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Greeting Theta Gang boys and girls, I hope you're well and not bankrupt after last week. I'm just now recovering mentally myself. I saw a few WSB converts and some newbies asking for tips, so here you go. V2 of my Options guide. I hope it helps. I spent a huge amount of time learning about options and tried to distill my knowledge down into a helpful guide. This should especially be useful for newbies and growing options traders. While I feel I’m a successful trader, I'm not a guru and my advice is not meant to be gospel, but this will hopefully be a good starting point, teach you a lot, and make you a better trader. I plan to keep typing up more info from my notebook, expanding this guide, and posting it every couple months. Any feedback or additions are appreciated Per requests, I added details of good and bad trades I made. Some painful lessons learned are now included. I also tried to organize this better as it got longer. Here's what I tell options beginners: I would strongly recommend buying a beginner's options book and read it cover to cover. That helped me a lot. I like this beginner book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GWSXX8U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_OxNDFb2GK9YW7 Helpful websites:
Tasty Trade (TT) and Ally Invest have helpful articles and videos.
ITM: In the money; strike is below stock value. Signif
ATM: At the money; strike is just at or above the stock value, often very highly traded. Can be very effective with moderate - long term expiry.
NTM: Near the money; strike is above the stock value, but fairly close. Slightly unofficial term.
OTM: Out of the money; price is at least a few strikes from the current stock price. I would say 10-30% over stock price.
Very OTM: Not a real definition, this is essentially a lottery ticket. Cheap, but almost certain to expire worthless unless there is explosive movement.
Understand delta in general and how delta changes with ITM and OTM options.
IV, IV crush, and how IV affects pricing. In general, you want to sell when IV is high and buy when the IV is low. Increasing IV is good for held calls/puts. IV drop or crush is generally good for sellers.
Selling options can be quite beneficial. Once you have a good general understanding, lookup thetagang . Kamikaze Cash has good youtube videos on most theta strategies (linked above). I personally believe selling options (especially cash secured) is much safer and can consistently make you profits. Θ Gang 4 life.
FOMO and how to avoid chasing a dangerous trend. DO NOT CHASE FROM FOMO!
What intrinsic and extrinsic value are. Know how they are affected by being exercised/assigned and how theta affects them.
Understand that some of WSB recommendations are straight up high-risk gambling and factor in the information accordingly. Be careful with Meme stocks and the survivorship bias on YOLO plays. However, I love the sub and think it’s hilarious. It has a lot of valuable information / DD if you are comfortable with the “colorful” language. It’s also great if you like rocket ship emojis.
Basics / Mechanics
Understand the 4 "main" option types. Buying or selling a call and buying or selling a put. Spreads and more complex multi-legged option strategies are based off these in some way (see below)
You can sell calls with 100 shares of stock or if you own an underlying longer term option; see LEAPS and PMCCs later. Selling calls naked is incredibly risky and often requires Level 4 (very advanced) permissions and usually a lot of capital. I will literally never sell calls naked since I don't want to ruin my life and end up living in a dumpster eating saltine crackers.
Puts can be sold/written cash covered (cash secured), which means you have the cash in your account to buy 100 shares. Your broker will put this money on hold until the trade is closed. Puts can be sold "naked" using Margin and Level 3 (with most brokers). Your broker will hold a percentage of cost of 100 shares (often 30-40%, 100% on meme stocks) allowing you to sell more puts. This increases your available capital/power as well as increasing risk.
General Tips and Ideas:
Don't EVER leave (short) spreads open on expiration day, close them. (more details below)
Start off trading very small. Slowly build up over weeks / months. You need to get accustomed to a fifty dollar swing a day, then a few hundred, then a few thousand. You need to ensure you don't get emotional (see below). I started trading options with 5k, then 25k, 50k, and later over 100k. I added my own funds over time and used my gains to build my account. Don’t go all in immediately, that’s dangerous and unwise.
Especially as you build up the amount of money you have invested, keep it diversified among several stocks.
Don't go all in on one thing, ever. Be able to take a hit from one stock and not mortally wound your portfolio.
A company may be doing great, then there's a major product issue out of nowhere. If you are overexposed in one stock this can really hurt you.
I had to roll options I sold that were about to expire completely worthless because FDX's CEO changed and the stock took a hard dip.
Don't trade emotionally. If you realize you are emotionally trading for vengeance, you should probably exit the trade and cool off for several days with that stock. Same if you get caught up in a wave of hysteria.
Have a plan for every trade, ideally with entries / exits that are specific values, ranges, or a set condition. This helps remove emotions. This is super important for strong movements and high volatility (see later).
Use an options profit calculator from your broker or an online one before entering a "new" trade, especially a complex multi legged trade: https://www.optionsprofitcalculator.com/
“Rolling” an option: Closing your existing option and opening a similar one at different strike and/or expiration.
Rolling a call “Up” would be selling a call you own and buying a cheaper call at a higher strike.
Rolling a put “Down and out” closes your original one and buying or selling one at a lower strike at a longer expiry.
Better broker interfaces have a literal “Roll” button. I know E-trade does. You can manually do it by selecting relevant contract legs.
If you have a losing trade, re-evaluate it. If your initial assumption is definitely incorrect, close it. Don't stay in losing trades forever and lose the entire value of the option over stubbornness. If you re-evaluate and you think your assumption was right, hold, potentially consider adding another cheaper option (or buy another call / put). Rolling out sold options can help here.
Don't try to day trade, especially with options. It's statistically unlikely to be profitable. Day-trading with options introduces extra liquidity risks and is dangerous, especially with spreads.
Try not to over-trade, you'll likely mis-time the market over time. When I get emotional I over trade, then lose additional money on wash sales. If you scale your entries into positions it should help alleviate your desire to exit positions when they turn badly against you. Whenever I buy calls I do it at larger increments after W almost made me loss my hair; luckily it eventually came back.
NEVER enter a position on a stock you have no idea about, especially when you read about it online or heard about it from some rando.
At market open options contracts are often volatile and inflated. Buying during this time can be more expensive. Options are usually cheaper mid-day, I read somewhere 2-3PM is cheapest. I’ve had success around 12-1PM EST after prices settle.
Try wheeling on cheaper stocks once you get all fundamentals down.
When selling puts if you are very bullish consider "doubling down"; note this is higher risk. Use the credit from your put sale to buy shares or a cheap call. This can be roughly inversed with puts, except I wouldn't ever recommend shorting shares.
Learn from your mistakes. You can’t go back in time and beating yourself up (to a point) is useless. Make a physical &/or mental note of it so you don’t do it again. If you don’t learn from it, then beat yourself up so you won’t do it again.
If you have friends that like to trade, I find it helpful to discuss strategies and planned plays. I talk openly with my close friends about my current holdings and planned trades, it helps keep me accountable. If I get a wide-eyed look, I might be doing something excessively risky or stupid. I’ve over-leveraged myself in calls twice and I knew I shouldn’t have done it both times. When I tell my friends what I did and I’m embarrassed, it exemplifies the face that I shouldn’t have done it in the first place. You will also get ideas for new strategies or plays from them. It’s good to stay versatile and use multiple strategies when appropriate. Beware of group think/echo chambers.
I recommend NEVER telling someone what to buy/sell and when. I’ll tell people MY plays or what I like and why, but I will not encourage them to emulate what I do. Depending on the audience, I’ll tell them my exact positions along with my exit and entrance strategy. With closer friends I’ll offer my thoughts on their trades (if asked). If my friend is doing something really risky (one of my friends does some scary stuff) I may ask them if they want my advice, and provide it, especially if they overlooked a risk/event. I will not encourage someone to execute/enter a trade since it has a high potential for hurt feelings or animosity all around.
Don’t fall in love with a stock. Just because something made you money before and you have high confidence in it doesn’t mean it will keep performing. I joke that FDX betrayed me when it started dipping and losing me money. I was over-confident of its bounce-back and sold too many puts too quickly. I’m in several losing trades because of it. However, I will keep good stocks in my rostetracking list or try different strategies or re-enter trades when they change their behavior.
As you start to both buy and sell options and get more experience in general, you'll start seeing the two sides to every trade. You will likely start adjusting your strategies or trying new trades out because of this. Things will likely click one day. Most/all the greeks and options concepts will become almost second nature. For me this was when I could build an Iron Condor from scratch, which was a watershed moment involving a good understanding of many strategies.
Understand Liquidity and volume.
Trading in low volume, low open interest contracts results in wide bid/ask spreads and difficulty having your contracts filled. Look at all the data for a contract, not just the strike and price.
Monthly Expiration dates typically have better liquidity.
Multi-legged trades (Common examples are 2-legged vertical spreads or 4-legged iron condors) have more difficulty being filled, especially on bad brokers like Robin Hood. Having very liquid options for all legs is extremely helpful in obtaining timely and well-priced fills, which maximize your potential profits.
Time in market vs timing the market:
It is extremely difficult to time the market perfectly. If you wait for the perfect opportunity forever, history has proven you will miss out on gains. Keeping all your money out of the market has proven to be ineffective. Now if there is something serious happening with a stock/the market (like say a new pandemic), don’t go all in. I recommend entering incrementally at dips. If the stock has huge upside potential it may never go down, so it might make sense to partially enter at the current price.
IMIO selling puts is a great strategy to get into a stock you like, or at least make money off it. I think buying stock in lots of 100 is usually for suckers. Selling an ATM or ITM put (assuming the math works out) on a stock you were going to buy and hold is ALMOST free money.
I recommend keeping some cash available regardless. If you have a very large account or expect a downturn, hedging with indexes like QQQ, SPY, or VIX or calls/puts may be wise.
Every trade can't be a winner. You will take some losses, you must get used to it. I don’t like having a realized loss of 1K or more on any trade. However, this will happen, especially with larger accounts.
As long as you win more often and beat the S&P that year I consider it okay. I’m kind of aggressive, so I consider 20%+ annually good. 30%+ annually is great. 40%+ and I’m dancing. After trading options I am almost baffled by my old belief that 5% annual returns (mostly from dividend ETFs) was “good”. That’s nothing to me now since I’m willing to take risks. Note: While lots of people danced in 2020, realize that’s an insane Bull Run year and is atypical.
Adhere to your own risk tolerance and never over-extend yourself, especially with margin use. Don’t make huge gambles leaving you uncomfortable. Only gamble with money you are willing to lose.
My personal strategy is to make safer gains for the year and then enter slightly riskier strategies using those gains. I can be slightly-moderately more aggressive and compound my gains. For me I often sell puts to make money, then when I see a big opportunity I’ll sell a put and buy an OTM or moderately ITM call.
Understand it’s not safe to try and get rich overnight. However, once you hit big “steps” things may start to snowball. You can enter more positions and take more risks if you choose to.
For me this when I hit 50k, then 100k. I was able to balance low and moderate risk positions to more significantly grow my account. I’ll even do a high risk thing now and again because my gains can absorb it (assuming I have them).
I can’t wait to get to 250K, then 500K. I know it’ll take quite a long time, but I am confident I’ll eventually be able to have 500K and (hopefully) 1M in my non-401k trading account with gains and additions from my job. I can only imagine how “dangerous” I will be with that kind of capital.
If you missed "the next big thing" like AAPL, TSLA, or the time machine I’m building in my basement. Don't get upset, learn from it. Adapt and become a better trader for next time.
Figure out why a company was so promising, before they mooned. Determine how you would have traded differently in hindsight. Apply those lessons to the next company you believe has long term growth prospects.
For me that's putting in 1-2.5k towards shares and/or buying LEAPS on it. Depending on my bullishness I may buy “cheap”, fairly far OTM calls. The far OTM options are sort of lottery tickets. If I'm right the (relatively) low cost will have explosive profits; if I'm wrong, they didn't cost that much so it's a calculated loss I’m willing to accept. For more serious bets I’ll buy ITM LEAPS to run PMCCs on. I also like to buy 1-2K in my 401k for very long-term plays.
The stock market hates uncertainty, it seems to crave the status quo. A shakeup can potential tank a stock, even if it's nothing. With shares you can wait it out, but this can be problematic for options. If you see volatile/uncertain times ahead (politics, disease, manufacturing, earnings, etc.), you might want to reduce your overall portfolio risks or hedge.
Profit Retention / Loss Mitigation
If selling options, it is a viable strategy to close early after a large gain with many DTE left until expiry. See TT videos / strategies on this.
Don't hold options through earnings unless you literally want to gamble. I like playing on earnings run ups, but that can be risky.
If you hold options through earnings, IV crush will happen immediately afterwards, devaluing the option. However, if the option is profitable enough, IV crush won’t matter, which will still make money for a call buyer. A sold put sufficiently far OTM will benefit from IV crush, even if the stock dips after slightly bad or lukewarm earnings.
Don't throw good money after bad. Don't gamble on a recovery if your assumption appears to be wrong or the market is flat out tanking. If you are wrong and still believe in the company, wait twice as long as your original plan (wait for your 2nd entry point vs 1st) before adding to your position.
Consider using stop losses to lock-in profits on rides up or sometimes use them to prevent losses. Note, stops can be easily triggered in volatile options. Now when I'm up a lot on calls (especially around earnings or large momentum run-ups) I always set stop losses. I have been burned too many times. In December 2020 I didn't set a SL on several thousand dollars of FDX calls I was already up on and I "lost" ~$5K of unrealized gains. If you're up big, don't get too greedy.
A possible strategy if a stock is on a tear and you have multiple options open: Close some positions (I prefer to do this incrementally if the stock has momentum), but leave 1+ open in case the stock goes into outer space/the floor. Next, set a stop loss with a little buffer below its current movement / range so it doesn't get hit unless the stock falls hard. Finally, watch the stock closely and if it keeps rising, keep moving the stop loss up in little bits incrementally. This will let you keep more profits on a hot streak, but give some protection and secure more gains. It will also help eliminate FOMO if a stock exceeds your expectations.
Have rules when to roll out, down & out, or up & out. I like TT’s roll at break even or at 1x loss and to always roll for a credit (or for me a very minor cost). Obviously these rules need some monitoring. Know your stocks, the news, and technicals so you don’t jump the gun.
