Shane McDermott continues his desecration of the Modern format. He ignores people’s preconceived notions of the format, and at times goes against them
completely. Modern can be stale at times, but people like Shane help shake things up by doing their own thing. In short, he is exactly what Modern needs.
This deck harkens back to the original Pro Tour Honolulu,
where the Japanese showed up with a deck no one had ever seen before. It used Goryo’s Vengeance to put Yosei, the Morning Star into play, which would then
get sacrificed to Greater Good. By drawing five cards, it’s very likely that you’d be able to find another Goryo’s Vengeance to continue locking down your
opponent’s permanents.
Instead of Goryo’s Vengeance, this deck uses Unburial Rites to bring back Yosei, the Morning Star, although hardcasting another Yosei, the Morning Star
often works. You won’t be getting the chip shots in with the haste from Goryo’s Vengeance, but if your combo actually fizzles, you should be up enough
cards that actually winning should be a formality. There’s also the possibility that you go semi-infinite with Progenitor Mimic and Yosei, the Morning Star
at some point. If you’re nowhere near comboing, you can always use the old Gifts Ungiven for Unburial Rites and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite trick.
Gifts Ungiven can find you the missing pieces alongside a Snapcaster Mage and Noxious Revival to ensure you actually end up with the cards you want.
Supreme Verdict, Day of Judgment, and Wrath of God buy you the time necessary to set up. The only thing I wonder is if this deck wouldn’t be better off
with the Utopia Sprawl package that so many other decks are adapting.
Creatures (10)
- 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
- 3 Yosei, the Morning Star
- 1 Eternal Witness
- 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
- 1 Progenitor Mimic
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (23)
Spells (25)
