Like most of you, one of the things I do immediately after a new set comes out is figure out which new cards are going into existing decks. When you have 22 of them, it becomes quite a project. On the first pass, I like to see if I can add only one copy of a new card to all the decks combined. That way, I get a good spread of play experiences.
Later on, it’s likely that multiple copies get inserted when I find cards which I really love playing (for example, I have four different decks with Crypt Ghast now), but initially each new card has a single destination. There will be a few cards reserved for upcoming decks, like Ruric Thar, the Unbowed who is destined for Radha, Heir to Keld. It’s also time to make changes to decks which have been in the works for a bit and possibly find new homes for cards rotating out of a deck. Let’s see which cards made the cut and which got left on the bench.
Adun Oakenshield
No changes to Adun and His Beasts. There are only four Beasts in the set, none of which is all that good. I had some temptation to play Zhur-Taa Ancient, but I’m not a fan of giving my opponents Mana Flare.
Animar, Soul of Elements
In: Progenitor Mimic, Species Gorger, Possibility Storm[/author]“][author name="Possibility Storm"]Possibility Storm[/author], Domri Rade
Out: It That Betrays, Wurmcoil Engine, Warstorm Surge, Stampeding Wildebeests
Most of the best Simic stuff from the set goes into Prime Speaker Zegana and not Animar, but there is still more than enough for our favorite Soul of Elements. Progenitor Mimic provides another in a suite of Clones, which are always nice to cast for less. Species Gorger is just a better Stampeding Wildebeests.
I took out Warstorm Surge specifically to put in Possibility Storm[/author]“][author name="Possibility Storm"]Possibility Storm[/author]. The Surge has been on my cutting list for a while—it just feels like a cheap way to win, especially on a Primal Surge. We’ll see if the Storm creates a sufficient amount of chaos. Because of Possibility Storm[/author]“][author name="Possibility Storm"]Possibility Storm[/author], I felt like a second planeswalker had to come in because it didn’t make sense for it to potentially blank myself. The deck that has 47 creatures seemed like the natural fit for Domri Rade. Wurmcoil Engine continues to be the best card without a current home.
Aurelia, the Warleader
In: Tajic, Blade of the Legion; Boros Cluestone; Gift of Estates
Out: Mind’s Eye, Skullclamp, Tectonic Rift
It turns out there was an illegal card in my original Modern-legal list. Skullclamp is banned in Modern. I might ask the community for a ruling on this, but by the letter of the law, it would seem it has to go (if I want to call it “Modern-legal” anyway). When I was building, I didn’t even think about the banned list, just the sets.
After playing the deck a few times, I realized that I wouldn’t be sitting around with mana to use for Mind’s Eye. Tajic had to come in—and was quite close to replacing Aurelia as commander. Her comeback ability is what kept her in the top spot. Tajic was also under strong consideration for Rith since he’s a Soldier. I got the great suggestion of Gift of Estates from Dale Lawver in the forums, so I took out the kind-of-janky Tectonic Rift for it since it’s way more likely that I’m going to be behind on lands and need to drop one as opposed to wanting to blow up one.
Intet, the Dreamer
In: Plasm Capture
Out: Chord of Calling
Now playing both Mana Drains, Intet is so tight that Chord of Calling seemed like the least bad choice, especially in the “play fewer tutors” phase that I’m currently in. It’s giving up an “I win now” card, but that’s hardly a downside. I also have Stormtide Leviathan marked for potential removal from the deck, but I’m not yet willing to let go one of the best non-enchantment defenses against creature swarms.
Geist of Saint Traft
Out: Mischievous Quanar
With the bounce and blink capabilities of the Geist deck, Lavinia might be able to keep stuff detained for several turns running. Mischievous Quanar was merely a throw-in in the deck for the occasional blowout (“why yes, I would like to copy that Time Stretch”), but it’s getting played in other decks, so I don’t think I’ll miss it. I’m seriously considering either building another Azorius deck with Lavinia at the helm or retooling Geist of Saint Traft to be a Lavinia deck. There is too much foolishness, like with Equilibrium and Portcullis, to want to give up on the main deck idea.