If you roll early for a credit and you’re right, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll just need to hold longer, which will obviously tie up capital. Sometimes it’s better to tie up some money (especially if you aren’t paying interest) than eating a huge loss.
Rolling too late can be worse though. I currently have a very underwater FDX put I sold that is over 2x loss, rolling it does almost nothing unless you want to pay a debit or extend it extremely far out.
On huge options gains, I strongly you recommend taking profits by rolling up/down or incrementally sell your contracts at several different prices (this is why having multiple contracts is nice).
Rolling up involves selling your initial call, then using a fraction of your proceeds to buy a cheaper, further OTM call with the same expiry; puts are inverse this. When rolling up I like to ensure the new option’s cost is 15-40% of my realized gains. I’ll buy a more or less expensive new optoin based on my convication to the stock and predicted movements. You can also roll up and out to get a further expiry and strike.
This is monumentally important if you are playing with incredibly high rising stocks or during a short squeeze.
Sad story time: I completely screwed up when I forgot to roll up, twice, during the GME gamma/short squeeze. I didn’t take my own advice; I didn’t have a real exit or transition plan and I got emotional. It all happened so fast and I was at work; the insanity of the run up and subsequent gamma squeeze caught me off guard. I should’ve clocked out and thought through the situation for 15-30 minutes to form an impromptu plan, then executed trade(s). My moderate risk tolerance coupled with my desire to take profits took over. When the stock partially cratered after a run up, I sold to retain gains. In the heat of the moment I thought the squeeze was squoze and it was going to plummet into the ground and I wasn’t being rational.
On 1x 4K call I would’ve made an additional 15-25K if I rolled up to a cheaper contract with some of my profits.
I know I missed out on significantly more with a 2nd call I had. Depending when I rolled it, it would likely have been an additional 25-50k in profits.
I talked about learning from your mistakes above. This mistake is branded into my brain due to the massive gains I missed out onby not rolling up. I’m furious with myself as I write this 1 week after the GME gamma squeeze, I’m a planner and I didn’t plan. If anything I own is significantly up ever again, I’m rolling up (or at least setting a stop loss). If necessary, I’ll roll up a trade multiple times to keep extracting profits.
Learn from my mistake so you don’t miss out on gains too. I strongly recommend rolling up when you are up big on a call / roll down when you are up big on a put. This enables you to take profits, stay in the game, and keep extracting more gains.
If you trade a lot of options, talk to your broker about a discount. I was getting the standard $.50/contract with E-Trade, but I traded over 300 contracts a quarter and was able to get the fee reduced by over $.10 by just asking. I am now doing more spreads and condors, so once my volume gets very high, I’ll ask again.
If you have a broker that isn’t great and you want to switch, leverage your current trading fees to the new broker. Tell them you’ll move over $### thousand if they beat your current options trading fee per contract.
Trade Planning & Position Management Tips
As you gain experience, start monitoring what kind of Delta, OTM, DTE, etc. you are most profitable with. Use it in your future trades. You'll often see the tasty trade 30-45DTE .3 Delta strategy for selling.
Before entering a trade, look at rough technicals like resistances and supports to consider your relevant strikes as well as entry/exit points. Look at upcoming earnings & dividend dates as well as stock/market news.
Consider staggering strikes and expirations for safety and diversity; it’s nice to avoid assignment on 3 puts at once because you used the same strike for all 3.
Incrementally enter positions on large rises/falls. One of my favor strategies is to buy dips after over reactions. By doing this slowly in large price "steps" it helps combat FOMO and helps you avoid getting slaughtered.
This will also help you avoid "chasing a falling knife". It also ties into having a plan.
I set alerts at several predetermined prices and I REALLY try not to enter new trades unless I hit my preset points. It makes me less emotional and usually more effective.
Don't buy far expiration options with poor liquidity for shorter term plays. I bought 1x GME 1-year+ LEAPS call before the 2021 short squeeze. That was stupid, I should've bought 2-3x 60-120 day calls to have better liquidity. I also paper-handed it and missed out on my lambo.
If selling options, consider rolling (for a credit) to avoid assignment when it makes sense / meets your plan. Rolling closer to expiration can be a valid strategy to get theta on your side. On the flip side, if the stock moons or plummets it could've been better to roll before it got crazy deep ITM. See rolling “rules” above.
Covered Calls:
If a stock has a large movement range, I think it can be worthwhile to wait to open a CC after the last one is closed/expires. I have been more successful waiting for another opportunity vs. opening one immediately on the Monday after the second the last one expires.
Consider selling covered calls at all time highs/peaks. If you sell a CC and the stock dips significantly, and you think it’s temporary, you can buy to close your CC for a quick profit, then reopen it later.
If you own Meme stocks, selling covered calls runs the risk of missing out on large gains. On these stocks I typically only sell them further OTM than I normally would or not at all. If I do sell CC on a Meme stock I try to ensure I have 25-100 other shares that won’t be called away.
-Advanced Beginner- Spreads
Spreads (with 2 legs) are neat because they manipulate how delta and theta act. It caps your gains and losses, but you can profit with less stock movement. Try several spreads on a P/L calculator to see for yourself.
Spreads usually require margin trading.
Spreads allow you to define max losses (assuming you close before expiration day) and use less capital.
Experienced traders will open many spreads at identical/similar strikes to heavily profit off movement. Spreads can make you/lose you a lot of money if you are right.
For example. I could make a $200 premium off a $500 risk trade, max loss would be $300. This is much more effective capital utilization than a naked or cash secured put, however it does not have the same downside protection or “wheel” potential as a sold put. Higher risk, higher reward.
Vertical Debit spreads: I think of these like mini calls/puts. I personally don’t use them unless calls are outrageously expensive or the break even is absurdly high, but there’s nothing wrong with them. A call debit spread will lower your breakeven and overall cost vs just a call. You can do clever things like making a positive theta call spread if you’re creative. I like doing this since I hate losing money to theta.
Vertical Credit spreads:
Very good theta strategy to define downside/upside risks.
A put credit spread is bullish and allows you to bet on upward movement with less capital and defined losses.
A call credit spread is a bearish strategy that allows you to bet on downward movement. These are very cool since they allow you to sell calls without selling naked calls, which can ruin you financially. I see selling these as better than buying puts since it’s so much easier to be profitable; to be redundant, Θ rocks.
I repeat this on purpose: Don't EVER leave short spreads open on expiration day, close them. If you don't close, they better be VERY far from the strike on a non-volatile stock. In after hours a stock can jump/dip below your strike and be exercised without the other leg to protect you. This can lead to massive, life ruining losses. This is not an exaggeration, google this and be scared. It happened to a fair number of people with TSLA. Video explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtVFj9nRRDo&t=315s
Short Straddle:
Trading Mechanics, Taxes, Market Manipulation
Learn about wash sale rules. They suck and are very easy to activate with options. This will eliminate your ability to write off losses. Over trading can easily cause wash sales. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/washsalerule.asp
Short attacks:
Learn to recognize these sketchy attacks by hedges/firms. They manipulate the market, it’s been documented countless times. A common one is rapid short selling, which pushes the price down.
Some people say short ladder attacks don't exist. I've seen some very strange stock nosedives off low volume, so I tend to think they do.
If you plan well enough and the market doesn’t give up on the stock you may be able to use it as a great opportunity to buy the dip.
Cramer explains how he intentionally manipulated the market when he ran a hedge fund years ago. Multiple links to the video are below since this video gets pulled often, Cramer / The street never wanted this to go public.
Due to this video I don’t fully trust Cramer. His show can give you stock ideas to buy (or inverse), but you never know where his true loyalties lie.
Plan for taxes if you are up big. You may need to over withhold or contribute to taxes quarterly depending on your situation. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc306
-Intermediate / Advanced Strategies (work in progress)- You’ll notice many of these strategies inverse one another. Options Strategy Finder This website is great for learning about new strategies, you’ll see many links to it below. https://www.theoptionsguide.com/option-trading-strategies.aspx Short Strangle / Straddle
Both of these strategies profit from little price movement. I recommend using a P/L calculator to determine BE, profit, etc.
A straddle sells (or buys) two options at the same expiry and strike.
A strangle sells (or buys) two options at same expiry with different strikes.
Both these strategies involved selling a Call and a Put for a credit. Straddle uses ATM legs, strangle uses OTM legs.
Limited max profits and unlimited risk. Due to the unlimited risk, I am not a fan. However, many people like these a lot.
These strategies profit from neutral or mostly neutral stock movement. They receive a credit to open and benefit from theta decay. If your stock is range bound, these may be a good choice.
These are both 4 "legged" trades, so you will have 4 trading fees to enter or exit the trade. A lower cost or zero cost broker shines here. However, “bad” free brokers will give you poor fills, which may not be worth the discount.
Condors and butterflies have "wings" which are your purchased puts and calls. The wider the wing the higher the max profit/risk. The condor body can be riskier and skinny with a narrow high profit range or wider for a much greater chance of success with lower payout.
An iron condor is built by combining a put credit spread and a call credit spread with the same expiry.
An iron condor can be thought of as a modified short strangle with limited risk, and therefore a bit less profit. I prefer defined limited risk.
The butterfly is similar except instead of a plateau it has a sharp peak. My personal mental note is that a condor looks more like a strangle with wings, while a butterfly looks like a straddle with wings.
Pay attention to earnings dates when you open these, I have forgotten to check before and it led to bad trades.
The debit version of an Iron Condor. You expect the price to stay inside your defined range. This strategy profits from neutral or mostly neutral stock movement. I’ve never tried this, Iron Condors make more sense to me.
Inverse of an Iron Condor. You expect the price to go OUTSIDE your defined range. These are useful when you expect significant price movement. Credit to open.
Limited risk / limited reward.
Can be harder to set up. I want to try these, haven’t yet.
Inverse of an Iron Condor. You expect the price to go OUTSIDE your defined range. These are useful when you expect significant price movement. Debit to open.
LEAP Options are options that are long term with many DTE, often over a year until expiration. LEAP calls are great for long term growth plays (downtrends with LEAP puts) or simply when you really like a company and can't afford 100 shares. LEAPs (or any "longer term" option) enables you to sell a PMCC or PMCP (below)
PMCC / PMCP
PMCC or PMCP are poor man's covered call (or poor man's covered puts). They are diagonal options often used with purchased LEAPs. You sell a shorter DTE call/put with a further OTM strike than your purchased call/put. For PMCC/PMCPs it is often recommended to recoup your extrinsic value as soon as possible, some recommend with your first call CC or put sale, to ensure you are positive if the option is assigned early. These have a lot of moving parts and strategies. If you buy a barely ITM call/put and sell a nearby strike call/put you run the risk of the purchased option getting "blown by" on large stock movement and ending up with a very negative losing trade. Keeping your purchased LEAP deeper ITM should protect you. Check your initial PMCC using an options calculation to make sure you don't screw up.
I'm currently tinkering with these myself. So far I like .7-.9 delta call LEAPS with 30-45 DTE calls on my CC. The goal is to hold the LEAP long term, potentially until expiration, and constantly sell calls/puts on it that expire worthless. Typically the call/put is rolled up and out or down and out if it's going to be assigned, unless you don't want your LEAP anymore.
Some people look at these many sold CC or puts as profits, I look at them as lowering my cost basis until it's zero (or even negative). I have a page in my notebook I write each CC on my NIO LEAP (I Meme stock sometimes). I find it satisfying to slowly see the cost of the original option disappear. When I originally wrote this I had ~2 years left on it and it's 9-10% paid for; that doesn't even count the actual gains the LEAP has.
TT states this is considered an IV play, which I partially agree with. You want to buy these during low IV times since an IV drop will hurt your LEAP value. I look at them more as a way to sell calls/puts on a high IV company with a lot of price movement and potential upside/downside.
Good brokers will allow you to set these up, some will require a desktop to do it. This lets you link one action to another. In programming think of it like an if-then. You’ll tie a buy/sell to another buy/sell
Setting trailing stops on options is very chaotic since their price movement can be drastic due to volatility. I prefer to set my trailing stop to a stock.
What I like to do is set a trailing stop on a stock (or just link it to a stock price drop) and have it sell 1 share I own. Then it immediately executes a market order to sell my call. I’ve had good luck doing this with incredibly volatile plays were stop losses aren’t effective. I’ll often have an order saved and ready saved for when a strong run up starts. When my price alerts start blowing up my phone, I’ll immediately hit execute to turn it on.
Disclaimer: I’m not a financial adviser, I'm actually an engineer. I’m not telling you to invest in a specific stock/option or even use a specific strategy. I’ve outlined and more extensively elaborated on what I personally like. You should test several strategies and find what works best for you. I'm just a guy who trades (mainly options) part-time for financial gain and fun. I don't claim to be some investing savant.
