There was some notable Modern content this weekend as StarCity had a Modern portion of their invitational as well as a Modern Classic in Columbus. While there are some interesting results from the invitational, I’m going to focus my column on looking over the results from the Classic. I’ve always found it to be more worthwhile to examine single format events given there is only one data field to look at and there’s no confusion about a pilot’s success in another format influencing the results.
Here is a breakdown of the top 16:
Aggro
1—Zoo
2—Burn
1—Elves
1—Death’s Shadow
1—Merfolk
1—Affinity
Control
1—Lantern Control
1—Jeskai Thopter Foundry
1—Mardu Mentor
1—GR Eldrazi
1—Jund
Combo
2—Abzan Company
2—Scapeshift
As always, I’ll issue the disclaimer that the aggro/control/combo signifiers aren’t perfect and that they should be taken with a grain of salt. Anyway, these results are encouraging to say the least. One, there are 13 unique archetypes out of the the top 16 decks which showcases the depth and diversity of Modern. No deck is represented more than twice in the top 16, which may be a nightmare for folks looking to tune their sideboards, but good news for people who want a range of playable options within the format. Two, there is a good mix of aggro, control/midrange, and combo strategies within the top 16. Playing creatures and attacking is good, playing [casthaven]Ensnaring Bridge[/casthaven] and milling cards is good, and [casthaven]Scapeshift[/casthaven]ing is good too. Three, there are some pretty sweet brews to come out of this tournment.
First thing I want to talk about is Elves, here is Jay Smith’s 5th place list:
Gbw Elves
This is definitely the first time I’ve seen [casthaven]Leyline of Vitality[/casthaven] as a board plan, and to be honest, I like it. Leyline is a resonable way to make your elf army survive [casthaven]Pyroclasm[/casthaven] and [casthaven]Kozilek’s Return[/casthaven] (given you have an Archdruid), help your smaller creatures survive combat against Zoo/Abzan Company, and also pad your life total against decks that are looking to race or burn you out. While Leyline of Vitality has the same problem other Leylines have, in that they get significantly worse when you have to actually pay for them, the mana dorks in Elves makes this a fairly resonable proposition. Aside from the Leyline plan, I want to continue my endorsement for Elves being an excellent deck in this metagame. While the deck does lack interaction, it is capable of explosive draws and can rebuild quickly if things go wrong thanks to [casthaven]Collected Company[/casthaven]. If you were expecting more GBx decks you could even build a grindier shell foregoing [casthaven]Chord of Calling[/casthaven] for [casthaven]Lead the Stampede[/casthaven] and a few [casthaven]Sylvan Messenger[/casthaven]s.
Of course if we’re going to talk about spice, there are two rogue strategies emerging from the top sixteen, the Jeskai Thopter deck and the Mardu Mentor build. Let’s start with David Bucceli’s 6th place ThopterSword build:
Jeskai ThopterSword
Creatures (5)
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
Planeswalkers (2)
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Gideon JuraLands (24)
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Academy Ruins
Spells (29)
1 Crucible Of Worlds
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Sword of the Meek
3 Thopter Foundry
2 Cryptic Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
2 Remand
1 Spell Snare
1 Sphinx’s Revelation
4 Ancestral Vision
1 Supreme Verdict
Sideboard (15)
2 Vedalken Shackles
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Porphyry Nodes
2 Wheel of Sun and Moon
2 Celestial Flare
1 Dispel
2 Negate
1 Wear
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Vandalblast
Buccelli’s list is the first one I’ve seen that jams the recently unbanned [casthaven]Sword of the Meek[/casthaven] and [casthaven]Ancestral Vision[/casthaven] in the same deck. Basically, this list is a Jeskai Control deck with plenty of removal, countermagic, and the ThopterSword combo as a finisher. Buccelli also found room for an [casthaven]Academy Ruins[/casthaven] to recur [casthaven]Engineered Explosives[/casthaven] and a maindeck [casthaven]Crucible of Worlds[/casthaven] to replay fetch lands and out [casthaven]Ghost Quarter[/casthaven] an opponent. This deck does look a little clunky, but if you can resolve a visions and make it to the late game, you have plenty of options to close it out.
Some time ago I wrote an article about a sweet deck I saw at a PPTQ that played the creature suite of [casthaven]Dark Confidant[/casthaven], [casthaven]Young Pyromancer[/casthaven], and [casthaven]Monastery Mentor[/casthaven] along with [casthaven]Kolaghan’s Command[/casthaven] and a bunch of efficient removal. The deck looked awesome but I hadn’t seen it in action again until seeing Joe Jancuk’s list from the Classic.
Joe Jancuk
Mardu
Creatures (11)
4 Dark Confidant
3 Monastery Mentor
4 Young PyromancerLands (23)
1 Mountain
2 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Arid Mesa
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Godless Shrine
3 Marsh Flats
2 Needle Spires
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Vault of the Archangel
Spells (26)
3 Kolaghan’s Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
2 Zealous Persecution
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lingering Souls
2 Painful Truths
2 Thoughtseize
Sideboard (15)
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Stony Silence
2 Crackling Doom
1 Murderous Cut
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Damnation
1 Duress
1 Painful Truths
Did I mention that this list is awesome? I do wish it played [casthaven]Shambling Vent[/casthaven] over [casthaven]Needle Spires[/casthaven] given that this deck deals a lot of damage to itself via Bob, [casthaven]Thoughtseize[/casthaven], and [casthaven]Painful Truths[/casthaven] but I will defer to the pilot here as I don’t have a lot of experience with this deck.
So yeah, Modern is awesome right now and full of viable strategies and archtypes. I didn’t even get a chance to mention that RG Eldrazi found its way into the top sixteen, [casthaven]Eye of Ugin[/casthaven] ban notwithstanding. With Modern season looming in the near future, I’m looking forward to jamming games with a bunch of these decks and reporting back here. As always, thanks for reading.
In terms of Magic, Shawn Massak is a Modern enthusiast, with a penchant for tier two decks, counterspells, and pre Eighth Edition frames. In terms of life, Shawn lives in Brighton, MA where he works as an employment coordinator for people with disabilities, plays guitar in an indie-pop band, and spends his free time reading comics, complaining about pro-wrestling, and wishing his apartment allowed dogs as pets.