What a difference a continent can make.
This weekend, the three biggest tournaments were all Modern, and they were all on different continents. To get a three-dimensional picture of Modern, we’re well served to look at the format from each perspective.
In the US, the top tables of SCG Richmond were a diverse mix of strategies, including a variety of combo, control, and aggro strategies. Here’s a look at the weighted Top 32 metagame:
|
Archetype |
Weighted % |
|
U/R Gifts Storm |
14.29% |
|
Jeskai Control |
14.29% |
|
12.70% |
|
|
Eldrazi Tron |
12.70% |
|
Affinity |
11.11% |
|
TitanShift |
9.52% |
|
7.94% |
|
|
Bant Company |
6.35% |
|
Elves |
6.35% |
|
G/X Tron |
1.59% |
|
Hexproof |
1.59% |
Okay, okay. This is a reasonable-looking metagame, and obviously just looking at the Top 32 is going to reveal a very slanted picture. You do have to get to the top tables before running them, but in general, the top-table metagame is a more important picture to look at for winning the tournament.
What about Grand Prix Birmingham? Will we see Storm, Jeskai, Death’s Shadow, Eldrazi Tron, and Affinity at the top?
|
Archetype |
Weighted % |
|
Abzan |
20.63% |
|
12.70% |
|
|
TitanShift |
9.52% |
|
Counters Company |
9.52% |
|
Burn |
9.52% |
|
Eldrazi Tron |
6.35% |
|
Dredge |
6.35% |
|
U/R Gifts Storm |
4.76% |
|
Bant Company |
4.76% |
|
Lantern Control |
4.76% |
|
Affinity |
3.17% |
|
3.17% |
|
|
U/B Faeries |
1.59% |
|
1.59% |
|
|
Kiki Combo |
1.59% |
Whoa. Fifteen different decks in the top 32 of Grand Prix Birmingham is a pretty big spread, and it’s not exactly same texture as SCG Richmond. Abzan was also the clear biggest deck of the weekend; there were just two decks hitting double-digit success at the top (the other being Death’s Shadow, usually Grixis).
What about Grand Prix Sao Paulo?
Is South America going to prove more like North America or Europe?
|
Archetype |
Weighted % |
|
22.22% |
|
|
TitanShift |
20.63% |
|
Bant Company |
9.52% |
|
Abzan |
7.94% |
|
Jeskai Control |
7.94% |
|
G/X Tron |
7.94% |
|
Counters Company |
4.76% |
|
U/R Gifts Storm |
3.17% |
|
U/B Faeries |
3.17% |
|
3.17% |
|
|
U/W Control |
3.17% |
|
Burn |
1.59% |
|
Affinity |
1.59% |
|
Death and Taxes |
1.59% |
Once again, two big decks, but this time, it’s TitanShift that’s alongside Death’s Shadow (though Abzan still put up fine numbers). Bant Company, Jeskai, and G/X Tron? Burn, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron? Storm, Jeskai, and Affinity? That’s a lot of top decks.
Even the 22 different archetypes listed here understate the diversity of the format. The Blood Moon category includes any maindeck Blood Moon decks, ranging from Skred Red and W/R Prison to Blue Moon and G/R Ponza. Modern would appear to be an incredibly rich landscape, with local metagames having a big impact on the decks at the top.
What does it look like if we merge all three events?
|
Archetype |
SCG Richmond |
Grand Prix Birmingham |
Grand Prix Sao Paulo |
Overall Meta |
|
12.70% |
12.70% |
22.22% |
15.87% |
|
|
TitanShift |
9.52% |
9.52% |
20.63% |
13.23% |
|
Abzan |
0.00% |
20.63% |
7.94% |
9.52% |
|
U/R Gifts Storm |
14.29% |
4.76% |
3.17% |
7.41% |
|
Jeskai Control |
14.29% |
0.00% |
7.94% |
7.41% |
|
Bant Company |
6.35% |
4.76% |
9.52% |
6.88% |
|
Eldrazi Tron |
12.70% |
6.35% |
0.00% |
6.35% |
|
Affinity |
11.11% |
3.17% |
1.59% |
5.29% |
|
Counters Company |
0.00% |
9.52% |
4.76% |
4.76% |
|
Burn |
0.00% |
9.52% |
1.59% |
3.70% |
|
7.94% |
0.00% |
3.17% |
3.70% |
|
|
G/X Tron |
1.59% |
0.00% |
7.94% |
3.17% |
|
Dredge |
0.00% |
6.35% |
0.00% |
2.12% |
|
Elves |
6.35% |
0.00% |
0.00% |
2.12% |
|
Miscellaneous |
1.59% |
12.70% |
7.94% |
7.41% |
* Miscellaneous = Lantern Control, Faeries, Ad Nauseam, U/W Control, Living End, Kiki Combo, Hexproof, Death and Taxes
Interestingly, the combined metagame looks an awful lot like the Grand Prix Sao Paulo metagame. It also suggests a pretty diverse playtesting gauntlet that starts with Grixis Death’s Shadow:
Creatures (16)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (19)
Spells (24)
Despite being the top-performing deck of the weekend, Grixis Death’s Shadow failed to reach the finals of any of the three events. Of course, this is a relatively small sample size, but it’s also at least a little evidence of a variety of decks managing to survive the Death’s Shadow menace at the end of the day.