Possible Ramp Paladin optimization - adding the quest
There's no question Ramp Paladin aka Highroll Paladin aka Tip the Scales Paladin aka "oh of course he would have Alura on turn 4" Paladin is currently one of the best decks in the meta. But what if you could reduce some of the RNG for the Alura highroll, making the deck perform even better? I got an idea a few days ago: what if you cut the Wandmakers and replace them with the quest "Making Mummies", so you're always guaranteed to have a spell to trigger Alura since the quest always starts in your hand? I've been trying it out recently and have had a fast climb to Diamond 5 so far with a 70% winrate, expecting to hit Legend in the next few days because this deck is nuts. Here are some of the pros and cons of running the quest over Wandmakers:
Pros
Cons
probably increases the winrate without coin quite a bit
quest does nothing while Paladin 1-mana spells are actually pretty decent
when you do have the coin, you can use the quest to trigger Alura and save the coin to get your expensive stuff out a bit faster
you essentially have less cards in your starting hand because of the quest, can't get rid of it (has a chance of ruining the Alura highroll if you choose to not keep it)
you can run cards that synergize with the quest such as Licensed Adventurers or Questing Explorers, even Sky Gen'ral Kragg might be good?
the opportunity cost of not having 2 mana 2/2s in your deck anymore, making your early game weaker. however, you would have one free spot in your deck now for an early game minion so this matters less
I've been running Licensed Adventurers with the quest (cutting Darkmoon Rabbit in addition to Wandmakers), and so far I don't feel like I regret it at all. Even if you don't draw Alura or Nozdormu, you can still at least get a Turn 6 Tip the Scales or a Turn 8 N'zoth/Scrapyard with the coin(s) which definitely helps. Also, it's not likely or all that impactful but including the Licensed Adventurers theoretically lets you play Alura/Noz already on turn 3. Should also mention the coins let you do something like N'Zoth coin Broomstick which can matter (and has mattered in like two games for me so far). This is my current decklist, although I bet it's not the best list I could be running: thinking of putting Darkmoon Rabbit back in but I don't know what to cut for it, everything else seems important too. 1x (1) Animated Broomstick 2x (1) Armor Vendor 1x (1) Making Mummies 1x (1) Sphere of Sapience 2x (2) Crabrider 2x (2) Licensed Adventurer 1x (2) Murgur Murgurgle 2x (2) Redscale Dragontamer 2x (3) Murloc Warleader 2x (3) Underlight Angling Rod 2x (4) Circus Amalgam 2x (4) Fishy Flyer 1x (4) High Abbess Alura 1x (4) Nozdormu the Timeless 2x (8) Tip the Scales 2x (9) Carnival Clown 1x (10) N'Zoth, God of the Deep 2x (10) Scrapyard Colossus 1x (10) Y'Shaarj, the Defiler AAECAZ3DAwiTpQOHrQP8uAOVzQOPzgPD0QOb2AP83gMLpwibqQO4tgP7uAPzuwOH1AP+2wP53gP03wOR5AOS5AMA What do you think, could this be an even better version of Ramp Paladin or is it not worth it? For what it's worth I have a 78% winrate in the mirror matchup (it's probably even higher actually since I ran into some Libram Paladins and lost to them) so that gives me a bit of hope this is a good idea. Hoping for high/top level players to experiment with this!
RAAAAAAAAR! - Legend With Rattlegore Warrior (Featuring Silas Darkmoon)
Introduction
Since the dawn of time, Control Warrior has risen against the face decks. After encountering a slew of Demon Hunters and Totem Shamans, I decided to experiment with a pure survival deck, and predictably, it dominated against aggro but fell off hard against anything else. There was enough space open in the deck to shore up some of this weakness, though, and the end result is Rattlegore Warrior, so called because Rattlegore and his clones are the only win condition in the deck. If your opponent has a heavy deck that also contains a Rattlegore counter, you'll probably lose, but at the moment, this doesn't describe too much of the meta I saw. The result is a deck that still blows aggressive strategies out of the water, but has the juice to stand up against a lot of other archetypes with a bit of luck. It's obviously way too early to make any definitive statements about the deck, and it's exploiting a pocket in the meta where not too many people are teching Silence effects, which could obviously change. With that said, it treated me very well for my run. I played ~30 games from Diamond 5 to Legend and kept going to 41 total, with a final winrate of 68%. Proof of Legend: https://imgur.com/a/2U3DkAw Proof of winrate: https://imgur.com/a/iTDL4y4
Risky SkippeArmorsmith/AncharrCorsair Cache/Sword Eater The first 4 are your typical armour gain shell that's been in wide rotation ever since Warriors had the option, so of course they were going to be included in a survival deck. Sword Eater interferes with this to a degree, and there's an argument for not including him since Risky Skipper is responsible for a lot of the deck's most impactful turns...but the card is just so good. It's a fantastic board control and stall tool earlier on, while also being able to assist your Rattlegore pressure if drawn later. I've cut down to one Corsair Cache, as between Anchaaar, Bulwark of Azzinoth, and 2 Sword Eaters, that's already 4 weapons in similar mana slots. I didn't want to run more weapons, and the second Corsair Cache was often a dead card with only 2 targets in the deck. Minefield What an incredible tool Control Warrior was given this expansion. Minefield completely denies basically any early board your opponent tries to build, whether that's Phase Stalker, Lab Partner, an attempted Totem setup, any Demon Hunter card...it's an incredibly efficient removal tool that also has some additional utility, such as combos with Lord Barov, or bombing your own Armorsmiths in a pinch. Bloodsworn Mercenary There are a lot of good targets in this deck, the main ones being Rattlegore (against heavy decks with no reliable counter), Kargath Bladefist (heavy decks that can counter Rattlegore), and Armorsmith (Risky Skipper -> Armorsmith -> Mercenary is often a game-ending play against aggro). It also pairs well with a lot of Silas Darkmoon thefts, and sometimes that extra Taunt (Sword Eater) or pressure (Deathwing) is just what you need. Bulwark of Azzinoth A good card against many forms of aggressive strategy, but an absolute force of nature against Demon Hunter in particular. Pen Flinger is the obvious counter and I did see it in a few of them floating around, but a 3 mana heal 4 is still acceptable in that scenario, and in many instances I easily denied 20+ damage over the 4 turns it took them to ping the Bulwark down with their Hero Power, since this deck can very reliably prevent them from sticking a board. Silas Darkmoon There's a lot of mana cheat and big minions running around right now, many of which have Taunt or Rush. Silas acts as a Mind Control lite here, and even if you don't have a smaller minion than Silas to give away, you usually have enough health to not worry about the 4/4 you donated to your opponent. In all honesty, Silas probably wouldn't stick around in a hyper-optimized build, but I threw him in on a whim and he felt good enough to keep, and blindsiding opponents with a big Silas play never gets old. I also ended a game on the spot by stealing an opposing Rattlegore, so there's definitely potential depending on what you're facing. A couple important interactions to note:
If you donate Risky Skipper, its effect doesn't trigger.
Don't play Silas on an empty board, he still gets rotated to your opponent. I tried this in the name of science during a game I was winning handily, so now you don't have to.
Deathwing, Mad Aspect There's anti-synergy between Deathwing and Rattlegore, so if I had any reasonable opportunity to play him in a slower matchup, I usually did. You could certainly make a case to cut it because of this, but it's still an extremely powerful standalone card that saved me many times.
Other Cards to Consider
Stage Dive The only Rush minion in the deck is Kargath Bladefist, meaning that Stage Dive can draw Kargath Prime very reliably. I didn't know how many losing games would be won on the back of this though, the deck does very well against aggro already and it's a solid but not definitive play against slower opponents. Battle Rage You're running Risky Skipper combos and there were some games where I'd have liked a bit more draw. With that said, holding these combo pieces can already clog your hand a bit sometimes, and the deck is kind of light on other activators, both in terms of minions and damage effects. Costumed EntertaineBanana VendoKing Mukla It occurred to me that a lot of this deck's harder matchups are often holding onto 9 card hands, so an attempt to mill them and burn key cards might be doable, but probably not your highest priority. Bladestorm An obvious choice especially against Druid's clowns, but I was just finding too many logjams against larger boards and didn't feel the need for more removal against aggro decks. Dropping Silas for a copy is probably one of the more straightforward optimization attempts you could make, if a pretty boring one. EVIL Quartermaster During the transition to the final clone-focused build of the deck, at one point I was running a single Bloodsworn Mercenary and a single Quartermaster, and the card felt pretty good, just not nearly as good as the 30 in the deck for the most part. Lorekeeper Polkelt His main appeal is helping you find your Rattlegore earlier, so this would be a meta call and one that probably should go into the deck if you're seeing a lot of Control Warlock in particular. This run was done fairly early in the meta so I tended to opt for all-rounders rather than a ton of tech cards, and it does clunk your draws up pretty badly against Demon Hunter, which was by far my most common opponent. Faceless Manipulator Redundancy for Bloodsworn Mercenary in Control matchups, obviously aimed at Rattlegore but also viable with a decent amount of big minions from your opponent. Again, meta call, I think you'd want to run it and Lorekeeper in the same deck. Plague of Wrath Passable removal against aggro while also providing a potential out against Druids or out of control Totem Shamans, and a pretty reasonable choice, albeit hampered by the lack of Bladestorm. Claw Machine Removal and card draw, and a lot of the deck's key cards are minions. There are probably bigger priorities, but I'm curious about this one, it seems pretty solid. Troublemaker I think Troublemaker probably isn't impactful enough in a lot of matchups, but it is a reasonable compromise between a late game bomb that still offers some amount of utility. C'Thun, the Shattered/Yogg-Saron, Master of Fate If you feel that the deck needs another bomb, these would be some options, although they kind of oppose the principle of "anti-aggro deck that can still win thanks to Rattlegore." C'Thun makes it actively harder to draw into Rattlegore, and while I certainly did play games that went long enough to make use of it, there weren't that many, and this deck can't draw aggressively. Against slower decks that can reliably counter Rattlegore? Sure, I'd love to have C'Thun, but realistically, those were a pretty small percentage of games. Yogg-Saron is a much less deck-defining option, although if you're going to take that approach, you'd probably want to add a few more spells as well (probably Bladestorm).
Encounter Stats
Demon Hunter Encounter Rate 20%, Won 88% of Games Druid Encounter Rate 12%, Won 80% of Games Hunter Encounter Rate 5%, Won 50% of Games Mage Encounter Rate 17%, Won 57% of Games Paladin Encounter Rate 2%, Won Game Priest Encounter Rate 2%, Lost Game Rogue Encounter Rate 10%, Won 75% of Games Shaman Encounter Rate 10%, Won 75% of Games Warlock Encounter Rate 15%, Won 50% of Games Warrior Encounter Rate 7%, Won 67% of Games
Strategy
As stated, this is a survival deck first and foremost, with the ability to build an oppressive board in the late game in appropriate matchups. Demon Hunter I encountered Soul Fragment, Face, and Outcast variants of Demon Hunter, all of which felt extremely favoured. You remove their minions easily, and can reliably heal out of their damage. Bulwark of Azzinoth is the standout card in the deck since so much of their burn relies on attacks from the hero, and I usually tried to play it out as soon as I had a clear board, or after they'd equipped a weapon with a single minion in play. Bloodsworn Mercenary is saved for Armorsmith, and it's usually best to resist the temptation to play Armorsmith on curve, but against specifically Umberwing it can be a passable play if you don't have a great hand. Mulligan for Athletic Studies, Armorsmith, Risky Skipper (with Armorsmith), Bloodsworn Mercenary (with the other 2), Sword and Board, Corsair Cache, Minefield, Anchaaar, Bulwark of Azzinoth. Druid I faced Clown Druid and Spell Druid, with Spell Druid feeling very reasonable and Clown Druid feeling a bit more manageable than expected, albeit largely being up to holding the right answers (I suspect with a larger sample size this would be a bad matchup). This is 100% a Rattlegore duplication matchup, and if you can get this up and running before they completely overwhelm you with more than a wave or two of clowns, you've got a fighting chance. Spell Druid is the same thing, win with Rattlegore, although you're on a much more manageable clock. Silas Darkmoon is a lifesaver after a Survival of the Fittest -> Strongman play, as it can immediately pressure them or force out a clown wave to be Brawled down. Mulligan for Corsair Cache, Anchaaar, Lord Barov, Brawl, Rattlegore Hunter A sample size of 2 isn't much to go off, but I encountered one Face Hunter and one Deathrattle Hunter, the results of which were largely as expected. The Face Hunter was convincingly crushed, while the Deathrattle Hunter was able to fire off too many missiles for survival thanks to Darkmoon Tonk, Jewel of N'Zoth, and Vectus. It's worth noting that they had a pretty ideal draw while mine was fairly poor, but I still intuitively think it's probably not a great matchup, while I'd bet good money that Face Hunter is. I didn't play any Highlander Hunter or the new Secret version. Mulligans (assuming aggressive strategy): Athletic Studies, Armorsmith, Risky Skipper (with Armorsmith), Bloodsworn Mercenary (with the other 2), Sword and Board, Corsair Cache, Minefield, Anchaaar, Bulwark of Azzinoth (with earlier plays), Sword Eater (with earlier plays). Mage Minionless C'Thun Mage was the most common version I fought, although there was also Tempo Secret Mage, as well as one Highlander. C'Thun felt very good, and your main goal is to press the Armour Up button every turn you can possibly get away with it. Corsair Cache on turn 2? Wrong, press the button. Rattlegore doesn't have much chance of sticking between Devolving Missiles and Polymorph, whether native or discovered, so save Bloodsworn Mercenary for Risky Skipper -> Armorsmith plays. It's very reasonable to be well above 30 health on the turn they play C'Thun, and if you can pull this off with some resources left, you've likely won. Bulwark of Azzinoth isn't going to do a lot of major damage blocking most of the time, although I still tried to save it for later in the game, and after they'd played Eye of C'Thun. Tempo Mage is a similar principle, but felt tougher since you're not as free to sit back and build armour. Highlander Mage is not one of the decks this is meant to fight, with Zephrys and The Amazing Reno piling onto the anti-Rattlegore tech, so I think saving for a 10 mana Kargath -> 2x Bloodsworn Mercenary is likely the play, although I strongly suspect it's still an uphill battle. In all matchups, don't just discard a dead Corsair Cache if you're floating mana, as it's still good for triggering Counterspell. Mulligan for Athletic Studies, Risky Skipper, Sword and Board, Armorsmith, Corsair Cache, Anchaaar, Shield Block (with other plays), Kargath (with other plays). Paladin I faced a single Pure Paladin, which I beat down handily thanks to Rattlegore duplication. There's not too much detail I can go into here in terms of strategy, but I think it's fair to say that you basically can't win without Rattlegore specifically, as their Librams will eventually wear you down, so hard mulliganing for him might be the best plan. I've seen both Pure and Penflinger Paladin across the expansion so far, but the aggro/Silver Hand Recruit variant doesn't seem like it's taken off, so you can probably assume you'll have at least a bit of time. Coerce might be another fair mulligan, as well as Silas to snipe their big Libram target later in the game (preferably after Lady Liadrin). Priest Again, one game fought, but I think the deck is pretty much brick walled here, as you can never play Rattlegore and have no other way of killing them. Pretty much tradition at this point for Control Warrior vs. Control Priest, and I don't know if the new Resurrect tools have gained any traction. If they have, Silas might be a small saving grace, but in general, go for Kargath -> 2x Bloodsword Mercenary and pray. Rogue I encountered C'Thun Rogue as well as Galakrond Rogue, and the win condition was similar to Mage, squeeze out as much armour as possible while keeping the board under control. Risky Skipper -> Sword Eater is a useful way to clear Shadowjeweler Hanar without using a spell, and I saw her in every match I fought, so keep that in mind, Counterspell and Spellbender are extremely common picks (the same Corsair Cache tip as for Mage applies here). An important tip to note for C'Thun Rogue specifically: I think the correct way to play this matchup on the Rogue's end is probably to save both Shadowsteps exclusively for C'Thun, which would result in a total damage output of 90. The implication here may be that you as the Warrior should be saving your Bloodsworn Mercenaries for armour combos, but I'm not so sure, since 3 (or even 2) Rattlegores can potentially body block most of that damage. This will be an interesting matchup going forward, although none of the opponents I saw on my run were actually using Shadowstep this way, likely assuming I was Bomb Warrior. Wand Thief can discover anti-Rattlegore effects though, which is a bit of a bummer. I didn't fight any Aggro Rogue, but between being a natural counter to aggression, multiple ways to kill stealth minions, and Bulwark to block their big weapons, I have to imagine it'd be very favoured. Mulligan for Athletic Studies, Armorsmith, Risky Skipper (with Armorsmith), Bloodsworn Mercenary (with the other 2), Sword and Board, Corsair Cache, Anchaaar, Coerce, Lord Barov (with another combo piece to deal with Edwin Van Cleef), Sword Eater (with earlier plays), Kargath (with earlier plays). Shaman While I saw a few Battlecry Shamans in the first few hours of the expansion, all the encounters I had with this deck were the Totem version. Their entire deck is built around sticking a board, and your entire deck is built around removal, so it's a pretty comfortable matchup provided you draw a decent answer or two. You've generally won or lost by the time Rattlegore comes down, so save Bloodsworn Mercenary for Risky Skipper plays or as another Rush minion to keep their board clear. The main priority against Totem Shaman is to kill everything, don't leave even a basic totem alive if you have the option not to. Mulligan for Athletic Studies, Risky Skipper, Sword and Board, Minefield, Anchaaar, Lord Barov, Kargath (with earlier plays), Sword Eater (with earlier plays), Brawl. Warlock Control Warlock is probably the deck that most relies on Rattlegore to save the day. If you can stick a Rattlegore and clone it, you can dole out enough pressure to get past their deck burning, but if you don't, there's very little hope. Even then, I played one game where I managed to get 2 Rattlegores out that the Warlock was able to whittle down until they were no longer threats, and I died in fatigue. It's a pretty rough matchup, and one where you need to try and apply a bit more pressure than usual with weapon face swings, etc. Luckily, Zoo decks are much more favoured, although Control seems like the matchup you should assume you're walking into right now. Which means a hard mulligan for Rattlegore, because if it's milled, you're done. Warrior There are a few Warrior archetypes out there, but I mostly ran into Bomb Warrior with a couple Menagerie builds as well. Against Bomb Warrior, Bloodsworn Mercenary has several valid uses, and I think in an ideal world you'd aim for one armour combo and one Rattlegore clone, although armour probably comes first since the deck tends to devolve into burn damage. Rattlegore isn't a core card, but I have seen it several times (maybe for the mirror?), so that's your ideal Silas target. Menagerie Warrior isn't that popular, but keeping up a board presence in order to delay your hard removal as long as possible is important, their minions keeping growing as the game goes on so being able to trade into their earlier ones rather than burning Coerce/Shield Block is very helpful, especially since this build doesn't run Bladestorm. I didn't face any of the new Rush OTK version, but have to assume you're going for armour combos, and saving Silas for their Rattlegore. Mulligan for Athletic Studies, Armorsmith, Risky Skipper (with Armorsmith), Bloodsworn Mercenary (with the other 2), Sword and Board, Corsair Cache, Anchaaar, Bulwark of Azzinoth, Kargath (with earlier plays), Sword Eater, Rattlegore (with earlier plays).