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
No changes. Depending on how Deadbridge Chant plays out in Karador, it might get a shot in here. None of the other Golgari cards appealed that much to me since scavenge is the operative mechanic. In a Commander graveyard deck, you really need to bring your stuff back. Golgari Cluestone might get some consideration down the road, but not much else. If I put in the Cluestone, I’d probably also put in Glissa the Traitor and monkey around with the artifacts to make some Glissa recursion a real thing.
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
In: Deadbridge Chant, Maw of the Obzedat, Ready // Willing
Out: Black Sun’s Zenith, Dauntless Escort, Devouring Swarm
Putting in the three cards was easy. Finding something to take out wasn’t. Since Devouring Swarm and Maw of the Obzedat serve the same purpose of being a creature sacrifice outlet, that was a moderately easy choice, even if Maw is more expensive. I realized that sometimes I want my creatures to get killed in order to be reanimated, so Dauntless Escort could go (although that functionality returns to some extent with Ready // Willing). Black Sun’s Zenith was the sweeper that I was least fond of. Difficult choices must be made.
Deadbridge Chant is a card that’s so full of promise that I considered taking out either Mulch or Hermit Druid for it, but in the end I decided some self-mill redundancy was a good idea. It may, however, lead me to want to put Oversold Cemetery into the deck. I don’t want to go full-on, “fill up the graveyard always” because of the possibility of getting completely blown out by graveyard hate (I shake my fist at you, Relic of Progenitus), but it’s one of those cards that begs to be played (and I play it in several decks already, which is why it’s currently not in Karador). I hope Ready // Willing is a card that people don’t see coming, although I suppose that revealing your “surprises” on the Internet can be suboptimal.
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
No changes to Karrthus and His Dragons, which sometimes happens with a tribal deck. There aren’t any Dragons in the set, and no cards demanded replacing. Dreamstone Hedron has been on the chopping block for a while, but nothing in Dragon’s Maze suggested itself to replace it.
Kresh the Bloodbraided
In: Flesh // Blood, Crypt Incursion, Morgue Burst
Out: Mimic Vat, Praetor’s Grasp, Regrowth
Seemingly built just for Kresh, there are a number of ways to get value out of fusing Flesh and Blood together. There are enough potentially freakishly large creatures (Kresh, Hamletback Goliath, Lord of Extinction, Malignus) that Blood is perfectly playable on its own. Because I like to Living Death eventually, exiling someone else’s fatty is a good idea. Preemptively exiling something that someone wants to recur can’t hurt, either. The full win here would be exiling someone’s giant thing to make my creature immense, dome you with it, and then attack someone else—maybe finishing up the triple play with Fling.
Speaking of Living Death, other people’s graveyards sometimes get really scary. That’s where Crypt Incursion comes in. Because it’s an instant, I can set up the turn that I’m going to play Living Death by taking out the best graveyard at EOT.
My dream with Morgue Burst is to have Lord of Extinction and Stalking Vengeance in play, sacrifice Lord of Extinction to something (Fling? Momentous Fall?), then regrow it for another obscene amount of damage to someone’s skull.
None of the cards I’m removing will be idle for long. They’re all slated to go into other decks. It just felt like Mimic Vat wasn’t a great fit for Kresh because the token gets exiled. Praetor’s Grasp and Regrowth are both stellar cards, but new cards must be played.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
In: Dimir Cluestone, Pilfered Plans
Out: Dimir Keyrune, Impulse
“But you don’t have a Lazav deck” you’re no doubt saying. I do, but I haven’t told you about it yet. That will change, so look for it in the near future. Because it’s the worst at ramping (okay, maybe Boros is worse), Dimir decks need mana rocks, which is why the Keyrune was in there in the first place. I happen to like the Cluestones better in the format because late game they’re not dead draws. Impulse isn’t foily, so it goes out in favor of Pilfered Plans, which is perfect for Lazav’s abilities.
Lord of Tresserhorn
In: Blood Scrivener
Out: Consuming Vapors
When Dragon’s Maze spoiler season started, I went through all my decks to mark off potential cuts. Consuming Vapors has always been an underperformer in the deck, and there’s a new Zombie in town. The other two Zombies, Pontiff of Blight and Ubul Sar Gatekeepers, just didn’t make the cut. I might rethink the Pontiff at some point, but there are no Zombies that I’m unhappy with at the moment. Let this serve as a warning to all Zombies in the deck that you’re just going to have to step your game up a notch (I’m looking at you, Gravedigger) because there’s always someone hungrier. For brains.