There really wasn’t much variety among the Death’s Shadow decks, so picking one and getting in reps against it should be the first priority for upcoming Modern tournament prep. Beyond that, you really just want to get a diverse mix of playtest games, though I would recommend Scapeshift decks as a second stop.
The primary style of Scapeshift at the moment is R/G TitanShift (as opposed to Temur with Cryptic Commands and such). Simon Nielsen’s Top 8 list from Grand Prix Birmingham is a great example:
Creatures (10)
Lands (27)
Spells (23)
Sweltering Suns is an interesting new addition, as cycling makes it a much more appealing maindeck option than the sideboard Anger of the Gods.
While Summoner’s Pact (for Primeval Titan) is the primary backup engine, Simon also has one copy of Prismatic Omen, changing the potential clock and serving as an extra win condition.
There are other ways to do it, however, so be careful about getting too comfortable playing against one specific build. For instance, Becky Adlman’s list features Khalni Heart Expedition, not to mention a white splash for Path to Exile.
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (26)
Spells (25)
A single Sacred Foundry goes a long way towards enabling Path to Exile, thanks to Farseek’s ability to search it up (as well as Stomping Grounds and Cinder Glade).
Between Stomping Ground, Cinder Glade, and Sheltered Thicket, it is interesting just how many green sources we have access to that count as Mountains.
Maindeck Relic of Progenitus is kind of spicy. I could be into it.
Every time I see Ruric Thar, I think of Reid Duke, a mighty mage who has cast his fair share of Ruic Thars (and then some). A fair number of decks just can’t win anymore if you drop it.
For instance…
Creatures (7)
Lands (18)
Spells (35)
- 4 Sleight of Hand
- 4 Serum Visions
- 1 Peer Through Depths
- 4 Gifts Ungiven
- 4 Desperate Ritual
- 4 Remand
- 3 Grapeshot
- 4 Manamorphose
- 4 Pyretic Ritual
- 1 Apostle's Blessing
- 2 Past in Flames
Sideboard
I don’t think you need all that many games against the latest Storm decks to get a feel for the deck and your matchup. The main thing is understanding the impact of them having seven or eight cost reducers between Goblin Electromancer and Baral, Chief of Compliance.
This makes turn 3 goldfishes very realistic, and turn 4 the expected critical turn. Removal being decent against them is kind of interesting, but if you aren’t very fast and aggressive, it doesn’t take long for them to turn 4 Gifts, turn 5 Electromancer, and win.
Apostle’s Blessing is pretty filthy tech with all the Electromancer types. Being able to protect them for zero mana is going to lead to some pretty ridiculous blowouts.
Nevertheless, I think Abzan has to be the third big deck to test against (even if it means having to set aside Storm). If you only have time to test three matchups, Grixis Death’s Shadow, TitanShift, and Abzan provide a pretty nice range and occupy a substantial chunk of the metagame.
Abzan decks have a pretty wide range of card choices in terms of what they’re tuned against, whether they are supporting delirium or not, and whether they are playing any white besides Lingering Souls. Of course, not every Grim Flayer deck is really that much of a Delirium deck. If you’re not playing Traverse the Ulvenwald, are you really a Delirium deck? For instance, check out Alberto Galicia’s list from Grand Prix Birmingham:
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (24)
Spells (20)
Pretty straightforward with next to no white, not even Path to Exile. By contrast, Fabian Nunez’s Grand Prix Sao Paulo list featured not only Lingering Souls and Path to Exile but also Siege Rhino itself. He’s even got Gideon, Ally of Zendikar in his sideboard!
Creatures (11)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (23)
Spells (22)
Notice both lists opting for Flaying Tendrils in the sideboard.
Being able to exile creatures like Voice of Resurgence and Kitchen Finks makes a huge difference compared to other options for low-to-the-ground sweepers.
Besides, when you’re facing a Counters Company breed of Abzan, it can just be huge, disrupting a Renegade Rallier or Eternal Witness. Just imagine casting a Flaying Tendrils against Oscar Christensen’s Counters Company list:
Creatures (30)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 2 Eternal Witness
- 4 Devoted Druid
- 4 Kitchen Finks
- 3 Noble Hierarch
- 2 Viscera Seer
- 1 Scavenging Ooze
- 2 Duskwatch Recruiter
- 1 Selfless Spirit
- 1 Renegade Rallier
- 1 Walking Ballista
- 1 Rhonas the Indomitable
- 4 Vizier of Remedies
Lands (22)
Spells (8)
Vizier of Remedies plus Devoted Druid continues to be the real deal, and Dusk // Dawn makes another appearance out of the sideboard.