Closing Thoughts
I think Control Warrior has a lot of potential this expansion, and while this almost certainly isn't the most optimized version possible, it was a ton of fun to play, and scratched that classic control itch in a big way. Hope you found this helpful, and RAAAAAAR!
Welcome everyone to our Isomer megathread, please keep discussion, questions and supply-box pulls about the event contained within this thread for the event's duration.
We also ask you to read the subreddit's spoiler policy and remember to tag any story plot points in this thread throughout the entire event as other players may have joined later on.
Useful Guides & Infomation:
(Some information may be inaccurate if things have changed from the CN version of the event, let me know if there are any resources I should add)
We're getting 6 new dolls: Two clear rewards, Three as limited drops plus One from the supply boxes. P22 should be your main farming target as she is extremely versatile.
We're running a series of challenges for clearing "Cat and Mouse IV" in various creative ways with heaps of gems up for grabs for the winners. There's a generous participation reward so give at least the main challenge a go! Bitter Medicine Response Form:Link
FAQ
WTF is going on?
Isomer is the 6th major story event on EN and takes place after our last event, Continuum Turbulence, and Chapter 11. You can find a link to chapter 11's story here for players who have yet to complete it.
How do I get Intel/Why the hell can't I continue?
To unlock further story stages you will need to collect Intel from missions.
The total amount you can collect increases by 200 per day so you'll be able to complete all stages by day 7 of the event.
What's with normal and EX mode?
Isomer is the first event to introduce different difficulties, it's worth giving EX a shot to see if you can clear it for extra rewards but otherwise, you can complete the full event story on normal.
Clearing missions on EX will also reward you both the EX and normal difficulty clear rewards.
All of the major rewards (Dolls & Core Mask) are available on normal difficulty.
How do I get crates?
Crates can be farmed on any map with the small crate icon underneath it. Crates can be efficiently farmed with just a dummy on a couple of maps:
How to find bets which are almost guaranteed to lose
Maybe this is a weird request for a forum where everybody and their dog is trying to predict winners and/or find value: I am interested in finding bets which are almost guaranteed to lose. In match betting it is preferable to lose the free bet at the bookie and win the lay bet at the exchange, because bookies usually have rollover requirements for winnings from free bets (like 1x or 3x), which eat away at the profit. So I am trying to find good bets which are almost guaranteed to lose, in popular leagues (EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A etc), with optimal odds between 3.5 and 6.0 (anything higher than this requires a lot of money at the exchange for the lay bet). So underdogs playing the top team with 20.0+ in odds are out of the question. First goalscorer market seems useful, especially if I would bet on goalkeepers, but the odds are high and there is not enough liquidity in the market on the exchange (meaning the lay bets might not get matched and/or the difference in price between the bet and lay odds might make the profit smaller). I tried to do under 1.5 goals in EPL, but recently this kind of bet wins at the bookies more often than before. Draws are also occurring frequently. Anybody has some good tips? In essence I am looking for bets with around 4.0 in odds (implied probability 25%) which have a chance of occurring as if they would be bets with odds of 20.0+ (implied probability 5%), so basically I am looking for the worst value bets. Of course, the smart people here would argue that if one could find bets which are very unlikely to win, then one could just take the opposite of that bet and have a sure win.
What's up my friends, coming at you hot with a nice deck tuning for all you control players out there, and hoping to get some nice discussion along the way. The deck is UW Control! I didn't play much arena until Omnath got banned, but in just the past couple days I made my plat-top 500 mythic climb with great ease with this deck, only dropping 3 or 4 matches along the way. And one of the matches I dropped was to the mirror. So I'm here to show you the truth that is UW control in the current historic meta, and hopefully get some feedback on how you all are tuning your control decks as well. So, why Azorius control in this day and age? Well, people have said varying things about the Omnath matchup back when it was a thing, I think the Omnath matchup was very bad for us, because they had 8 draw 5s and any one of those resolving was pretty much GG. Now, UW control is extremely well positioned in the current meta. What I have seen from playing after the bans is a lot of Gruul with people balling out for BTE, and until that deck is tuned to be able to beat Wrath of God, we are heavily favored here. Beyond that, I have played UW control through many different metas, and with the great historic card pool, UW control can pretty much always be tuned to beat whatever the meta is. It's a great investment of wildcards if you like the playstyle, this deck will RARELY be below T1.5 for a skilled pilot. Playing these type of decks requires you to have a really good read on the meta, and you'll have to always be evolving your sideboard and main deck choices to adapt to the rapid pace of changes on Arena. I find this part of the game really fun and skill rewarding, and it means with a good pilot this shell will always be competitive. Without further ado, here's the list I'm currently running. I do run mismatched basics cuz I like the different pretty arts, but that's 5 Islant 3 Plains : ) Deck 4 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (DAR) 207 1 Grafdigger's Cage (M20) 227 4 Wrath of God (AKR) 46 3 Narset, Parter of Veils (WAR) 61 4 Shark Typhoon (IKO) 67 3 Baffling End (RIX) 1 3 Censor (AKR) 52 3 Cast Out (AKR) 9 2 Essence Scatter (IKO) 49 1 Neutralize (IKO) 59 4 Absorb (RNA) 151 1 Fabled Passage (M21) 246 1 Search for Azcanta (XLN) 74 1 Aether Gust (M20) 42 3 Castle Ardenvale (ELD) 238 2 Island (ZNR) 269 2 Island (ZNR) 270 1 Island (ZNR) 271 4 Glacial Fortress (XLN) 255 4 Hallowed Fountain (RNA) 251 4 Irrigated Farmland (AKR) 304 1 Plains (ZNR) 268 1 Plains (ZNR) 267 1 Plains (ZNR) 266 2 Castle Vantress (ELD) 242 Sideboard 1 Baffling End (RIX) 1 3 Aether Gust (M20) 42 1 Rest in Peace (AKR) 33 2 Grafdigger's Cage (M20) 227 2 Dovin's Veto (WAR) 193 2 Brazen Borrower (ELD) 39 1 Essence Scatter (IKO) 49 1 Settle the Wreckage (XLN) 34 1 Timely Reinforcements (M12) 40 1 Lyra Dawnbringer (DAR) 26 CARD CHOICES: 1x [[Grafdigger's Cage]]: Don't fool yourselves, don't greed out. At least one maindeck cage is a necessity in this format. I have considered more, but often the decks you need it against don't have a way to kill it G1 (no reclamation sage/bedevil/wilts in the main. 4c Uro-turbo-pig runs exactly 1 mythos of nethroi which they will probably want to point at your planeswalkers anyway). MD Cage ups your G1 win percentage SO much against a bunch of common matchups, including Jund CoCo, Arcanist, Neostorm and Goblins. There are few decks where it's dead, mainly just random creature decks, burn, and the mirror. Best part is, unlike with Bant control, Cage is 100% free in UW control because we don't need our graveyard at all. In the recent Grand Finals, Luca Magni was running a hot 3 Maindeck cage. Fantastic player, I trust their instincts, but in our metagame on Ladder we can't afford too many dead draws against Aggro. 3x [[Censor]], 1x Gust: I know the old adage about this card, 4x or 0. But I basically pre-boarded myself with 1 Aether Gust in the main as a meta call, it could honestly be correct to go 2 Censor / 2 Gust, curious what you folks think about this. If Gruul and Uro decks continue to be the majority of the Historic meta, I might shift some more of those Gusts to the main. A quick note about censor, I almost never cut it, especially against decks that want to curve out against you. Post Board a lot of your answers are more specific, and Censor might seem worse than essence scatter against an aggro deck. The thing is, even cycling censor at the end of turn on turn one, without another one in your deck, that simple T1 cycle can force a smart opponent to play off curve for the rest of the game. This is the mark of a great card, when you can get some value out of it instantly (cycling), and yet your opponents still play around it when you don't have it. 3x [[Narset, Parter of Veils]]: Narset is a fantastic game 1 card, especially in a diverse meta like Historic. Digging 4 for 3 mana with a powerful permanent left in play is a solid value move for us, and 3 Narset lets us run more silver bullet type cards such as 1x cage. I usually side out 1 or 2 against Aggro, but I do like at least 1 Narset in Aggro matchups just because the ability to dig 4 for Wrath of God on turn 3 is a huge swing for you. And lategame of course she continues to be a house, especially if you can back her up for a turn to get that extra dig 4. In control matchups, Narset is obviously an all-star, and initial versions of this deck ran Commit to Memory just for the potential to get a nice combo blowout on turn 6. Decided that the front side of Commit was just too bad given all the better options we have in these colors. But Narset is fantastic even without this combo potential. 1x [[Neutralize]]: This is a flex spot, where I have tried Disdainful Stroke, No Escape, Tale's End, an extra Gust, Syncopate etc. I don't find myself cycling Neutralize really ever, but it can be an out in certain spots, especially to find your 3rd land if you got ballsy and kept a 2 lander. If I were to cut it, I'd run No Escape or Disdainful Stroke. This is what I'm saying about needing an ear to the ground on the meta for these types of decks. Neutralize is the most general one here, which I'm running in this relatively fresh BTE meta. But if Uro+Nissa becomes the best deck again, No Escape or another Gust is probably better. 1x [[Search for Azcanta]]: Some folks run more, but I don't think you can count on enough slow decks to warrant it on Ladder. It's a nice to have, but usually won't make or break your game. Further, tapping out for it on t2 can be awkward, especially G1 in the dark, because when your opponent resolves a 2 drop you may not have a way to remove it for a couple turns and in my mind that is not worth a scry 8 because you might die t4 because of it. Of course, against control you really would want 2, so if you find yourself playing a lot of slower decks 2x azcanta could be the right call. 4x [[Absorb]], 4x [[Wrath of God]], 4x [[Teferi, Hero of Dominaria]] : I wouldn't cut any of these from the mainboard, these are the reason to be playing UW control, they are all extremely strong, and although maindeck spots are tight I would be hard pressed to find a better card for any of these 12 slots. If Sultai/Uro decks take over again after these bans, I could possibly see cutting a wrath or two, but as it stands with all these red/gruul decks running around I'm happy with the 4x Wrath. 4x [[Shark Typhoon]]: I have been extremely high on this card since its prominence in Temur Rec. I usually cut a couple against aggro or against a ramp opponent who also run shark typhoons, as their sharks will be bigger than yours, especially on the draw. I know people say never hardcast this, but if you have gas in hand and you need to close quickly, it can be the right move sometimes. I would say I hardcast it 1-2 percent of the time, usually lategame when I can hold open countermagic as well, and when I need the potential for lots of blockers over the coming turns. 3x [[Baffling End]], 3x [[Cast Out]]: Again this is a meta decision for you, and you should always be tuning this split based on what you're seeing on Ladder. I like the 3 baffling end because it hits Uro, Kroxa, any creature from a Lurrus deck, Skirk Prospector, etc, the list goes on. I used to run [[Seal Away]] instead of Baffling End but the ability for the opponent to get their creature back on bouncing seal away actually matters sometimes. I also find myself in the situation a lot on t4 or t5, where if I spend 2 mana mainphase at sorcery speed to deal with your opponent's board, they are more likely to go for something big on their turn and play right into my counter. With Seal Away on the other hand, you're just passing with 5 mana up, and that will sketch out the opponent and make them play around your counters more. As for Cast Out, I usually cut it against creature decks, but it's another fantastic game 1 card because of its flexibility and the cycle. Cast Out loves to grab planeswalkers, but keep in mind that unlike Baffling End, they DO get the permanent back if they manage to destroy the Cast Out. If you have a high power planeswalker trapped under Cast Out, you need to think at all times what your opponent might have to deal with the Cast Out. Letting the opponent use [[Brazen Borrower]], for example, and get back a 5 mana planeswalker for only 2 mana, can often be a blowout. For this reason, when I have a Cast Out on the field, I sometimes won't tap out for an end step [[Castle Vantress]] or the like just to be extra safe. 99% of the time I'd rather not scry 2 and ensure I can counter anything pointed at Cast Out. But at the same time don't mindgame yourself with this, if they've shown they don't have anything to deal with Cast Out for a couple turns you can start to take more aggressive lines. --- Manabse --- The only thing really worth talking about here is the [[Fabled Passage]], I have tried tons of tech lands but in my experience too many tech lands make your opening hands a lot worse when we have [[Absorb]] and [[Dovin's Veto]] in the board. Being able to fetch up the right basic not only thins our deck a bit, but also help ensure our Castles come into play untapped. Additionally, playing something like [[Blast Zone]] is usually so mana intensive and it wrecks your tempo most of the time, and we have so many other answers for all different permanent types that I don't find myself wishing for Blast Zone. Other note for the manabase, by only playing 2 colors we get to have a whole 3 Castle Vantress, which is absolutely huge. Getting free board presence for chumpers and to apply pressure in the late game is really necessary because we don't have a ton of ways to close. --- Sideboard --- 3x [[Aether Gust]]: As I stated, might look at moving more of these in the main depending on how the meta settles. We all know and love this card, for UW specifically it is one of the cheapest ways we have to get noncreature permanents off the battlefield once they resolve, so I usually prioritize countering something if I can catch it on the stack with an actual counter, and hope to Gust anything that falls