Finally after getting married, changing jobs, and fighting off a sinus infection I have been able to jump back into Magic feet first. Over the last few months all I had time for was a tournament or side event here or there. That’s not the frequency I enjoy playing, and it’s only made worse by having to run tournaments at work. I was full of jealousy watching people draft, play modern, EDH, basically anything. Being able to finally attend FNM at the store I had been working at for the past two years was quite the treat. From working so many Fridays at the store I knew we had a strong Modern crowd, so I decided my first Friday after leaving the store to sleeve up an old favorite and play a format that I have seriously neglected for over two years.
Green Tron
| Creatures (13) 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 1 Emrakul, the Promised End 4 Primeval Titan 3 Tarmogoyf 2 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 2 Wurmcoil Engine Spells (22) 4 Ancient Stirrings 2 Beast Within 4 Expedition Map 4 Explore 2 Mirage Mirror 4 Reap and Sow 2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon | Lands (25) 3 Cavern of Souls 8 Forest 2 Sanctum of Ugin 4 Urza’s Mine 4 Urza’s Power Plant 4 Urza’s Tower |
I’ve written about this list before. You’ll notice that despite the fact it’s been a few years, I haven’t made many changes. I added in Mirage Mirror, an underrated powerhouse, and sadly lost my Eye of Ugin to the Great Eldrazi Bans. Overall though you’ll notice the list is almost identical. It surprised me how successful the deck was despite how long it’s been. Modern has changed so much over the last few years, but here we are.
It’s definitely a pretty unusual list. I had a few people thumb through it at Modern and go, “why yes those are in fact Magic cards.” That’s a fair assessment. You won’t meet a lot of other people running Reap and Sow in a Modern deck, though I’ve found it to be extremely effective in Tron, especially since losing Eye of Ugin. The deck built this way can easily turn three an Ugin—a play that a vast majority of decks in Modern can’t beat.
It’s also not something that is very glass cannon thanks to Explore and Ancient Stirrings. I find this build impressively consistent and easy to pilot. The games where I have trouble finding what I need because I don’t have Eye, I have card draw thanks to Explore, dig thanks to Ancient Stirrings, and I can thin my deck with Expedition Map. I’m really interested in testing Thaumatic Compass in this build when it comes out because I think that it has the possibility of adding quite a bit to the deck.
Mirage Mirror has made more improvements to the deck than I ever expected. Mono-Green Tron has struggled in the early game—that’s always been it’s biggest problem. A couple years ago I added Tarmogoyf which has been an excellent addition but the deck needed more. There are very few permanents that Mirage Mirror can’t answer, which is really amazing. Sanctum of Ugin is no Eye of Ugin but at least it isn’t Legendary which definitely makes a difference.
In the past the deck really struggled against Storm builds. Now, since Gitaxian Probe was banned and I added Goyf and Mirage Mirror, the deck has really improved. If you’re looking for a fun deck to play in Modern I strongly recommend this. Also while Emrakul, Ugin, Wurmcoils, and Goyf are expensive the rest of the deck is fairly affordable and could be easily modified into a budget deck. If you’re looking for a Modern deck that’s fun and a bit different, I hope you give this a spin.
Kate hails from Worcester MA and also does a bit of Card Altering. Check her Stuff out on Facebook! She mainly plays legacy and modern though will occasionally find herself playing EDH.