The Team Modern Super League continues today at 9 PM Eastern (GMT -4) on twitch.tv/magic. Zack Kanner also contributed to this post.
Welcome back for Week 3 of the Modern Team Super League! This is an exciting one as we have Mage Market taking on ChannelFireball—with Modern Horizons legal for the event! Mage Market, formerly SnapCardster, bring Andreas Petersen, Michael Bonde, and Thomas Enevoldsen to battle. ChannelFireball brings some of the usual suspects in Matt Nass, Sam Pardee, and Andy Baeckstrom.
The matchup between these two stacked teams should be a great one to watch. Let’s get into the deck lists!
Mage Market Decks
Mage Market isn’t pulling any punches and is leaning heavily on the new Modern Horizons cards this week. They chose to bring the following decks to the table: Hogaak’s Bridge, Azorious Control, Humans, Devoted Druid Combo, and Simic Infect.
Hogaak’s Bridge
Starting from the top, Hogaak’s Bridge is a new graveyard-based combo deck based around Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis, Carrion Feeder, and Altar of Dementia, all of which were made legal by Modern Horizons!
This deck aims to use cards like Faithless Looting, Cathartic Reunion, Stitcher’s Supplier, and Altar of Dementia to get Bridge from Below into the graveyard. Once you have a Bridge in the graveyard, you can sacrifice your creatures to mill yourself and power out Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis, and start a loop where you can go through nearly your entire deck and then sacrifice all of your zombies that were generated by Bridge from Below to Altar of Dementia and mill your opponent out.
Modern Hogaak's Bridge
| Creatures (28) 4 Carrion Feeder 4 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis 4 Stitcher’s Supplier 4 Vengevine 4 Gravecrawler 4 Insolent Neonate 4 Bloodghast Spells (4) 4 Faithless Looting Artifacts (4) 4 Altar of Dementia Enchantments (4) 4 Bridge from Below | Lands (20) 1 Mountain 1 Swamp 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 2 Verdant Catacombs 1 Polluted Delta 1 Marsh Flats 3 Blood Crypt 4 Bloodstained Mire 2 Cathartic Reunion 1 Overgrown Tomb Sideboard (15) 4 Nature’s Claim 3 Thoughtseize 4 Leyline of the Void 2 Lightning Axe 2 Stain the Mind |
Azorius Control
Azorius Control is back and looking very similar to its usual self, but has some upgrades in Prismatic Vista, Force of Negation, and Fact or Fiction.
Prismatic Vista should the deck’s two-color (but still troublesome) mana a bit better by replacing off color-fetch lands. Fact or Fiction is another good card advantage spell to help pull ahead in the mid game. Force of Negation, however is the big star for this deck out of Modern Horizons. Having interaction for zero mana on your opponent’s turn to protect yourself from various fast starts, while also letting you tap out for a planeswalker with protection in the mid game, is an invaluable tool.
Modern Azorius Control
| Creatures (5) 4 Snapcaster Mage 1 Vendilion Clique Spells (22) 2 Logic Knot 2 Cryptic Command 1 Spell Pierce 4 Path to Exile 1 Mana Leak 4 Opt 1 Surgical Extraction 2 Oust 2 Supreme Verdict 2 Force of Negation 1 Fact or Fiction Artifacts (1) 1 Relic of Progenitus Enchantments (1) 1 Detention Sphere Planeswalkers (6) 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria 1 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Narset, Parter of Veils | Lands (25) 2 Plains 6 Island 2 Hallowed Fountain 4 Flooded Strand 4 Celestial Colonnade 4 Field of Ruin 2 Glacial Fortress 1 Prismatic Vista Sideboard (15) 2 Stony Silence 1 Surgical Extraction 1 Celestial Purge 2 Rest in Peace 1 Detention Sphere 1 Vendilion Clique 2 Engineered Explosives 1 Disdainful Stroke 1 Timely Reinforcements 2 Dovin’s Veto 1 Ashiok, Dream Render |
Humans
Humans gets a nice upgrade in Ranger-Captain of Eos, a creature that allows you to tutor for another small creature. Militia Bugler used to occupy this role, but Ranger-Captain of Eos has an ability tacked on that can prevent your opponent from casting non-creature spells, which can do things like insulate you from a sweeper on a key turn so that you can attack for lethal on the next.