through the cracks. The one exception would be a game-winning expensive spell, like a Nissa. If I have a gust and a counterspell in hand, I'd rather timewalk them first before countering it on their next turn, so that I can get an additional tempo and mana advantage on that extra turn. One more thing to keep in mind with Gust is to use it in response to fabled passage or similar 'search your library' cards, as the card you gust will get shuffled back in. 2x [[Dovin's Veto]]: I started with 3 and decided it was too many based on the current meta, there are very few counterspell decks around, and we have more counters than them already. But there are times when your opponent is running very few creatures, where you really want the mana efficiency for a 2cmc counter. Untapping Veto mana with Tef on turn 5 can also be straight up GG on the play. 1x [[Timely Reinforcements]]: Not much needs to be said here, this card is a house against aggro, UW really lacks a good proactive t3 play against aggro on the Draw, so this card is pretty much it. This card is also fantastic in the mid/late game in the matchups where you need it, as 6 life is a lot. I only run 1 because this list is so tight and we are pretty strong against aggro as it stands with 4 wraths, settle, and 4 baffling end. Additionally, Timely lines up terribly against Questing Beast, especially on the draw. 1x [[Rest in Peace]]: I have found a bunch of Klothys+Scooze in the meta after these bans, which might warrant another RIP in the board just to turn off that deck's best clock. With Mono Black Gift on the decline, I cut from 2 back to 1, preferring cage as it hits CoCo and Muxus. This is always a balance but I wouldn't leave home without at least one RIP. Notably RIP turns off 'dies' triggers, like from Dreadhorde Butcher, so keep that in mind. 2x [[Brazen Borrower]]: Another answer for any permanent type, this card is one of the best all-around Blue cards that exist on Arena. I bring it in against anybody who wants to tempo me out, as well as against decks with weird permanents that I want 2 extra answers for in case they resolve. Don't discout the possiblity of skipping [[Petty Theft]] and just flashing in the borrower for a surprise takedown on a planeswalker, or to block a flyer that's attacking your planeswalkers. 2x Cage: I am considering cutting one of these cages, to have 2 total in the 75. The only time I REALLY want the 3rd cage is vs Arcanist or Goblins, and with 4 Gust we are pretty strong against them anyway. 1x [[Lyra, Dawnbringer]]: This is a strictly better Baneslayer Angel, I have her in there because I love her art, also if we ever wanted multiple baneslayers in the board, or possibly the white mythic flip land, Lyra is just better. Feel free to replace with Baneslayer tho. 1x [[Settle the Wreckage]]: There are definitely times when you want 2. Being able to guaranteed fog an attack against aggro can put you too far ahead to not at least run 1. I only run 1 because I find that I get hidden value from my opponents playing around it after I cast the first one, because they under-commit attacks. Like Censor, this is the mark of a powerhouse card. --- Cards I considered, but didn't make it --- Kaheera: First of all, the list is extremely tight as it is. Trading an extra sideboard slot for a 6 mana 3/2 can make some matchups feel much harder. Further, on Ladder, I don't want my opponent to know how they should mulligan before G1 even starts. You really want sultai to keep a hand with extinction event and heartless act rather than letting them know they should hard mulligan for thoughtseize+krasis. In open decklist tournaments, I usually run Kaheera because this isn't really a consideration. But for Ladder, I'm strongly in the no-kaheera camp. 6 mana 3/2 just feels so bad so much of the time, and you just throw Kaheera away as a chumper more often than not. If you think Kaheera is good because she helps you close, consider having an extra SB slot for a Baneslayer or more Borrowers. If you think Kaheera is good because she gives you a 'free card', yea I guess that's true but the card is just bad and doesn't really advance your gameplan for your hefty 6 mana investment. I don't know, I'd love for someone to change my mind on this. In my experience Kaheera baits me so hard sometimes, like I'll pay the companion tax to grab her and hold up only 3 mana, on a turn when I really should have been holding up 6 for double counter or counter+pay for mystical dispute, and my opponent gets to resolve their 5 mana sorcery. Little 3/2 isn't gonna save you from that. Maybe that's just me playing bad, but I find it hard to find a situation where Kaheera feels like just what I needed to turn a loss into a win, or where Kaheera is better than the key sideboard tech she replaces. Heliod's Intervention: This card works against a couple decks: Colorless Forsaken Monument, Burn, Cindervines Gruul, Jund. Now, for 3 of those 4, Baneslayer Angel is just better for the job. If Colorless decks come back in any major way, we could consider bring back this card, but as it stands I'd rather have Baneslayer 99% of the time. Do consider that without something like this card, we just have no good disenchants in white that hit artifacts and enchantments. Hasn't been an issue in the last few weeks of the meta, but if we see a rise of Cindervines we might need it, so keep this one on your radar. [[Mangara, the Diplomat]]: This card is spicy as hell but sadly all of our other 4 drops are way better than him. Back when UW control was good in standard, he shined there just because the card pool was a bit smaller and we didn't have literal Wrath of God. In Historic, I don't know, he still could be good in certain matchups, but again this is a high ceiling low floor card, and seems a bit risky to me. If I ever wanted him, it would be against something like Arcanist, Goblins, possibly Burn, but I don't think he really improves those matchups that much... I could be wrong though! I just think Baneslayer does his job better. Mythic Flip Lands: I could see making a case for [[Sea Gate Restoration]] , but as it stands I don't really want a 7 mana sorcery or a bolt land in my deck. This build is all about accruing incremental advantages, not getting a 1-turn blowout. I have seen people running it in the mirror, which is really where it would be the best, but tapping 7 and getting that countered can usually mean GG. It's just a high-ceiling low-floor card, and I generally prefer cards with higher floors in terms of their usefulness. Also, bolting yourself for 3, or having your checklands and castles come into play tapped, can be the difference between life or death vs aggro. MDFCs: All the other MDFCs run into the same problem with manabase consistency. I did try [[Jwari Disruption]] and [[Silundi Vision]], and basically decided they are not as good as [[Censor]] or [[Narset, Parter of Veils]] for the same mana costs. Sure, they're lands, so they're not really competing for spell slots in your deck supposedly, but I still find them not good enough. Maybe [[Silundi Vision]] could compete with [[Irrigated Farmland]], but 1 extra mana to replace itself, plus not having any basic land types, is too hard of a downside I feel. Other Counters: As I said, I have tried a ton of different counterspell packages, but I like the one I landed on the best so far. I could see a Disdainful Stroke over our Neutralize maybe, but it really depends what you're up against and how your local meta is shaping up. Tale's End is a spicy one that I've enjoyed playing with, but sadly it's a bit too narrow in my experience. Another contender is [[Exclude]] over Essence Scatter, but usually creature decks don't run you out of cards before they run you out of life, so I prefer Scatter for that extra efficiency. Please do let me know if you folks have been finding success with other counter packages though! [[Nyx-Fleece Ram]]: If you find yourself facing a lot of aggro or burn, this card can do work. I also just love the art and flavor on this card. Sadly, it's not good enough for our build, because I pretty much always want to Wrath on 4, so playing it early to blank their 1, 2, and 3 drops is card disadvantage most of the time. That said, slow-rolling the Ram to drop on t5 after a t4 Wrath can be gas, and that's the line I would pick if I were to run this card. However, if you're gonna do that, wouldn't you rather just have Baneslayer as the followup for Wrath? Draw spells: I have tried a ton of things, including [[Chemsiter's Insight]], [[Heiroglyphic Illumination]], [[Frantic Inventory]], even [[Teferi's Ageless Insight]]. Ultimately I found they were not good enough. I would rather run a bunch of cycling cards that I can ditch in the early game if I'm searching for land drops, rather than a bunch of expensive air spells. We have to play really tight most of the time, with all of our mana accounted for, planning 2 or 3 turns ahead, and I'd rather have more counters, answers, and be resolving planeswalkers rather than spend 4 mana to not impact the board. Topdecking a draw spell can be backbreaking in our bad matchups, and in our good matchups we don't really need it. I find that I have enough draw and dig between Vantress, all the cycling, Narset, and Tef. Put simply, rather than put do-nothing draw spells in my deck and praying to draw into answers, I'd rather have more answers. If there weren't so many amazing answer cards in the format, of course draw spells can be great filler. Please let me know if you disagree with this one though, I'm curious how you folks value the draw spells. 3 Mana Gideon + [[Pact of Negation]] package: Basically the idea behind this package is that Gideon comes down, gives you the "you can't lose the game" emblem, and then you can freely pact of negation for 0 without paying on your upkeep. Personally, I don't like this package, because the cards are not good enough on their own. Pact is not only exceedingly obvious on Arena, but also paying 5 on your upkeep when you don't have Gideon down, it just feels so bad when you could have just spent 2 or 3 on the opponent's turn. For that reason your pacts are often dead in your hand until you do find Gideon. This version of the deck is a bit more swingy, as you can have some absolute nut draws, with t3 gideon, pact their 3 or 4 drop, and then turn gideon sideways for the win. But I personally prefer the consistency of having actual counterspells that I can just play whenever I want. 4 slots for pact is just too much without like 3 Gideons, but 2 or 3 Pact doesn't seem worth it when you're putting this extremely mediocre planeswalker in your deck. If you're expecting a lot of go-big creature decks, sure, Gideon's +1 is quite good in some spots. But more often than not you just wind up with either pact or gideon but not both at the same time. This is another case where this combo has a very high ceiling but a very low floor, and again I personally prefer higher floors even at the cost of lower ceilings. MATCHUPS AND SIDEBOARD: I'm just going to say my thought process on the boarding, these are just guidelines and I don't always follow them exactly based on what my opponent shows. I have played hundreds of games of UW control in my life and I still go back and forth on a lot of these decisions, based on my opponent's playstyles, their deckbuilding choices, what I think will be coming from their sideboard, etc. Also be conscious of play/draw, it really matters for how you board in a lot of matchups. I find that when your opponent is trying to curve out, counterspells are better on the play, and cast outs/baffling ends/wraths are better on the draw. For example against a creature deck, on the play you can go t2 Censor their 2 drop, t3 absorb their 3 drop, and you are in a really good spot. Compare that to being on the draw: on your t1 you play a tapland, then their t2 comes and they play a 2 drop. Now on your t2 you probably want to Baffling End, since you can't hold up absorb anyway, but now they resolve their 3 drop. t3 finally you can hold up a counter, but realistically you might have to be chumping with a 1/1 shark token or cycling something, so let the 3 drop resolve and then on t4 you can wrath. So in this example, censor + essence scatter are good on the draw, whereas the 3 mana counters are bad. Obviously not every game will go like this but just something to think about in your decisionmaking for play/draw. Another one to think about is if your opponent is also running shark typhoon, your sharks are smaller than theirs when you're on the draw because you're 1 mana down. Gruul and other Creature Beatdown: Favored. If they are running 4x Cindervines, and a bunch of Klothys in the board, you're going to have to adapt your typical sideboarding plan, and they can be a bit more favored. There are a bunch of different builds of Gruul running around. The versions that don't run CoCo are far easier than the Klothys/CoCo variants. One thing to watch out for in this matchup is that Gruul Spellbreaker turns off Settle, so your best bet is to either counter it on the way down or remove it with a Baffling End ASAP so your settle isn't stranded in your hand. Either way, Wrath and Baffling End do so much work. Your opponent will usually sell their CoCo pretty hard, so sometimes it's correct to take the beatdown on the chin for a turn or two just to hold up mana for a counter until you have 6 or 7 mana for Wrath+2 or 3 mana counter for the CoCo. A lot of time it is correct to tap out for something on their end step on T4+ if they are threatening CoCo and you have Wrath in your hand. Anything you can do to bait out the CoCo at some time OTHER THAN your end step is a huge winfor you, because you can use your sorceries to answer it before they get to swing. Failing that, you need to pick off any creatures you can with sharks, Cast Out, and Baffling End while trying to hold up counter mana. Very skill intensive matchup, because at some point if your life total gets low enough you have to stop playing around CoCo in this way, and getting the read on your opponent's hand is really crucial. The good thing is these decks rarely run any other instant speed cards, except maybe bonecrusher giant and cleave, so you can figure out what they're holding pretty easily based on the Arena priority stops. We bring in settle, baffling end, scatter, gust, timely reinforcements, Baneslayer, and borrower if they are more tempo heavy. We cut cage, 1-2 Narsets, 1 Tef, 1 Neutralize, possibly azcanta, some sharks, and some cast outs. If they are running a lot of Klothys +ooze, Rest in Peace is a consideration to bring in as well. Additionally, if they run Klothys, our only answer in G1 is Cast Out or Teferi Bounce, postboard we pick up the Brazen Borrower but that doesn't feel great either. The issue is that cast out is so bad against the rest of their deck. If they show Cindervines or Klothys then Cast Out can stay. Mainly I board in the timely, essence scatter, settle, gusts, and possibly a RIP depending on