Brad Carpenter
Brad Carpenter's Modern Humans
Modern has gone through a pretty big metagame shift recently after Mythic Championships II London and the release of War of the Spark.
Humans made a huge resurgence at the MC, where Eli Loveman won with the deck and was joined by two other Humans players in the Top 8. This has almost entirely pushed my favorite and go to deck, Grixis Shadow, out of the format. Couple that with War of the Spark’s release and you’ve got a whole new world. Karn, the Great Creator can fetch Mycosynth Lattice to lock out opponents, which both Amulet Titan and Tron have added as a one-two punch to fight on a new whole new axis. Izzet Phoenix remains a powerful choice, albeit a little stale.
Much like every Wednesday before a tournament, I have no idea what I’m going to actually submit. I believe that Humans is likely the objective best choice because it is the most powerful and proactive deck at moment, having the tried and true strategy of pieces of disruption on a stick, which leads me to it being my go to for this weeks what you should play. However, I’m sure I will register it due to past experiences with the deck because, at least in Modern, you should play what you know best as the experience of matchups and overall comfort-level will take you so much further in an event than trying to metagame ever will.
Matthew Dilks
Matthew Dilks's Modern Amulet Titan
Why no Karn, the Great Creator? No doubt it’s a powerful card, but in Modern I want my main deck to be streamlined and consistent. Karn takes the spot of other low-power role players like Trinket Mage and Coalition Relic. I prefer to build the deck to maximize my Plan A even if Plan B is powerful in a vacuum. In addition to occupying main-deck space, the artifacts you want to wish for take up a large portion of your sideboard. This is a trade off where I prefer to have a full sideboard rather then have access to some of the cards with Karn in Game 1.
For SCG Louisville, I really wanted to focus on my UW Control and Humans matchups. Red cards give more utility against artifacts and small creature decks like Humans. Additionally, a second Cavern of Souls and Emrakul, The Promised End are the kinda swingy effects that can push the control matchup completely over the edge. It isn’t fancy like the new Karn builds but I think this might be better positioned and I’m way more comfortable with this approach.
Chad Harney
Chad Harney's Modern Humans
| Creatures (37) 4 Champion of the Parish 4 Noble Hierarch 3 Kitesail Freebooter 4 Meddling Mage 4 Phantasmal Image 4 Thalia’s Lieutenant 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 4 Mantis Rider 4 Reflector Mage 2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar Spells (4) 4 Aether Vial | Lands (19) 4 Ancient Ziggurat 4 Cavern of Souls 4 Horizon Canopy 1 Island 1 Plains 1 Seachrome Coast 4 Unclaimed Territory Sideboard (15) 3 Auriok Champion 2 Damping Sphere 2 Gaddock Teeg 2 Phyrexian Revoker 2 Deputy of Detention 2 Dismember 1 Ravenous Trap 1 Whirler Rogue |
Honestly, the most surprising thing about this list is probably the absence of Karn, the Great Creator. If the current metagame is any indication, Karn is getting jammed into every deck people can get their hands on.
That’s not the only new Planeswalker seeing play, though. UW Control has sometimes been playing up to the full playset of Narset, Parter of Veils. Personally, I’m playing Dredge because I’m awful at Humans and I’ll probably lose to Humans. Regardless, it’s a prime weekend for the disruptive and quick clock of Humans to take advantage of all these clunky Karn decks.
Harlan Firer
Harlan Firer's Modern Infect
| Creatures (17) 1 Dryad Arbor 4 Glistener Elf 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Blighted Agent 4 Street Wraith Spells (24) 3 Blossoming Defense 2 Distortion Strike 4 Might of Old Krosa 4 Mutagenic Growth 1 Spell Pierce 1 Twisted Image 4 Vines of Vastwood 1 Dismember 4 Become Immense | Lands (19) 2 Breeding Pool 2 Forest 4 Inkmoth Nexus 2 Pendelhaven 3 Verdant Catacombs 3 Windswept Heath 3 Wooded Foothills Sideboard (15) 1 Dispel 2 Nature’s Claim 2 Spell Pierce 1 Twisted Image 1 Dissenter’s Deliverance 1 Spellskite 1 Dismember 2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar 1 Viridian Corrupter 3 Ravenous Trap |
I’ve decided to stray from my usual Snapcaster Mages and Lightning Bolts to play another blast from the past: Infect.
