Today I get to finally wrap up this series on Modern! I appreciate you guys sticking with me, but it will be nice to get back to discussing other topics after covering nearly seventy decklists!
First, I’m going to cover the non-blue control decks. In Modern, that means Rock!
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (24)
Spells (16)
Nico finished 13th at Worlds with this updated version of Rock. Calling it Death Cloud is probably unnecessary seeing as how he only played two copies of the card. However, most games where Death Cloud is involved, the game ends. I could see not wanting to draw multiple Death Clouds, which is why most people only played three. Two seems like a bit low considering how good the card is.
Without Death Cloud, the deck is a mix of one-for-ones and some Tarmogoyfs. If you want to play that sort of deck, just play Doran or something else with fewer mana sources and fewer Garruks.
Rating: 5/10
Creatures (14)
Lands (23)
Spells (23)
This is something I can actually get behind. You have fewer mana sources and more cards that make fine topdecks, even if they are discard spells (which have diminishing returns, like extra mana sources). You also gain Dark Confidant and a mana curve that’s low enough to support it. This is probably one of the best Bob decks because you have plenty of ways to proactively protect it.
Smallpox is still an underpowered deck but one that should actually be pretty good. In theory, your discard is going to crush control and combo, and you have Goyf and removal vs. aggro. Sometimes the games just don’t play out like that, and you’re missing one of the pieces to your puzzle. There’s also the chance you draw the draw answer to their threat.
Rating: 6/10
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (23)
Spells (24)
This was the list that started it all. When Nassif sat down in our hotel room to test before the Pro Tour, I had no idea what was going on. His deck was all in on Ensnaring Bridge. Ethersworn Canonist plus Spellskite shut down Punishing Fire, and he typically had more Welding Jars than his opponents had maindeck answers to Bridge. It was crazy.
Unfortunately, he played against opponents with Beast Withins, Terastodons, and Ulamogs, which his opponent’s test decks didn’t have. It gave me hope that such a deck could exist though.
Rating: 5/10
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (25)
Spells (24)
- 1 Ensnaring Bridge
- 1 Vedalken Shackles
- 1 Crucible of Worlds
- 3 Thirst for Knowledge
- 1 Synod Sanctum
- 1 Pyrite Spellbomb
- 1 Chalice of the Void
- 2 Engineered Explosives
- 1 Pithing Needle
- 3 Cryptic Command
- 4 Path to Exile
- 1 Expedition Map
- 1 Elixir of Immortality
- 1 Mox Opal
- 1 Nihil Spellbomb
- 1 Batterskull
Sideboard
This is a pseudo-update to Nassif’s Pro Tour list, but with a slight cross with Kenny Oberg list from Pro Tour Berlin. Unfortunately, due to some of Oberg’s key piece being banned (Chrome Mox), and because there aren’t decks that just fold to Chalice of the Void or Ensnaring Bridge, Tezzeret might have to sit on the backburner, waiting for the metagame to change.
Rating: 4/10
Creatures (2)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (23)
Spells (32)
Now this one is spicy! I went over some Polymorph lists earlier this week, but this one is probably better than all of those. It’s smooth, consistent, and has a great backup plan.
The maindeck looks solid, but Defense Grid would probably be awesome. I could see it even being maindeck to fight removal. He’s probably got a few mana sources too many, but they double as combo pieces and accelerators too, so maybe it’s right.
Rating: 6/10
Creatures (5)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (25)
Spells (27)
- 1 Sword of Fire and Ice
- 4 Death Cloud
- 4 Thirst for Knowledge
- 4 Guardian Idol
- 2 Talisman of Dominance
- 2 Darkblast
- 3 Remand
- 1 Coalition Relic
- 3 Thoughtseize
- 3 Sword of Feast and Famine
Sideboard
CMA’s deck is either the best of both worlds, or the worst, depending on how you look at it. His build is full on Death Cloud with a splash of Tezzeret, both because planeswalkers are awesome with Death and because artifacts are too!
Blinkmoth Nexus is great with Swords, but I’m very surprised that there are no Creeping Tar Pits in his list. Everything else looks like what you’d expect from a Tezzeret/Death Cloud deck though.
It’s always really dangerous to play an artifact-based deck in an older format because of all the hate cards available. If you manage to dodge the hate, you’ll probably find that what you’re doing is more powerful than your opponent.
Rating: 5/10
Creatures (14)
Lands (26)
Spells (20)
Creatures (12)
Lands (24)
Spells (24)
Next level, previous level, current level—honestly it doesn’t matter what level these guys think they’re on because without an engine like Ancestral Vision or Counterbalance, they are probably bad. 3-1 is the record that I would predict for most of these decks because they aren’t going to wow anyone. They’ll do some work grinding out people but will falter when they don’t draw the right mix of lands and spells or threats and answers.
Cards like Rune Snag and Spellstutter Sprite aren’t powerful enough to carry a deck on its own.
If you’re looking for a blue control deck, try something closer to Flores’s or Stainerson’s (from last week).
Rating: 5/10
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (27)
Spells (17)
Sideboard
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (26)
Spells (16)
Sideboard
As far as I know, JB2002 brought this archetype to prominence during the last Extended season. This was when Valakut, Faeries, Naya, Elves, and other assorted bad decks were around, and U/W actually did pretty well against those decks.
As for U/W’s future in today’s metagame, it’s hard to say. In theory, the answers are there. It’s just a matter of whether or not you can build the perfect deck and get the matchups you were expecting per tournament. There is going to be no right build for a deck like this except for the week that you win with it.
U/W might seem slow and mopey, but it’s just one of those decks that won’t die, both in-game and in the metagame.
Rating: 6/10
Looking back on this series, you might think that I’ve been overly harsh on some decks, but don’t take it the wrong way. Even a five in Modern is like playing an eight in Standard. Decks like Illusions (or “Delver Blade”) are going to be nines, and just like Modern (and real life), tens don’t exist. If all you’ve got is a nine, you should very happy with that. Hell, be happy with your five, play well, and get good matchups.
If you’re looking to get into Modern and have a shot at winning your first tournament, practice with a nine. Zoo is about the only thing that looks like a nine right now, but Storm is definitely very close. Eights are also very good, but don’t be afraid to venture into seven territory. Sevens are like playing Wolf Run Ramp in Standard—super powerful but glass cannon-ish.
If you want to start a Modern gauntlet and—shocker—you don’t have time to test against 70 different decks, I’d likely start with the following:
2) Storm
3) Delver decks
4) Whatever control deck you think might be good, like Hetrick’s Gifts Ungiven
5) Other combo decks if you can get to them like Twin or Birthing Pod
6) Midrange piles like Jund, Doran, or anything else you think will be reasonably representing or is something you might play
Patrick Chapin and Jeremy Neeman both wrote great overview articles on Modern HERE and HERE, so you should check those out.
From here on out, I don’t want to hear any complaints about Modern not being open or how your favorite deck isn’t viable. Some complaints on expensive mana bases or expensive cards in general might be warranted, but I think that’s because people over-do it on the shocklands.
You really don’t need any more than one of each color combination you’re playing. What do you need that third Stomping Ground for in your Jund deck? Surely, a Fire-Lit Thicket or something similar would deal you way less damage on average.
Once you figure out what archetype you’d like to play, you start picking up the cards that go well together, like Dark Confidant and Thoughtseize or Vendilion Clique and Cryptic Command. Of course Modern is going to be expensive if you pick up a playset of Tarmogoyfs and then realize you hate Zoo, so go about it the right way and you shouldn’t have any problems.
GerryT
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