how hard they play to the graveyard. Azcanta, neutralize, 2 narsets, some sharks, 1 Tef and the cage come out. Jund Coco: 50/50. Game 1 can be really tough, we should be slightly favored postboard but you really need your draw to line up. The same lines of playing around CoCo apply here, but you also have to worry about stopping their Graveyard game, and possibly also answering a t2 Butcher. Maindeck Cage obviously does work here, and this MU is the main reason I'm running 3 MD baffling end. I bring in the baffling end, settle if they're running the butchers, essence scatter, gust, and cages. Cut some narsets, sharks (though they probably board out claim so shark is sometimes fine), cast out, and RIP if you find them running heavy on the Yard and 'dies' triggers, especialy true for Citadel variants. Burn: Slightly Favored. Outside of their absolute goldfish nut draws, it's really hard to them to finish you off through your Wraths and Absorbs. Playing proactively can help you a lot, the minute they start pointing burn at your narsets + teferis it's usually over. I prioritize their threats like this: Rampaging Ferocidon > Soul Scar Mage > Thermo Chemical Alchemist > Ghitu Lavarunner > anything else. The MU is close, but post-board we get Baneslayer to slam the door, as well as Timely and more Gusts. It is very easy to get too far behind on life here, espeically in G1, so keep in mind your life totals when you consider tapping out on t3 or t5. Ideally their creatures never hit the battlefield due to the high density of your contermagic, but if they do you have outs with your sorceries and cast out. Feels really bad to cast out a 1 drop obviously, but sometimes you kind of have to, so keep that in mind. I Bring in the gusts, heliod's intervention, Control: 50/50. I'll lump in the mirror, grixis, sultai, and Bant in here because the plans are pretty much the same. Our deck excels against any opponent who wants to win with 5+ mana sorceries, and we are the better draw-go deck thanks to our 3 Ardenvales, 4 sharks, and Search for Azcanta. The key here is to know what your opponent's power turns are, usually it's turn 5, but pay attention to how they sequence and you can usually deduce what's in their hand. Keep in mind though that shark typhoon is really hard to deal with, we have pretty much 0 instand speed answers for it in G1. I'm usually bringing in the Vetos, borrowers, possibly a gust or two for Uro. In game 2 Sometimes I will bring in baneslayer, and then cut it in game 3, just to try to juke them into boarding their creature removal/creature counters back in. In G2 between Borrowers, Sharks, and Baneslayer we can assemble a pretty decent beatdown plan, but I pretty much never all-in on my creatures by for-example using dovin's veto on a removal spell, if anything the creatures are just bait to get them to spend their mana at sorcery speed so we can resolve our main win-cons of Tef and Narset. Pretty clear-cut what to take out here, some number of Wraths, essence scatters, baffling ends, etc. I wouldn't trim all 3 Baffling Ends for the most part, especially against Uro/Shark Typhoon decks. These games can often feel pretty swingy, the main way you lose is by 'blinking first' and playing into their open mana. In a typical draw-go mirror style game I usually won't go for tef until turn 8, when I have assembled the 'combo' of Tef, Veto, and another counter. Bait them into tapping low on their turn 7/8, maybe by having a counter war or flashing in a borrower end step. Then, go to combat, see if they bite with a shark token, and then finally when they're tapped low you can Tef+counterspell backup, then untap your Veto mana. Tricky games, but I find them some of the most fun and intricate magic. I used to run 2 [[Commence the Endgame]] in the board, and even a [[Thryx, Sudden Storm]] sometimes for these type of decks. I have found more aggro on the ladder, but if you're facing up against tons of growth spiral+control decks these cards can be complete mirror breakers, so do keep that in mind. Tempo Decks: 50/50. This includes Spirits, Mono Blue, Izzet Tempo, rogues, etc. Any deck that goes 1 drop 2 drop hold up spell pierce is tough for us, but also they just sell it so hard it's usually obvious what to play around. What I do is bait the counters with everything except Wrath of God first. Throwing down a Narset on 3 is a win/win because either it gets a counter out of their hand, or else your 3 mana play is: Dig 4, + gain some life when they attack the Narset instead of you. They don't run nearly enough counterspells to keep up with us in the lategame, and they don't have a ton of draw outside the Curious Obsession Nut Draw, so just play for the lategame and protect your life total. We have all the tools to beat them, and they don't pressure your life total that quickly compared to the other aggro decks, but I say this MU is 50/50 because it really depends who wins the first coin flip, for obvious reasons. And their draws can be super swingy, whether or not they hit their curve + counterspell + lands. The actual SB depends on the list, but it's usually some combination of essence scatter, baffling end, borrower, and settle coming in, with 1 Tef, cage, narset, and neutralize coming out. Cast out isn't at its best here, but having an instant speed answer for a lord can often be the only thing that will save you in some spots. Goblins: Hard Matchup. Goblins has 2 plans. Plan A is Muxus, which is actually the easier plan for you to disrupt. They usually sac a bunch of permanents to get out Muxy boi which you can hard punish pretty easily if you count your opponent's mana carefully. Plan B is actually harder for you to deal with, it's the creature beatdown plan. What Goblins wants to do is force you into a situation where you have to tap out for Wrath on t4 or t5, so they can Muxus while your shields are down. For this reason, prioritize Wrath whenever it can disrupt their mana (phyrexian tower or skirk in play), and otherwise prioritize spot removal as much as possible. Their plan A gets turned off anytime you draw a cage, which obviously makes the game a lot easier because you don't have to worry about countering their plan A. Smart goblins players will realize what they need to do, and they'll simply matron into ringleader instead of muxus, and that's a sign of a good goblins player and kind of a yikers for you because there's not a ton you can do sadly. Happily a lot of Goblins players I have found don't really adapt to what their opponent is doing, even in high Mythic they almost never Matron for the Ringleader, but if you're a goblins player there's a pro tip for you lol, we usually can't beat it when you gas up like that, we depend on forcing you to draw 1 card per turn. Neostorm: Supposedly Favored? I haven't played a ton of Neostorm, outside of getting destroyed by Ginky everytime we match up. Ken Yukuhiro's tempo list from the Grand Finals looks strong, with the ambushers and Uro instead of mana dorks. That list is good because it can actually attack your lifetotal in a meaningful way, and the midgame grindy plan with Uro is always strong. But I say this is favored because all you really gotta do is play around pact of negation, which means having 2 counterspells up as soon as they have the mana to combo. Alternatively you can hold up settle+counter in postboard games. If they can put pressure on your life total while you hold up all that mana, they can win. But more often than not their creatures are really bad. I like to bring in basically all my countermagic, settle, and all the cages, and take out cast out, 1 baffling end, and possibly some wraths. One nice thing about Arena is that it's blindingly obvious when your opponent has pact of negation in hand, so you can usually tell when they don't have it and you can be more aggressive. CONCLUSION: Thanks for reading my friends, please let me know your thoughts, especially if you disagree with me on anything, always happy to chat and learn more! As you can see UW control is not heavily unfavored in basically any matchup right now, everything is winnable, it's just a matter of tuning the sideboard and learning those play patterns of the popular decks. A skilled UW pilot will pretty much always be a force in Historic because of the powerful card pool and the fact that so many people in this format are just "trying to do the broken thing first." As Historic stands the threats are extremely strong, but the answers are not that good, so this leads to people playing linear decks full of threats. They play very straightforward lines, which you can recognize and punish. If we had fatal push, OG counterspell, path to exile, etc, in this format, I think more people would be playing non-linear strategies, but as it stands people are typically just going full speed ahead towards their own gameplan as much as possible trying to "get there" first, and because of this a deck full of counterspells and just a few key win conditions can seriously throw a wrench in the meta. Your wins always feel 'earned' with this deck, there are a million different decisions every game, and often times the obvious line, like taking a 3-for-1 with wrath on t4, is wrong because of what the opponent could punish you with. You will need to think 2-3 turns ahead, and constantly be deducing what is in your opponent's hand and how they can punish you. I make decisions these decisions wrong all the time, even after playing UW control for literally years, I still make a ton of mistakes. But surprisingly often you can get yourself out of bad spots, because this deck has a TON of comeback potential. There is really no board state that a Cast Out+Wrath of God can't fix. Anyway please let me know if you disagree with my thoughts, I'm always interested to be proven wrong or have my mind changed, gotta try not to reinforce your own decisions too much with a deck like this because being open to new sideboard tech, alternate lines, etc, is often the difference between winning and losing. Cheers, and happy counterspelling : )
The weapon modding in EFT is hands down the most complex weapon modding system in any game on the market. But at the same time it can be extremely intimidating due to the sheer number of weapon mods in the game, that is in the hundreds if not north of a thousand. This guide is more focused on a low level player experience overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of stuff. While it becomes substantially easier when you unlock the flea market and especially the workstation, but it's much more efficient when you know what to do and you're not figuring stuff out by trial and error. Before we get to business, we need to establish a bit of theory. You don't need to memorize every single part in the game, but you do need to know how to recognize it's purpose. To start off we will focus on rifles as they're the most complex in terms of modding and will provide you with skills that will be transferable to other weapons in the game. To get a nice baseline for modding in the game let's focus on two gun patterns - AR's and AK's as they are the most complex in terms of modding. AR pattern guns cover not only Assault Rifles like the M4A1 or HK-416, but also Designated Marksman Rifles (DMR's) like the RSASS or SR-25 or even submachine guns like the MPX. AK pattern guns cover not only a variety of AK's in all varieties of calibers - 7.62, 5.45, 5.56 and even the civilian 366 TKM, but also the DMR's like the SVD-S and submachine guns like the PP-19 or Saiga-9.
Lower Receiver - this is is where the main gun mechanism with the trigger, firemode selector. It's the main base of the gun. This is also where we attach the pistol grip.
Charging Handle - used to manually cycle the bolt. Don't worry about them at all, they don't affect anything beside ergonomics.
Upper Receiver - The second most important part of the gun. Here is where we can mount our scopes, attach our handguard and barrel and feed the magazine.
Barrel - these can be interchange to adjust to our needs. For example longer barrels provide more recoil reduction, but at the cost of ergonomics or viability in CQC. Some handguards are only compatibile with certain barrels and vice versa.
Muzzle device - here we have all of your flash hiders, compensators and suppressors.
Gasblock - a vital part that's used to carry the exhaust gasses back to the receiver to cycle the bolt. Modding wise we have only a few viable options, but a bit more on that later.
Handguard - this is where we can attach our front grip, lasers or canted sights. Different harnguards also offer different perks like ergonomics, recoil reduction
Buffer tube and stock - Only the buffer tube is a necessary element of the gun, but the stock provides a massive recoil recuction so you'll always want to have some sort of stock on your gun. Some stocks also offer an ergonomics boost.
Pistol grip - vital part, only impacting ergonomics.
Magazine - different magazines have different ergonomics impacts and other modifiers as reload speed.
https://reddit.com/link/iwgunq/video/cr9g2xkosbo51/player These were the AR pattern rifles, but how do AK's differ? In simple terms, while the base of the gun for AR's was the lower receiver, in AK's the receiver, charging handle and barrel are all one part. There is also no differentiation for lower and upper receivers. Everything else is roughly the same. Let's go over that:
Gun base (barrel, receiver and charging handle) - main gun mechanism
Gas block - vital part similar to AR pattern guns, but with one caveat - there are gas block and handguard combos available!
Pistol Grip - same as for AR
Handguard - same as for AR.
Dust cover - first big difference, this part is optional and the gun will work without it, but will lower your ergonomics
Stock - same in principle as AR but with a small difference. Contrary to AR rifles, some AK's have side foldable stocks.
Muzzle device - same as for AR
https://reddit.com/link/iwgunq/video/wmjfkjfpsbo51/player Aside from that we also have an assortment of other weapons that have less complex modding capabilities like Pistols, Shotguns, SMGs, Sniper Rifles and Carbines, but those don't benefit as much from modding as rifles. Pistol modding typically involves suppressing it, adding a flashlight and adding a compact red dot on top of it. Much the same for shotguns although the stock versions are good enough most of the time. SMGs offer a little more with the addition of front grips. Sniper rifles and carbines in some cases have different chasis but that's more of a late game gimmick. There are two essential parameters that change the most in the process of modding a gun - recoil and ergonomics. There are also other like sighting range, accuracy and muzzle velocity, but they are more inherent to the gun itself and changes are negligable. Recoil is self explanatory but ergonomics might be a bit confusing. In short ergonomics influence:
Speed of aiming down sights
Amount of noise during aiming down sights
Stamina drain during aiming down sights.