Merieke Ri Berit
In: Staff of Domination; Riot Control; Blood Baron of Vizkopa; Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Out: Ghostway, Volition Reins, Ghastlord of Fugue, Restoration Angel
With Staff of Domination recently getting unbanned, I knew that it would come into at least this deck—mostly for the untapping ability. Ghostway and Restoration Angel both go because I don’t think that I have enough enters-the-battlefield trigger creatures to make them worthwhile. Volition Reins is a leftover from when the deck did more stealing and has always been mediocre. Ghastlord went because I really want to play the new Teysa here. She’s a nice rattlesnake, although I suppose I have to be careful if someone else has Stalking Vengeance.
Interestingly enough, this deck used to have both Sorin and Magister Sphinx in it, which would get the Blood Baron moving in short order. They’ve long since come out because I’m just not a fan of what they do, but if there’s a card that will tempt me to once again play them, it is the Blood Baron.
Because Merieke is a slow grind deck, eking out little bits of advantage here and there, Fog effects are required. Riot Control joins Dawn Charm in the deck to keep me alive a little longer. It can also simply be a life gain card, especially when multiple opponents are sitting on huge piles of creatures. With Riot Control in hand, I’ll be rooting for someone to cast Rite of Replication kicked—and copied with Riku of Two Reflections—on Avenger of Zendikar.
The Mimeoplasm
In: Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker; Notion Thief
Out: Liliana Vess; Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
Although it seems like Mirko is built for Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, The Mimeoplasm has become my mill deck, and I don’t want too much strategic duplication. I feel a little wonky having a commander as a 1-of-99, so Lazav was the creature in the barrel. Notion Thief came in here as opposed to any other U/B deck because the card draw isn’t all that great. If he works out, extra copies will probably go into at least Merieke and probably Thraximundar.
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
In: Gaze of Granite
Out: Pernicious Deed
Nath is intended to be a budget deck, so when I can replace a card with a nearly identical, cheaper one, I do it. That Gaze of Granite can also take out Planeswalkers pushes it over the top.
Obzedat, Ghost Council
In: Obzedat’s Aid
Out: Trading Post
You have to put Obzedat’s card in Obzedat’s deck. Trading Post isn’t particularly necessary, and its main function (other than getting to yell “Goat Post!”) was regrowing Nevinyrral’s Disk, so it was easy to cut. I thought about taking out Zombify because the Aid is stronger, but I like the idea of a backup plan for regrowing creatures. Obzedat’s Aid also gets me thinking about adding a suite of planeswalkers to this deck. It’s hostile to creature damage anyway, so they might survive long enough to go ultimate and come back via the Aid.
Oros, the Avenger
In: Wear // Tear
Out: Exile
Oros didn’t have much in the way of artifact or enchantment removal, and this is a valid Sunforger target. Exile had proven mostly useless, which was a real surprise to me. I found that it was either too restrictive on targeting or I always wanted something different with Sunforger. This deck still needs to solve the problem of consistent mana, which is a work in progress. I’ll probably try to score a Gift of Estates for this one to go with the Tithe and Land Tax.
Phelddagrif
In: Beck // Call
Out: Bear Umbra
I want to think about playing more Umbras as sweeper protection, but Bear Umbra scares the pants off of people who think you’re just going to somehow try to go infinite with it. I still want to explore the Umbra theme a little, especially with Umbra Mystic, who seems to be the right friend for Zur the Enchanter. Since this deck is all about drawing cards AND it’s the only Bant deck I have, Beck // Call was the right fit.
Prime Speaker Zegana
In: Renegade Krasis, Bred for the Hunt, Vorel of the Hull Clade, Give // Take
Out: Mighty Emergence, Ooze Flux, Scute Mob, Man-o’-War
The cards that came in were tailor-made for the deck. I thought briefly of putting Vorel into Animar instead but realized that I was going to get way more out of it in here. Scute Mob and Man-o’-War were fine but nothing special, so they could go. Mighty Emergence and Ooze Flux were casualties of having (and liking) Tranquil Grove in the deck and not wanting to lose stuff when I activate it. I’m a little concerned that Renegade Krasis might not evolve as often as I’d really like—but when it does it’s going to be awesome.
