Well. Here we are again.
We’re talking about Modern. Please, hold whatever foreign objects you plan on pelting me with until the end.
The last time I did this
, it was met with…reactions, so I’ve decided to dial it back a little. I’ve done my best to shy away from Modern as not to light the internet on fire.
Instead of giving you satire, I’m just going to get right to the point:
- Burn is the best deck in Modern.
- Sensei’s Diving Top should come off the banlist.
- Ban fetchlands.
- Dark Confidant should cost three and be an enchantment instead of a creature.
And now we wait.
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…
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I’m serious. I want to give this a minute so I can see who reads the article and who skims it, sees that list, and then goes right down to the comment
section to tell me how ignorant I am. Just give it a couple more seconds.
- Collected Company is too powerful and will be the next card added to the ban list.
Like a carefully placed piece of candy underneath a box being held up by a stick with a string attached to it for maximum capturing capabilities, the trap
has been set.
For those of you here to listen to my thoughts on the format and what you should be playing for the upcoming fun fiesta that will be Grand Prix Charlotte,
you’re in luck!
There are a few streamline decks I really like and a couple that I think might have a degree of “surprise” factor. In Modern I usually err on the side of
consistency: A deck that can execute a gameplan constantly and with as little deviation as possible is a deck I want to be playing. On Day 2s, you’ll hear
a lot of “X percentage of Deck Y made it to the second day,” and those are the decks I recommend playing.
For me, there are three decks I would strongly push for, and we’re going to talk about them today.
Creatures (30)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Eternal Witness
- 1 Reveillark
- 4 Kitchen Finks
- 1 Murderous Redcap
- 2 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Viscera Seer
- 3 Fauna Shaman
- 1 Spellskite
- 2 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
- 1 Scavenging Ooze
- 1 Voice of Resurgence
- 2 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
Lands (22)
Spells (8)
This is a deck I absolutely love but I think has not even come close to reaching its potential.
For those of you not familiar, Abzan Company is a deck that utilizes the power of Collected Company to put extremely powerful creature combos into play. In
the elder days of Modern, pre-Birthing Pod ban, Abzan Pod boasted the ability to gain infinite life with Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Kitchen Finks along
with Viscera Seer. That combo can also include Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit. Going along with infinite life is infinite damage if you replace Kitchen Finks
with Murderous Redcap.
The reason I’m so high on this deck is because it has a lot of interchangeable parts that can all end a game on their own. The addition of Anafenza,
Kin-Tree Spirit gave it another piece to work with aside from Melira, and that was greatly important. To supplement the Collected Company engine is another
marquee in its own right: Chord of Calling. This will let you put a combo piece into play instantly from your deck if your Collected Company misses. Fauna
Shaman acts as another tutor that fills your graveyard and synergizes with Reveillark, meaning you have tons of ways to get your combos online.
Aside from having a difficult-to-disrupt Plan A, the Plan B is as old as Magic itself: beat them to death with creatures. You can even pump your squad with
Gavony Township.
This is absolutely one of the decks you have to be prepared for going forward in Charlotte. It’s not a question. It’s extremely strong,
consistent, and offers fast wins or can grind out opponents. Like I said earlier, the scariest part about this deck is that we’re seeing the infant lists
of it, not refined copies.
One card I would like to see added to this deck is this bad birdy:
Hushwing Gryff meets a lot of proper criteria: it costs three, so our Collected Company can put it into play, but if we happen to draw it, the Gryff has
Flash. In a world full of opposing Collected Companies, Siege Rhino, and Splinter Twin combo, it seems like Hushwing is being criminally underplayed.
Maybe I’m wrong. Let me know!
- Combust is a great tech card, but it should cost one less mana and only deal four damage instead of five.
The next deck I would play is probably one of the most hated out there, but sometimes you just wanna deal twenty.
Creatures (12)
Lands (20)
Spells (28)
This is a pretty stock Burn deck. Atarka’s Command and Destructive Revelry are great incentives to play Naya over traditional R/W Burn like this:
Creatures (14)
Lands (20)
Spells (26)
Sideboard
Look, guys and gals! I stole Anthony Lowry’s list from his article on Monday. Thanks, Ant!