Pro Tip #1 - The inspect window is your friend. Every single item in the game can be inspected which will give you a movable window with a 3D model of the part, context buttons, attachment options, stats & info and lastly a description. There's also a cool feature which shows you which guns a given item is compatible with, however it only shows the ones that you have in your possesion (both in raid and in stash!). Additionally we have to note that the caliber of a given gun is marked in the top right corner of the gun box: https://preview.redd.it/pyofvfhqsbo51.jpg?width=819&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d502201fe7a71ad5da9c7be09a1021df6036a9f
Modding a gun!
To mod a gun in Escape from Tarkov you have two options:
Directly through the inventory - works only for adding stuff onto your gun and if the gun has a spare slot, just drag an attachment and drop it onto the gun. This also works for other standalone pieces of gear.
Through the inspect window - if you want to take something off, you need to use the Inspect window which contains a bottom section with every attachment mounted on the gun.
Through the preset screen - also available after you unlock your workbench.
https://preview.redd.it/7yq03rc4tbo51.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=506d2cc75f5b1c496aebf04db797b33c3948c859 The main difference between the modding screen and preset screen is that the modding screen shows only parts that are in your stash, while the preset screen allows you to see all compatible parts that are known to you (as in, you have examined). This is something that you'll want to unlock as soon as you can. However, until you get access to the flea market, it's usefulness will be severely limited.
---- Sights ----
First thing you'd want to do when you get a gun in EFT is probably to put on a reddot so you're not forced to use iron sights. For that you have two options:
Picatinny rails - found mostly in western weapons but also in russian ones
Dovetail mounts - found only in selected russian weapons.
https://preview.redd.it/42ivrkoitbo51.png?width=1719&format=png&auto=webp&s=de07599315d3f07cb3d84ca9a3bf59d544a50b54 If you want to mount a sight on a picatinny rail, it's simple. Just slap it on the weapon and you're good to go! But if we want to do the same thing for an AK, we need either an additional mount or a scope that's already designed to utilize the dovetail mount like the PSO 1, USP-1 4x, Cobra EKP-8-02 or OKP-7 (Dovetail)) There is a wide array of rails for dovetail mounts: Axion Cobra, Pilad , B-13 or the B-13V among other. None of them however are available to you in the beginning, but it's good to look of for them when looting. https://preview.redd.it/flrucd0htbo51.png?width=1599&format=png&auto=webp&s=c05d62e7679516a05eede551b11e1b12d0cb9d70 There's also the option to put sights on railed dust covers, the most popular one being the Bastion dust cover, commonly found in crates and scavs. There are 3 other ones, but they're uncommon and available late in the game. To put one on you have to remove the default dust cover and the rear sights. In terms of choice it's really up to personal preference. In the beginning every sight is an upgrade over irons, but as you progress through the game so experiment! The most popular red dot, by far, is the PK-06 due to it's slim frame and clear sight. One of the most often spawning reddots is the P1X42 which is also quite decent. Somewhere sitting in the middle we have Assault scopes which combine long and close range capability like the ELCAN SpecterDR 1x/4x Scope or the Valday PS-320 1x/6x Scope. They're typically, directly mounted onto the rail, with the exception of the Trijicon ACOG scopes which require an additional mount, but also are compatible with the AR Carry Handle ! In terms of long range scopes, the PSO family of scopes and the USP-1 is your best bet at low levels as it's available at Prapor LL1. In terms of proper optics they come in 3 ring mount variants:
25mm ring mount for the Pilad 4x32 - often found on Scavs with VPO-215 hunting rifles.
KMZ ring mount for KMZ 1P69 and KMZ 1P59 scopes - comes in both railed and dovetail mount variants
30mm ring mounts for variable optic scopes like the commonly encountered TAC 30 riflescope.
Then we have our special scopes like thermals and nightvision scopes but I wouldn't bother with them for now. The thermals don't spawn in raid, the NSPU-M is meme-level trash and the Vulcan requires an additional mount available at Jaeger LL1. Lastly, we have the mosin PU 3.5x scope, but it requires two aditional mounts available at Prapor LL2 and fits only on the regular Mosin variant (not on the Infantry or Sawed off versions). Pro tip #2 - Change that gas block! Let's say you find an ADAR or an M4, put a sight on it and realize that there's this pesky front sight in the way. It's like this <--- but you want it like - The problem is that the front sight is combined with the gas block, but luckly it's an easy fix - you just have to replace the frontsight/gas block with the MK12 Low Profile Gas Block. https://preview.redd.it/dk4ygac4ubo51.png?width=612&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c55d6af28bdeae4c1bce71cb3eb5158d5748dd9 It will also be necessary when you replace any of the handguards, speaking of which...
---- Handguards ----
Now let's say you want to put a frontgrip, laser or flashlight on your gun - for that you'll need to have a railed handguard. These come in two forms: integrallyrailed and modular. Modular handguards require additional, sometimes exotic, additional mounts to allow you to put on attachments. There are also mixed ones that have a rail for sights, lasers or flashlights but require a mount for a grip. How to identify them? Just open them up in the inspect menu and rotate around. https://preview.redd.it/953yn7vjvbo51.png?width=554&format=png&auto=webp&s=4df3f74ffb999c830b2e007384a6d983df99c220 The most commonly used ones are the M-LOK guides which fit on the biggest amount of handguards. However, to make matters worse, they come in different lengths which limits what they can be used for. A 4.1 in guide can be used for a foregrip only, while a 2.5 inch can be used only for lasers and flashlights. They're available at LL2 Mechanic, so quite advanced into the game. The earliest available handguard mounts are the Vltor CASV keymod mounts, unlocked at LL2 Peacekeeper, but they have a limited comatibility. With that in mind, you should be on the lookout for handguards with integrated rails. Even if you gain access to the flea market a lot of them come with an inflated price tag. That said, handguards such as the aforementioned B-10M , CAA RS47 should be your prime interest when it comes to AK platform weapons. Sometimes you can also find the Aggressor, which is a top tier handguard. It also has to be mentioned that these handugards (and handguard-gas block combos) allow you to mount Red dot sights! However this is only true for AK-pattern handguards as For AR's like the M4A1, TX-15 DML or ADAR 2-15 you basically have only the option of the Daniel Defence RIS series - RIS II FSP 9.5 or RIS II 12.25. There's also the KAC RIS available at Peacekeeper LL2. All other require additional mounts, but out of those the LVOA-S and LVOA-C are of interest as they use the Vltor CASV keymod mounts. Similar systems like the HK-416, MPX, RSASS, SR-25 or even the SA-58 already come with their own proprietary handguards and (with a few minor exceptions) are not interchangable! The stock versions of the HK-416, MPX and the short SA-58 already come with railed handguards and only the higher tier ones require additional mounts. Also, if you happen to hit the jackpot and loot a TX-15, these already come with attached mounts. To wrap it up, here's an example of a modded AR handguard with a canted backup sight, laser pointer and a front grip. (yes! individual parts also have their own individual sub inspection screens!) https://preview.redd.it/q39bd9xyvbo51.png?width=1077&format=png&auto=webp&s=09dafcf547857b24c32eb5a4d6f3cad3842f6da9 As we can see the front grip (Shift) can be mounted only on the 4.1in M-LOK mount, wwhile the TBL laser pointer goes onto the 2.5in M-LOK mount. In case of this handguard we can see 4 additional slots for 2.5in M-Lok mounts which allow us to place the laser pointer in multiple configurations - underneat, on the sides or the 45deg angle mounting point. Lastly we have the T-1 backup sight. --- Backup sights --- Almost a necessity when running a long range fixed zoom scope like the PSO. Backup canted sights require you to have a railed handguard and the NcStar MPR45 Backup mount available at Peacekeeper LL2, so pretty early. It does spawn occasionally but it's price gauged on the flea so beware. https://preview.redd.it/ataatk8rvbo51.png?width=585&format=png&auto=webp&s=e1b63f72b956101661a4585599e48bded670d254 The backup mount only takes compact sights - the earliest one available to you is the Burris FastFire 3 Reflex Sight at Peacekeeper LL1.
--- Front Grips ----
For front grips the formula is quite simple - it's better to have one, nevermind what it is. At minimum they add ergonomics, but some also provide a substantial recoil reduction. I recommed checking out this followin cheat sheet made by u/platypus364:https://www.reddit.com/EscapefromTarkov/comments/g2rltf/foregrips_cheat_sheet/ Allmost all of them are interchangeable except the Hera CQRwhich only fits on selected rifles.
--- Stocks ---
Stocks serve the main function of providing a substantial recoil reduction boost, ranging roughly from 30 to 50%, so you'll always want to have a stock on your gun (some won't work without them!). Some also provide a boost to ergonomics. Proprietary stocks are used only for one type of gun. Use the Inspect window extensively to find out. Western fixed stocks are mostly found on the AR pattern rifles, the HK-416, RSASS, SR-25, SA-58, M1A SASS, but also on russian weapons like the RPK-16 and the TAPCO SKS chassis. Most stocks need to be put on the buffer tube and they're interchangable for the most part with one exception - the Magpul PRS GEN2 stock that needs the COLT "A2" buffer tube. The GEN3 variants can go on other buffer tubes. There are also stocks that combine the functionality of the buffer tube and stock into one Gen.4 , M7A1 PDW or the UBR GEN2. I recommend you use the following cheat sheets for best AR stocks by u/platypus364: https://www.reddit.com/EscapefromTarkov/comments/g2misk/ar_stocks_cheat_sheet/. Russian AK pattern fixed stocks go only on non-folding variants like AK-74 , AK-74N , AKM , AKMN , Vepr AKM/VPO-209 and Vepr KM/VPO-136. The best ones are the Zhukov-S and the UAS stocks so be on the lookout for them. All other AK variants, the PP-19, Saiga-9 and Saiga-12 all take folding stocks. By default, they have their own stocks but there are also two other superior options from Zenit, the PT-3 and PT-1 with the former being better by a hair and is also the top folding AK stock in the game. However, they need an additional buffer lock to be able to mount them, available at LL2 Skier: AK74/AK100 PT Lock. Often times you're best off by putting on the Recoil pad, available at LL2 prapor, on the default gun stock which grants you a handsome -5% recoil reduction. [ Side note start ] To make matters slightly more complicated, we have two outliers in the form of our favorite AKS-74u and the AKS-74, that have a similar albeit different lock:AKS-74/AKS-74U PT Lock. But that's not all. There's also theAKM/AK-74 PT Lockwhich allows us to mount the PT-1 stock on fixed stock AK variants! But wait, there's even more! You can also put western style stocks on both fixed and folding AK pattern guns (except the Magpul PRS GEN2 ), but that's more of a 30+ Lvl gimmick offered at LL3 Mechanic. Still they ocasionally spawn on scavs so you might be on the lookout for those. [ Side note end ] Speaking of stocks it's worth to mention carbines and snipers. We've touched on them before and while for the most part modding is very limited and more prominent in late game progression. However we can single out the SKS as it's an entry level weapon and does warrant some attention. The SKS comes in two variants - the regular SKS and the hunting variant OP-SKS which has the ability to accomodate the Dovetail OP-SKS mount, which is essential if you want to use any long range scope. The default stock chassis don't allow for any modding, but there are the Fab Defence UAS Stock which has a rail for a red dot and a tactical device or the Tapco stock which also has a red dot rail but also allows a front grip. You'll find the Tapco variant on scavs sometimes, and the UAS spawns in weapon crates. Lastly, theres also the UTG SKS SOCOM Rail mount which allows you to mount a front sight or a flashlight. Just drag and drop (only off raid!) onto the SKS and you're done.
--- Charging handles ---
I wouldn't bother with them at all, they just provide a minor ergonomics boost.
--- Pistol grips ---
Aside from one exception, they only affect your ergonomics. As always, the Inspect window is your friend for compatibility. They're "nice to haves" but I wouldn't put prime focus on them in the beginning. There are however pistol-stock combos for the AR's - one is the default ADAR 2-15 wooden stock and the other is the Hera Arms CQR pistol grip-stock. There's also a pistol grip-buffet tube combo for the AS VAL.
--- Magazines ---
Magazines are very fragmented and in general there's little interchangeability between them. Most of them are proprietary, but there are some that are interchangeable, particularly the 5.45x39, 5.56x45 and 7.62x39 variants. Magazines, aside from different capacities, have impact on ergonomics and magazine loading/reloading time. Typically bigger magazines are less ergonomic and take longer to load. As always, check the inspection window for stats. Overall when it comes to charging handles, pistol grips and magazines, I wouldn't worry about them too much in the beginning stages of the game.
--- Barrels ---
Exchangeable barrels are mostly a feature of western rifles, DMRs and shotguns. Carbines and SMGs with the exception of the MPX come with only one barrel variant. Russian rifles (with the exception of the RPK-16) have the barrel fixed to the receiver. Barrel length typically is proportional to recoil reduction at the cost of ergonomics. Shorter barrels are mostly utilized in CQC environments. Some handguards for the AR platform will only work with specific barrels. Here it's best to use the Presets modding window as it can get somewhat confusing. Barrels have decent per slot value and are always a worthy pickup.
--- Muzzle devices ---
Muzzle devices divide into 3 categories:
Muzzle adapters - In general they are neutral to your stats and are just ast their names suggest, adapters. In some cases they are necessary to even allow mounting of a proper muzzle break or silencer
Compensators/Muzzle breaks/Flashhiders - these are used to bring down your recoil, sometimes at a minor cost of accuracy and ergonomics. However some of them serve as adapters for suppressors on top of being compensators themselves.
Suppressors - they provide you with sound dampening and often recoil reduction, but at a - sometimes substantial! - cost of negative ergonomics.
