagame where you're frequently casting Engineered Explosives at X=3, swap it out for Ketria Triome for more flexibility.

It's a rare case, but with more Cinder Glade, there are relatively more situations where you can search for basic lands from Farseek to increase the chance of untapping in.This sends a strong signal to your opponent that you have a Cinder Glade in your hand, so be very careful when doing so.Not only this, but the lands on the battlefield are public information, so always be aware that you are playing while telling your opponent the contents of your hand.

Adopted Endurance for MB

It has a very good spec (3/4 in Flash and Reach) and is highly ambitious, so it was adopted from MB. It is strong against creatures in the metagame, and can be used in a wide range of ways, such as to counter Delirium and repair libraries.

Also, by using it in MB, the clock is much better, making it easier to win the Primeval Titan route and Valakut's Trigger. In a metagame where many FoNs are used, it is good to be able to win with just creatures.

About Finisher

Just as being a creature was worth something when FoN came out in MH1, Prismatic Ending came out in MH2 and gave pseudo-removal resistance to permanents over 6 mana.It can be removed by Unholy Heat, but it has already done most of its job when it entered the battlefield, so think positively.

The scapeshift has lost value due to the release of the Blossoming Calm in MH2, as opposed to the Primeval Titan.It sucks when you have a total of 2 turns of life extension and 4 points gain.After successfully casting scapeshift, if it stacks with Valakut's trigger and gets cast, you're almost out of the game.

From these two points of view, I expect that reducing scapeshift and focusing on Primeval Titan will be the standard in the future.

About Basic Land

I think this is the point on my list where I feel the most unintentional or dirty.

After Unmoored Ego came out, when the battlefield or graveyard met the conditions (e.g., multiple Valakut already set on the battlefield), there was a losing scenario: "Unmoored Ego specifies a mountain and gets 4 mountains removed from your library."This made it necessary to separate the basic lands from Snow-Covered after Unmoored Ego came out. (I didn't separate them because Field of the Dead came out).

And with the release of Break the Ice in MH2, the risk of being Snow-Covered is even higher.

In order to deal with these two, we decided to use "four mountains, two snow-covered mountains, and two forests" for MB and "one snow-covered forest" for SB.Searching for mountain whenever you search for mountain makes it easier to show your opponent that you don't separate basic lands from snow-covered ones (although you can't help but set them on the battlefield when you draw a snow-covered mountain).

Unmoored Ego is currently being used in 5cBtLScapeshift, 5C Niv-Mizzet, and EsperControl(The scary thing is that 5C Niv-Mizzet has been using it since MB).So if you hit one of these archetypes, you'll have to do some weird side-boarding where you trade forest for snow-covered forest. (I've seen the mountain designation before, but never the forest designation, so maybe I'm overthinking it lol.)

Things to keep in mind before casting Wish

No land set before casting Wish.

If you are employing Cavern of Souls or Boseiju, Who Shelters All in your SB, you should be especially careful.

If your opponent is a control deck, it is easy to think, "Let's counter the important card that will be cast after Wish."If you land in front of Wish's cast...

1. Total number of lands and color pattern after Wish casting.
2. Cavern of Souls and Boseiju, Who Shelters All are not employed in the SB.

Since you give your opponent these two pieces of information, they will be able to take control of the rest of the game.If you succeed in setting up Cavern of Souls or Boseiju, Who Shelters All, your opponent will make a big move to find a way to counter it, so deal with it well and win.

By the way, I heard my friend cast Sol Ring from Boseiju, Who Shelters All on the second turn in EDH with a sad face. After I felt it was difficult to use it in Modern because of the game speed and life management.

Things to keep in mind after Wish casting

It doesn't mean you have to chant during the resolution of the Wish.

It's not an effect like Bring to Light, but a "gain the right to use one of your SB cards until the end of your turn" card.

This will prevent Teferi and Time Raveler from catching it. It's a confusing effect, but it's important to get it right.

Points to keep in mind after the MB game is over

A natural enemy named Drannith Magistrate

Cascade and Bring to Light decks are in vogue, so if your opponent's deck is white, there is a high probability that it will be used in SB.

Wish is cast directly from SB, so it is all sealed up. To avoid this situation, make sure to leave 3 point damage cards in place.I want EDH and Brawl to be the only ones running amok...

Whether to return the Wishboard card to MB

I think this is the most annoying point in WishValakut.I think you should think about this issue based on whether you want to actively sabotage the system early on.

For example, Veil of Summer is easy to understand.Using it against your opponent's hand destruction is completely different from using it against your opponent's counters.If it's the former, you should switch back to MB, and if it's the latter, there's no problem keeping SB.

Another good example is Engineered Explosives.If your opponent destroys a lot of equipment with Hammer Time or a lot of rhinos with Cascade Crash, they are both mass destruction, but they have completely different meanings. This is also the same as the Veil of Summer example.

It's important to switch back to MB if you want to interfere with your opponent's aggressive moves early on, or keep SB if your opponent's kill turn is a little slower.To think of it more simply, remember, "If it doesn't matter after seeing your opponent's threat, stay SB.

There are some matches where you have to side out Wish.

Some people may feel uncomfortable with the idea of side-out the core card.If you have a threat on the battlefield continuously from the beginning like a burn deck, it is easier to side out to get closer to victory.

In a matchup like this, speed is of the utmost importance; if you go through Wish, you end up losing because you only have one action per turn.

I know it's been a long time, but this is the end of my introduction to WishValakut. Thank you for your time.Now that you can move more flexibly, keep choosing the right actions and try to win.I wish you victory in WishValakut from Japan.

I'll post the twitter link so you can reply if you need anything!

I look forward to seeing you again on twitter and this blog. Goodbye!