Okay, I get it. You don’t like playing against Dredge. But all these maindeck copies of Relic of Progenitus are really cramping my style. Do you go around maindecking Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Ancient Grudge? Of course not.
You say Relic of Progenitus cycles at worst and is effective against a wide array of Modern cards from Tarmogoyf to Snapcaster Mage? Well, that makes sense, I guess.
And when similar hate cards are flexible enough to not be a liability, they see maindeck play, like Kolaghan’s Command, for example? Okay, okay, I get it. This is just good deckbuilding.
I still think you’re all out to get me.
One of the reasons Dredge has had success in Modern is its matchup against fair decks like Jund and Abzan. Both decks have trouble with the speed and resilience of Dredge operating on an abnormal axis and there isn’t enough sideboard space to turn the matchup around.
This deck is basically Jund but with maindeck Relic of Progenitus. As opposed to the more aggressive flavors of Eldrazi, it is filled with value creatures that can play an attrition game while beating down when necessary. Consequently you still see the heavy hitters Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher, but they are supplemented by Hangarback Walker and Wasteland Strangler for added value.
There are no planeswalkers or card draw spells in the deck, so your material advantage has to come from your creatures with a small assist from Kolaghan’s Command. Without the straight card advantage from a card like Dark Confidant, discard spells are less effective and their role here is diminished, more of a role-player against the fast combo decks than a key piece of the strategy.
None of the spot removal spells here are surprising and the variety is appreciated. You just want the most efficient cards possible so you can take out blockers and keep attacking. In particular, having cheap removal lets you clear a blocker and activate Mutavault in the same turn, which is important when you’re trying to be more aggressive.
With memories of Eldrazi Winter fresh in everyone’s minds, maybe this isn’t the best alternative to the Dredge scourge, but you know what they say: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Creatures (15)
- 3 Hangarback Walker
- 3 Wasteland Strangler
- 2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
- 3 Reality Smasher
- 4 Thought-Knot Seer
Lands (23)
Spells (22)