Modern Humans
| Creatures (37) 4 Champion of the Parish 2 Ranger-Captain of Eos 3 Kitesail Freebooter 4 Mantis Rider 4 Meddling Mage 4 Noble Hierarch 3 Phantasmal Image 4 Reflector Mage 4 Thalia’s Lieutenant 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 1 Thraben Inspector Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial | Lands (19) 4 Ancient Ziggurat 4 Cavern of Souls 4 Horizon Canopy 1 Plains 1 Island 1 Seachrome Coast 4 Unclaimed Territory Sideboard (15) 2 Auriok Champion 4 Damping Sphere 2 Grafdigger’s Cage 1 Ranger-Captain of Eos 2 Ravenous Trap 2 Dismember 2 Deputy of Detention |
Devoted Druid Combo
Devoted Druid Combo also got a new tutor option in Eladamri’s Call, which can find any piece of the combo at instant speed! The other notable addition to this deck is Giver of Runes. Not quite the legacy all-star Mother of Runes, but a serviceable way to protect their combo all the same, and given that this deck is a pile of creatures, a creature that can protect is a welcomed sight.
Modern Disconnected Company (Devoted Druid Combo)
Simic Infect
Finally, we have Infect which got Scale Up, Waterlogged Grove, and Force of Vigor.
Scale Up may look unassuming but when combined with Glistener Elf and any pump spell that gives four power is a Turn 2 kill! Waterlogged Grove is nice in a deck that can struggle to find a threat on occasion, so the added consistency is a boon. Force of Vigor give the deck a way to handle pesky permanents like Ensnaring Bridge or Chalice of the Void and still have mana left over to either fight a counter war or protect their creatures.
Modern Simic Infect
ChannelFireball’s Decks
ChannelFireball isn’t slacking in choosing cards from Modern Horizons, either. Like their opponents, they also brought Simic Infect and the new Hogaak Bridge deck, plus two decks we have a bunch of new cards in Celestial Kirin, Whir Prison, and an oldie but a goody in Eldrazi Tron.
Simic Infect
The big addition to this deck is the Scale Up. This card being a one mana +5/+3 to the creature can be really powerful in a deck like Infect. But ChannelFireball didn’t include Waterlogged Grove, which seems like it should have been an auto-include.
Modern Simic Infect
| Creatures (16) 4 Glistener Elf 4 Blighted Agent 4 Inkmoth Nexus 4 Noble Hierarch Planeswalkers (3) 3 Teferi, Time Raveler Spells (25) 4 Scale Up 4 Might of Old Krosa 4 Vines of Vastwood 3 Groundswell 3 Mutagenic Growth 4 Blossoming Defense 1 Spell Pierce 2 Distortion Strike | Lands (16) 3 Misty Rainforest 3 Windswept Heath 1 Verdant Catacombs 2 Breeding Pool 2 Pendelhaven 2 Temple Garden 2 Forest 1 Dryad Arbor Sideboard (15) 1 Shapers’ Sanctuary 2 Ravenous Trap 2 Spellskite 1 Surgical Extraction 2 Dismember 2 Deglamer 1 Force of Vigor 3 Kitchen Finks 1 Grafdigger’s Cage |
Eldrazi Tron
Eldrazi Tron isn’t playing any new cards but it also doesn’t need much to already be a force in the metagame. Blast Zone and Chalice of the Void are good enough in the current Modern metagame to want to play this deck.
