“Trinket Mage for Hangarback Walker.”
Sure, we can Trinket Mage for Engineered Explosives, Chalice of the Void, or Darksteel Citadel, but wouldn’t we really like to be able to Trinket Mage for
a threat? I’ve seen similar decks play something as mopey as Chimeric Mass before, and Hangarback Walker is leagues better than that card.
So is Trinket Mage suddenly a powerful threat in Modern? I think so. If it were just for Hangarback Walker, I would say no, but now there’s the full array
of options to search for, so I’m on board. Another possibility for this deck that YTB didn’t use is Basilisk Collar, particularly in combination with Grim
Lavamancer or Izzet Staticaster but also just with Tarmogoyf. Gaining five life is a huge swing against Burn, and against any creature deck, Basilisk
Collar and a pinger is going to put in a ton of work.
You could point to Kolaghan’s Command as a reason not to play artifacts, such as the cumbersome Vedalken Shackles, but let’s be honest here — If we’re
playing a control deck, we don’t want Kolaghan’s Command to resolve anyway. Deprive, Mana Leak, and Dispel out of the sideboard are fine ways to defend
against it. If you’re just trying to protect an important permanent like Vedalken Shackles, even losing a Spellskite to it is fine as long as they aren’t
Raise Dead-ing a Snapcaster Mage.
Arc Trail is another phenomenal card that doesn’t see enough play in Modern, but I think that’s a product of people forgetting that it exists. There have
been times when I’ve made a mental note to play it in my next Jund deck and simply forgotten to do so. Against something like Affinity, this card is pretty
nice for two mana.
I think this deck could use some fine-tuning, but actually looks pretty sick.
Creatures (9)
Lands (26)
Spells (25)