Once we’ve got arbitrarily large mana, Duskwatch Recruitering to our Walking Ballista is usually game; however, the addition of Vizier of Remedies, Devoted Druid, Duskwatch Recruiter, Renegade Rallier, and the like leaves Counters Company with even more vulnerability to Flaying Tendrils than it already was.
Circling back to Abzan Midrange, it’s actually not clear you even need to splash the Lingering Souls at all. For instance, take the list Steve Hatto piloted to a finals appearance in Europe:
Creatures (16)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (23)
Spells (17)
Without Lingering Souls, Steve actually had room for Eternal Witness, Kitchen Finks, and Tireless Tracker, on top of both Lilianas! He’s even got Ramunap Excavator in the sideboard in addition to a playset of Fulminator Mages.
Ramunap Excavator plus Ghost Quarter is a good time, but even just replaying a fetchland every turn can be a sizable advantage when grinding.
Scavenger Grounds is kind of an interesting way to get a little extra utility out of our manabase. Like Relic of Progenitus in the TitanShift list above, we’re sacrificing a little speed, a little reliability in our manabase, for the prospect of big upside when facing graveyard combo decks or Snapcaster Mage. Besides, even just disrupting a Tarmogoyf at the right moment could be relevant.
Once you’re in the headspace (and metagame) to bring back Dark Confidant, it’s not surprising to see Liliana’s Defeat accompanying it. Gotta win the mirror! Being able to kill a Dark Confidant, Grim Flayer, Liliana, Kalitas, Tasigur, or Gurmag Angler for one mana is both efficient and flexible.
While Grixis, TitanShift, and Abzan are the most important decks to prepare for, I would like to touch on a few other decks from this weekend. To begin with, Joao Lelis’s GP-winning Bant Knightfall deck is worth a second look, as Knightfall overperformed all over relative to how few people played it.
Creatures (27)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 2 Kitchen Finks
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 1 Qasali Pridemage
- 3 Tireless Tracker
- 3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
- 4 Spell Queller
- 2 Selfless Spirit
Lands (23)
Spells (10)
It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around a deck with nineteen three-drops, but it does make Collected Company pretty ridiculous (even if Retreat to Coralhelm doesn’t contribute to the count).
On the other side of the ocean, Loic Le Briand won his GP with a Burn deck. The first 56 cards of most Burn decks are pretty locked in, but Loic’s Shrine of Burning Rage technology in the discretionary slot was turning heads all weekend.
Creatures (8)
Lands (20)
Spells (32)
Another interesting new piece of tech came from Guillaume Perbet’s use of Driven // Despair in Dredge.
Driven // Despair is another graveyard card that makes dredging better and can be effectively discarded. It’s also a great way to turn Narcomoebas, Insolent Neonates, and Bloodghasts into serious threats.
Creatures (25)
- 4 Golgari Thug
- 4 Stinkweed Imp
- 4 Narcomoeba
- 4 Bloodghast
- 4 Prized Amalgam
- 4 Insolent Neonate
- 1 Haunted Dead
Lands (20)
Spells (15)
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (25)
Spells (30)
Finally, I just wanted to take a moment to highlight two very different styles of Jeskai, out there. First, the more common, something like that used by Benjamin Nikolich:
Okay, major style points for Torrential Gearhulk instead of the fourth Snapcaster Mage!
Three copies of Logic Knot is pretty intense with just one Mana Leak and zero Remand (Negate being the only other two-mana counterspell).
While not totally unheard of, Secure the Wastes is also an interesting addition instead of a second Sphinx’s Revelation.
It might seem crazy, but I don’t actually hate having such a diverse mix of interaction, even if it means trimming Lightning Bolts. Having the option to Flashback a spell that gains you three life could easily be worth the added risk of being a mana short of what you need to do. So often, you can make that mana up by playing a shockland, and when you do, you might still be a life the better of it.
Contrast the above list with the Geist of Saint Traft builds, such as Jonathan Rosum’s Top 8 list from SCG Richmond:
Creatures (11)
Lands (24)
Spells (25)
Once you’re on Spell Queller and Geist of Saint Traft, it’s not surprising to see burn spells for days. This isn’t even really a control deck at all. It’s a tempo deck that quickly morphs into a burn deck against slower opponents.
I’m just glad to see Elspeth still getting her money.
Time to switch gears and set about finalizing tuning this Rakdos (Grixis?) Standard deck for Grand Prix Denver. It’s my first big event in a few, and I’m super-pumped to switch back into hardcore mode. Hopefully, I’ll see a lot of you there!