Modern Eldrazi Tron
| Creatures (15) 3 Walking Ballista 4 Thought-Knot Seer 4 Reality Smasher 4 Matter Reshaper Spells (5) 1 Warping Wail 2 All Is Dust 2 Dismember Artifacts (10) 4 Expedition Map 4 Chalice of the Void 2 Mind Stone Planeswalkers (6) 4 Karn, the Great Creator 2 Ugin, the Ineffable | Lands (24) 2 Blast Zone 2 Wastes 1 Cavern of Souls 1 Sea Gate Wreckage 4 Urza’s Tower 4 Urza’s Power Plant 2 Ghost Quarter 4 Eldrazi Temple 4 Urza’s Mine Sideboard (15) 1 Sorcerous Spyglass 1 Walking Ballista 1 Grafdigger’s Cage 1 Torpor Orb 1 Spellskite 1 Liquimetal Coating 1 Wurmcoil Engine 1 Basilisk Collar 1 Relic of Progenitus 3 Leyline of the Void 1 Mycosynth Lattice 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Tormod’s Crypt |
Celestial Kirin
Celestial Kirin is the 3rd deck on the docket for ChannelFireball. For new cards we have Eladamri’s Call, Ranger-Captain of Eos, and Giver of Runes.
Eladamri’s Call is just a great addition to any creature combo deck that is base GW in Modern. because, well, instant speed tutors are great. Ranger-Captain of Eos is another new tutor and is able to grab new card Giver of Runes or combo piece Ugin’s Conjurant is really good.
Modern Celestial Kirin
Hogaak’s Bridge
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis is the hottest new thing to be doing in Modern. We did look at a possible build that MageMarket is bringing and this one is slightly different. ChannelFireball is not playing the Green splash for sideboard hate, but rather they elected to splash White for Wispmare. They also have a bit more removal in the main with two copies of Necrotic Wound in the main with more in the board. Surgical Extraction is already a main deck staple in Modern, so I am curious to see how well this deck that is more all in on the graveyard does.
Modern Hogaak's Bridge
| Creatures (28) 4 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis 4 Gravecrawler 4 Insolent Neonate 4 Stitcher’s Supplier 4 Vengevine 4 Bloodghast 4 Carrion Feeder Spells (6) 4 Faithless Looting 2 Necrotic Wound Artifacts (4) 4 Altar of Dementia Enchantments (4) 4 Bridge from Below | Lands (18) 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 3 Blood Crypt 4 Bloodstained Mire 1 Swamp 2 Sulfurous Springs 4 Marsh Flats Sideboard (15) 2 Ingot Chewer 1 Necrotic Wound 2 Silent Gravestone 4 Leyline of the Void 1 Shenanigans 1 Godless Shrine 4 Wispmare |
Whir Prison
Whir Prison is a blast from the past but it picked up some pretty cool tools. With the new talismans being added they picked up an on-color U/G one in the likes of Talisman of Curiosity. Blood Moon is already a good enough card against Whir so having added ways to help post-Blood Moon is actually really important.
The coolest card that Whir is playing is Urza, Lord High Artificer. Being a win condition on its own, as well as a way to generate a bunch of card advantage once the lock is in place, makes it a really cool addition. I loved this card when it was spoiled and glad to see it being put to good use in this deck.
Modern Whir Prison
Schedule
Modern Horizons was made to shake up Modern and there are a ton of new cards in this week’s lists! Tune in to see how these new cards begin to make their appearances in new Modern starting tonight at 9 PM Eastern on twitch.tv/magic!
Match 1: Andreas Petersen (Devoted Druid Combo) vs Sam Pardee (Eldrazi Tron)
Match 2: Thomas Enevoldsen (Simic Infect) vs Matt Nass (Hogaak’s Bridge)
Match 3: Michael Bonde (Hogaak’s Bridge) vs Andrew Baeckstrom (Celestial Kirin)
Match 4: Thomas Enevoldsen (Azorius Control) vs Sam Pardee (Whir Prison)
Match 5 (if necessary): Andreas Petersen (Humans) vs Andrew Baeckstrom (Simic Infect)
Match 6 (if necessary) Michael Bonde (Hogaak’s Bridge) vs Matt Nass (Hogaak’s Bridge)
Match 7 (if necessary) Thomas Enevoldsen (Simic Infect) vs Andrew Baeckstrom (Celestial Kirin)