Anthony’s approach to this deck is very streamlined and efficient, so if you want a primer on Burn, I highly suggest peeping his dope explanations. I
wanted to include a solid R/W list so the people who dislike Naya at least feel somewhat validated that they’re okay still playing the Boros variant, which
they are.
Naya seems a little more appealing to me, however. The mana might seem more complicated, but with eleven fetchlands, two of them can have all your colors
online. Atarka’s Command being another Skullcrack or occasionally a humungous boon to a multiple Swiftspear draw makes it quite attractive to me. The
saying for Burn is usually “I want as many one or two mana spells that deal three damage as I can get,” and Command provides it.
I’ve never been a big fan of Searing Blaze, so replacing it with Command makes me feel like my burn is a lot more effective. Twenty lands and the
previously mentioned eleven fetches might make it seem better than, say, Searing Blood, but with Collected Company powering out Elves and various creatures
in Abzan, Searing Blood should almost always kill a creature and deal three damage. This also has a little to do with the surge in Abzan Company: I want a
spell that shuts off lifegain.
Destructive Revelry is a great answer to Amulet of Vigor along with the entire base of creatures in Affinity. There’s a long list of enchantments and
artifacts that it hits, and the damage is why we want it.
A lot of lists are playing one or two Grim Lavamancers, so if Mr. Grim is your kind of card, you can cut a Searing Blood, Lightning Helix, or Shard Volley.
I think that choice comes down to preference.
- 69 Rusted Relics in Modern Masters 2015 packs is a blessing. Why are you all complaining? Would you rather have basic lands?
The last deck on my list of three is a great spin on a classic:
Creatures (11)
Lands (22)
Spells (27)
Rolaund Hinajosa killed it with this awesome take on Twin. The Grixis twist gives this deck a dimension it has seldom had recently, and it is utilizing a
card from Dragons of Tarkir to do it.
Years ago (and popping up occasionally), black has been added to U/R Twin to give a little edge in mirror matches and against control decks. Inquisition of
Kozilek was the popular addition, but Kolaghan’s Command coupled with Duress seems far more potent. If an opponent kills a combo piece, Command can return
it to your hand! It is also a maindeck way to destroy Amulet of Vigor, disrupt your opponent with discard, or kill off a creature with the Shock mode.
Duress also helps out a lot in multiple matches: stripping a Collected Company, a removal spell, a burn spell–pretty much anything that impedes comboing
off. Obviously both of these splashed cards play very well with Snapcaster Mage; Command, which is already a natural two-for-one, can go even deeper now.
His sideboard also shows off some pretty awesome cards. Murderous Cut is a great surprise card, and there is often a few cards that delving away is safe.
Bigger Engineered Explosives are always welcome, especially against Elves decks and Abzan Company strategies. Shadow of Doubt is a card I’m particularly
fond of as well since sometimes you can just “get” your opponent with it.
The real bad mama jamma in Rolaund’s sideboard is Bitterblossom.
For those of you that never played with Awesome Blossom, it was a card that polarized Standard during the entire life it had in that format. The
incremental advantage derived from it is huge, and unchecked it will end the game extremely quickly. My guess is there are a ton of decks out there that
cannot handle it. In a “mirror” match there is almost no way to deal with Bitterblossom, and when games come down to trading resources, counterspells, and
jogging to combo off, a Bitterblossom will let you kill them while fighting that level one battle.
Which brings me to point eight.
- Bitterblossom is too powerful and should be rebanned.
Charlotte is only a few weeks away, so if this is a tournament you’re serious about, I recommend getting your rear in gear. While the lists will certainly
be different, themes may be similar. You’ll play against Collected Company, Burn, and Twin.
If you expect to do well at this Grand Prix, I can’t stress enough that you need to prepare for those three strategies. Of course Modern is a massive
format with lots of decks to choose from, but don’t forget to fight the most important battles before you worry about those fringe decks. If your friend is
crushing you with his Esper Soul Sisters deck, don’t immediately worry about metagaming for it and packing your sideboard with ways to combat it.
All of this leads me to my final point, and it’s one I hope you’ll take to heart, especially those that are just skimming:
- Modern isn’t complicated. You can probably just pick up a deck the night before and crush people with it.
Joking aside, like Scar said: “Be prepared.” This format is so vast, you can’t afford not to be.