All follow the same general theme of being bound to a particular caliber (or calibers), but there are some exceptions when it comes to threading. For example the AK-103 and AK-104 rifles have a different barrel threading than the AKM derivative rifles, but that can be bypassed by using the TT AKM adapter. I wouldn't concern myself with adapters for now. A lot of them are virtually useless (i.e. thread protectors), some of them are just for variety (i.e. additional compatibility). The only few that are worth attention are the ONE Mount for Gemtech suppressors and the SVD-S Thr. adapter as it's the only way to mount a suppressor on the SVD-S. Suppressors are always worth picking up and using. In the current Tarkov soundscape, suppressors are almost hollywood quiet and personally I never run without one. If you have none, a compensator will be fine. The inspection window descriptions should always give you an indication if it requires an adapter or matching muzzle break. A good rule of thumb at the beginning is to keep suppressors matching to the gear you have available to you but sell the rest, particularly those that need an adapter.
--- Tips for sub Level 10's ---
Contrary to popular gospel, you're not limited only to SKS's and Pacas for the first 10 levels. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started.
Use your scav whenever you can. Collect gear off fallen scavs, they'll often have decent armor and weapons you can use as a base for your next raid with mild investment. Reserve is the best map for scavving, but it has long queues and can be quite overwhelming. Interchange comes in at close second. Customs can be good if you avoid hot spots. I'd avoid Factory, it's a meatgrinder. Woods can be good if you're experienced but would avoid it in the beginning.
Weapon cases/crates are a great (albeit RNG bound) source of attachments, weapons and ammo, loot them whenever you encounter one.
Keep what you can use, sell the rest. Finding an RSASS might be cool, but you won't get much use of it when you don't have access to ammo and magazines.
Attachments are often worth more than guns. In terms of the moneymaking metagame, the value per slot is king. Picking up two 1-slot red dots will net you the same profit as an 8-10 slot AK.
Handguards and various railed mounts are great for stacking attachments - this is why people take mounts off shotguns, they can stack up to 3 flashlights/lasers in just one slot. Same can be done with handguards - on some of them you can put 3 lasers, a sight and a front grip.
--- Tips for using the Linked Search function ---
When you finally get access to the flea market, you're only bound by your wealth. There's a function called Linked Search to help you find compatible items. While the feature is pretty self explanatory, searching can seem unreliable. The most important thing to note is that clicking Linked Search on an assembled gun, does not return the list of parts compatible with that particular gun. Instead it returns the list of parts compatible with that particular type's gun base! So if you're looking for a matching muzzle device for that M4 you've just looted, you have to do a linked search on the barrel! If you want to change the handguard, you need to do a linked search on the upper receiver. And so on. Here's a shortened cheat sheet to
Muzzle device - barrel (if exchangeable) or base gun
Front grip/tactical device - handguard (might need additonal mount)
Handguard - upper receiver or gas block (AK's)
Gas Block - barrel or base gun (AK's)
Charging handle - upper receiver or base gun (AK's)
Pistol grip, buffer tube, stock or stock adapter - lower receiver, base gun (AKs) or chassis (i.e Tapco SKS)
MUST READ ! How can I upgrade my Optiplex ? UPGRADE F.A.Q
Hi, As there are to many posts on this subreddit basically asking : "Can I put X GPU in Y Optiplex ???" or "Is this CPU enough for running X game ?", the moderation decided to write this FAQ post, which hopefully will help out most people upgrading their Optiplexes. I am not an Optiplex expert. I've opened and upgraded some units but I haven't seen them all. If there's a mistake, feel free to correct me, preferably with references so I could put them in this post. This FAQ is non exhaustive and additional parts can be added any time, so you can frequently check it. From now on, any post that asks for something that has been answered here will be deleted and the user will be asked to read the FAQ to answer his basic questions. He can then create a new post with more specific questions that don't figure in the FAQ to avoid this subreddit being a collection of GPU upgrades post. If you have any questions regarding PC upgrades in general (even after reading this FAQ), consider browsing pcmasterrace, buildapc or pcgamingtechsupport just to name a few. It's not that we don't want to help you, it's just because this subreddit is a small community and these mentioned communities have a much bigger number of online users. You will get a faster answer going through them. We are still welcoming posts about done Optiplex builds and also support questions that are not treated in this FAQ. Thanks for understanding.
0. Optiplex terminology
Dell Optiplexes, as they are businesses oriented machines commonly come in 5 different sizes : MT, which stands for Mini-Tower, is roughly the size of a m-ATX build. They feature a 5.25inch optical drive bay (on older models, laptop sized optical drives on newer models), at least one 3.5 inch drive bay. They sometimes have a 2.5inch drive bay too. They do have a PCIe 16x slot and a roughly ATX compliant PSU. Some older models use non-ATX connectors on their PSU but one patient enough could remap a standard ATX PSU to them to increase the maximum power delivery. They can house decent GPUs but some drive-bay-cutting can be required for the longest cards. They are the easiest to upgrade and overall less expensive in the used market because they were less expensive new too. DT, which stands for Desktop Tower are basically low profile versions of MT units. That means that they are half the width and can be easier put on a desk. They feature a 5.25inch optical drive bay (on older models, laptop sized optical drives on newer models) and a 3.5inch drive bay. Some have a 2.5 inch drive bay. They have a PCIe 16x slot but since they are low profile machines, only low profile GPUs will fit without chassis modification. With chassis modification, a regular GPU can be plugged without issues. Their PSU is non-ATX and can be hardly replaced without chassis modification. Some can be swapped for other Optiplex PSUs with higher rating but it is overall quite limiting in terms of upgrades. They also have a TDP limit set in BIOS, which prevent the motherboard from accepting the biggest CPU of its socket because it would overheat or overdrive the PSU. So for these ones, I highly recommend staying on low power, low profile GPUs. SFF, which means Small Form Factor, is a bit smaller than the DT. They offer basically the same upgrades than the DT but feature a laptop optical drive and at least one 2.5inch drive bay. Some feature a 3.5inch drive bay, but not all of them. USFF, which stands for Ultra Small Form Factor is basically half the volume of a DT. They offer very little to no upgrade possibilities : you can upgrade the CPU, the RAM, the storage, and... That's all. They feature a laptop optical drive and a one 2.5inch drive bay. They do have a PCIe 1x slot (laptop sized) for an optional Wi-Fi card. Micro, which means... Well, micro. It's even smaller than the USFF and has been introduced in later series to replace the DT variant. These are very low power machines, with no CPU upgrades possible, as it is soldered. RAM and storage upgrades are eventually possible depending on the exact model. No GPU upgrade possible either. They run on a external power supply. All these different sizes are easy to recognize... Except if you don't know about them ! Because there's no clear inscription that is easy to access on the unit for a non Optiplex user to indicate it in their posts, that makes us lost time because we constantly have to ask for that information. Here's a side by side comparison of the lineup : From left to right : USFF, SFF, MT and DT. The newer models have a slightly different design, along with the introduction of the Micro variant.
I. Now can I upgrade my Optiplex ?
Like for any PC, there are some things to consider before upgrading components inside : Does the motherboard have aPCIe 16xslot available for a dedicated GPU ? For MT, DT and SFF owners, yes, there's one. But DT and SFF units can only have a low-profile expansion card. USFF units can have a GPU connected with the use of adapters but the performance will be significantly reduced. Micro variants cannot receive any GPU upgrades. Is the PSU powerful enough for a dedicated GPU ? Most of the time, the stock PSU is too weak for gaming grade GPUs (understand : any PSU that requires at least a 6-pin power connector). On MT units, it is very easy to replace depending on the model and almost any ATX PSU will fit the case. For DT, SFF and USFF unit owners, these are not ATX compliant and often come with proprietary connectors but one with sufficient motivation could still use a ATX PSU, modify the cable pinout and lay the PSU outside of the case. Not very appealing but functional. To know how much power a GPU need, you can visit the GPU manufacturer website and be sure the PSU follows the minimum PSU requirements of the GPU. If it does not, you might have stability issues, because the PSU can't feed all components properly, data corruption, and possible damage to the PSU and/or the motherboard. So be always sure to have at least a 100W headroom, because Optiplexes cannot be overclocked, it is unnecessary to go higher with the headroom. Can the new GPU fit the case ? Looks like an obvious one but since there are low-profile Optiplexes available, asking yourself the question can be necessary. If you're unsure if the GPU length will fit in the case, just measure the case, and you'll know ! Smaller Optiplexes, like the DT and the SFF are low profile but if you're creative enough, a full size GPU can fit the case, without cutting a hole in the side panel, like it's commonly seen. The USFF variant can still receive a dedicated GPU, through mini PCIe 1x to PCIe 16x adapters, but performance will be much lower because of the reduced bandwidth of the PCIe 1x... Will I get bottleneck because it's a Optiplex ? It depends on the generation of your unit. Models prior to 3rd/4th Intel gen will only have PCIe 2.0 on its internal ports, which can cause decreased performance because of the reduced bandwidth. Also note that some Optiplexes, despite having PCIe 3.0 available in their chipsets, have only their PCIe 2.0 lanes wired on the motherboard. This will affect higher end GPUs the most. There are charts online showing the effects of a lower bandwidth on some high end GPUs. Don't worry, your GTX1060 should run fine. A safe bet would be buying a higher end Optiplex, but these are more expensive and that can defeat the purpose of buying an Optiplex to make it into a cheap gaming PC. As these are primarily prebuilt PCs made for professionals, their internals are cheap. The PSU is fine but weak, and the motherboard VRMs are not cooled most of the time. Literal translation : You can't expect a 4th gen Optiplex to run as well as a 4th gen high end custom build with similar specs. Are you sure the GPU you will put in here won't be bottlenecked by the CPU ? Well, again, it depends. Most Optiplexes found on sale are a few generations behind because companies get rid of them as their warranty expired. Of course, you will not have top notch performance (also because of stated above), but anything 3rd generation or more recent are still suitable for modern gaming, you will just need to have lower expectations. Older CPU lack some important instruction sets, especially AVX, which appeared in some 2nd gen Intel chips. Games have a huge performance boost from AVX and not having it can be very limiting in most recent titles, especially the less optimized ones. Also, consider that CPU support on these is limited. You can upgrade to a i5 or a i7 but not every model is supported and you can't overclock anything on Optiplexes. Older i5/i7 are considered quite average for gaming nowadays. If your Optiplex is older than 2nd Intel generation, I don't recommend you to attempt gaming with these. You will be always be disappointed. Gaming on 2 core CPUs is not possible anymore and older Core 2 Quad CPUs are very poorly clocked. In that case, I advise you to stick to basic computing tasks with these or buy a more recent model, I'm sorry. How can I upgrade my CPU then ? Since not all physically compatible CPU are supported by the motherboard (mainly for power consumption reasons), you'll have to check the CPU compatibility of your unit. So for that, you type in your favorite web search engine "optiplex model catalog". You'll find specification catalogs from Dell's website most of the time, or from online shops that used to sell that model. Inside the documentation, you will find all configuration variants the series would have been sold with. Be sure to check compatibility with your specific variant, as it changes between them. If a CPU is listed as being sold in a higher end machine, consider it compatible with yours. Some of these supported CPUs can be quite tricky to find, because some were not even sold in boxes and thus available only to OEMs, especially the lower consumption variants of some i5 and i7 chips. You will have a hard time getting your hands on one of these. I recommend you checking Aliexpress to buy your CPUs. They have tons of used OEM parts. Some specific models are quite expensive for what they are, that's why I don't recommend investing too much in a CPU. I ordered several used CPUs on Aliexpress and had no issues, but that does not mean it can't be any. If you don't want to order in China, I understand, but you will be restricted to the CPUs that are available where you live, and you can pay more for it, if it is very uncommon. To support more "mainstram" CPUs, there's no magic trick, you'll need a modified BIOS ROM for your motherboard. HP BIOSes are quite locked down, there's no editor that I'm aware of. That means that you'll need to manually edit the BIOS through a hexadecimal editor and know precisely what you're doing ! I don't recommend you to flash a non-official downloaded BIOS that is said to work on your model. There are lots of motherboard revisions and it might not be compatible with the motherboard itself and you will brick it. DISCLAIMER : Flashing a modified BIOS can void the manufacturer's warranty (duh) but can also damage the hardware if not done properly. There's no "BIOS flashback" option on these motherboards, as they are not meant to be flashed without HP's tools and ROMs. If the CPU you want to use is not supported, there must be a reason, don't you think ? A BIOS update through HP's utility from the BIOS itself don't hurt tho. Most older Optiplexes still receive BIOS updates. To replace the CPU, be very careful (as you always should be). If the stock thermal paste has never been replaced, chances are that the cooler is stuck really hard on the CPU. DON'T TWIST THE COOLER ! It can destroy the socket... I've done the mistake myself. If is is stuck and you can access the 3 anchor screws on the socket (which basically hold down the CPU to the socket), unscrew them and the cooler will come with the CPU stuck on it. Then use plastic tools to break the thermal paste seal and get back the CPU. If you can't access those screws, you'll need some more trickery. You'll need Petrol F and/or White Spirit. Petrol F is more efficient on very dried pastes. So the goal is to apply Petrol F between the CPU and the cooler with the help of a syringe or a thin brush. Apply Petrol F all around the point where the CPU and the cooler meets. With patience and care, the cooler should come off quite easily. Petrol F actually liquefies thermal paste and is a good way to clean it off. Remove all residue from the CPU and the cooler with isopropyl alcohol and be careful not to touch the areas. Apply new thermal paste and you're done ! I highly recommend to replace the thermal paste of the CPU, even if you will not replace the CPU. The ideal being performing a delid on the CPU (3rd gen and later only) to ensure maximum thermal performance, but if you don't know how to perform this delicate operation, don't do it.
II. Can I play X game on my now upgraded Optiplex ?
This subreddit is not dedicated to gaming. But it would be tyranny for moderation to delete a post dedicated to specific games running on a Optiplex machines because it is still Optiplex related, I guess ? Anyways, I highly recommend to check online for more information before posting here. There are lots of benchmark videos available on YouTube and simply browsing "CPU name + GPU name + game name" should give some results. If you're not satisfied with video benchmarks, ask over at gaming or pcmasterrace, they will provide much faster answers. Thanks for reading this wall of text, you've made it ! If you have other questions, feel free to make a post on this subreddit. If it is an interesting question, it might end up in this FAQ, who knows ? If you have suggestions or additional tips you feel must be included in this FAQ, feel free to comment this post.
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