Infect has always been the go-to deck to punish the format for being too linear, and I think now is just the time to cast some pump spells on some small, poisonous creatures. With Tron being on the rise thanks to our new eternal format overlord Karn, the Great Creator and Arclight Phoenix decks moving away from Gut Shot towards Noxious Revival to combo off with an active Pyromancer’s Ascension and Manamorphose; the top of the format is trending in favor of Infect. There has been an uptick in Humans since its win at Mythic Championship II London, and UW Control is still popular (as always) thanks to some new blood from War of the Spark, but these haven’t deterred me from bringing back this modern all star from years ago.
Drake Sasser
Drake Sasser's Modern Izzet Phoenix
| Creatures (10) 2 Crackling Drake 4 Arclight Phoenix 4 Thing in the Ice Spells (32) 1 Flame Slash 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Thought Scour 4 Faithless Looting 1 Echoing Truth 2 Finale of Promise 4 Sleight of Hand 2 Gut Shot 4 Serum Visions 4 Manamorphose 2 Pyromancer Ascension | Lands (18) 4 Scalding Tarn 1 Polluted Delta 1 Flooded Strand 3 Steam Vents 4 Spirebluff Canal 3 Island 2 Mountain Sideboard (15) 2 Blood Moon 1 Flame Slash 1 Dispel 1 Anger of the Gods 3 Surgical Extraction 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 2 Spell Pierce 2 Alpine Moon 1 Beacon Bolt 1 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer |
This deck choice shouldn’t really be a surprise. It was only a month and a half ago that I made Top 8 in Cleveland with Izzet Phoenix and proclaimed the deck to be broken.
Not much has changed in the intervening time. The deck still feels very powerful and the format has adjusted such that Tron, one of Phoenix’s bad matchups, has risen in popularity. Consequently Dredge has fallen in popularity, having been sufficiently hated out, and Humans has come back with a vengeance after winning Mythic Championship II London. Overall, I believe my main deck and sideboard changes address this shift in the metagame.
For the first time in a while it feels like Modern has a defined “top tier” and I believe that if you are playing Modern at competitive REL this weekend and you are not playing Phoenix, Tron, Amulet, or Humans, then you are doing yourself a disservice.
Ally Warfield
Ally Warfield's Modern UW Planeswalker Control
Once again, I’m stuck between two decks.
In Louisville, I will either be playing UW Planeswalker Control or Humans. Humans has historically been the better deck, however I’ve been spending a lot of time testing and working on this pile of cards and have found just how powerful some of the War of the Spark cards are in Modern deck.
This includes Narset, Parter of Veils as a four-of. She can prevent some strategies in Modern such as Izzet Phoenix and Tron from drawing cards and is powerful in the mirror. She also allows you to dig to the answers you need, such as a removal spell, a board wipe, or a counterspell.
Teferi, Time Raveler also affects many popular strategies in Modern because most decks utilize spells they would like to play at instant speed. Teferi can shut down entire strategies, like in the mirror or against Infect. Additionally, you can play Supreme Verdict or Wrath of God at instant speed because of Teferi’s +1.
The main reason to play this deck is because it can fare well in almost any matchup. If you are a player that likes to test your skill and have a chance against everything you play in an extremely polarizing format, this deck is probably the deck for you. UW Control has been doing very well and putting up solid results lately, including a Modern Challenge win on MTGO and an SCG Classic win in Syracuse. It is generally favored against some of the most popular decks for the weekend, namely Tron and Phoenix, with a fairly close matchup with Humans.