Vorel of the Hull Clade gets me thinking about whether or not Rings of Brighthearth might find a home in the deck. I wouldn’t put it in for just one other card, but Elixir of Immortality, Evolution Vat, Cytoplast Manipulator, Deadeye Navigator, Plaxcaster Frogling, Scavenging Ooze, Simic Fluxmage, Simic Guildmage, Simic Manipulator, Spike Feeder, Spike Weaver, Woodripper, Yavimaya Elder, and Zameck Guildmage all have reasonable Rings of Brighthearth applications.
Rith, the Awakener
In: Boros Battleshaper, Legion’s Initiative
Out: Chromatic Star, Tsabo’s Web
Rith might—and I stress might—create too many tokens for Legion’s Initiative, but that’s something that will come out as I play it in the deck. Boros Battleshaper is a Soldier, so he goes into the deck’s theme. The mana in the deck is good enough to not need Chromatic Star. That was always a “hey, I have a foil one” choice anyway. I love Tsabo’s Web, but having hideaways and Skarrg, the Rage Pits makes it a little awkward, and I think I’d rather be using them than having everyone else’s Maze of Ith locked down.
Ruhan of the Fomori
In: Mimic Vat, Restore the Peace
Out: Oblation, War’s Toll
Can we count as changes the SWEET alters I commissioned from Eric Klug?
With Mimic Vat coming out of Kresh, I wondered where it would go. Obzedat, Ghost Council kills lots of creatures, so that was a possibility. It seemed to fit into the “You Did This to Yourself” theme a little better, so that’s how it ended up here (a little more on that below). Restore the Peace is definitely a Ruhan card, and I can Sunforger it up. My dream scenario with Restore the Peace is playing it after a Rakdos Charm that doesn’t quite kill someone. While tucking other commanders with Oblation is always fun, I’m not a huge fan of helping other people draw extra cards. It was a tough choice, but something had to go. That Oblation will probably find its way into Phelddagrif.
Thraximundar
In: Breaking // Entering, Far // Away
Out: Beacon of Unrest, Cerebral Vortex
I said during my set review that I was going to replace Beacon of Unrest with Breaking // Entering in Grixis decks, and I have no intention of changing my mind. Cerebral Vortex is one of my Ruhan cards and was in here more because I could than really wanting or needing it. Far // Away is more consistent with the deck’s theme and can really clear a path for Thraximundar to swing in and beat face.
Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice
Out: Garruk Wildspeaker
I found myself a little over reliant on Garruk as mana acceleration (it’s in six decks), so I just wanted a change. Voice of Resurgence is a card that will occasionally lead to even more absurd life total changes with Trostani, so it must be played.
There are a few cards that I put on my “Definitely Will Be Played” list that haven’t yet made their way into decks. Mutant’s Prey, Debt to the Deathless, Emmara Tandris, and Render Silent just didn’t fit in anywhere at the moment. I couldn’t find anything in Prime Speaker, Kresh, or Animar to take out for Mutant’s Prey, which I think is the biggest loss. None of my decks with black/white generate enough make Debt to the Deathless useful. I don’t have any green/white decks that create enough tokens to take advantage of Emmara Tandris, although Rith might. Render Silent is a bit of a metagame choice. We don’t have too many dedicated combo decks in our League, so it seems kind of unnecessary. As I mentioned above, I’m simply making the choice to not play Zhur-Taa Ancient.
Another card that I’m choosing to not play is Master of Cruelties. I think that there are cards like this, Magister Sphinx, and Sorin which have a place in the format (to combat insanely high life totals), but I don’t particularly like playing them, which is just personal taste. I don’t think it’s a ban-worthy card, although it can be quite nasty. Yes, it might be a kill from any life total along with a Ninja. I just find the circumstances of that rare enough to think that it’s not going to be an issue.
Finally, there are a few cards which are destined for yet-to-be-built decks. Carnage Gladiator will go into Rakdos, Lord of Riots. Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, and Zhur-Taa Druid will go into Radha, Heir to Keld. Melek, Izzet Paragon will be the commander of his own army.
Because of the immense size of the available card pool, you’ll be taking out good cards when you put new ones in. I started wondering what I was going to do with all these soon-to-be-homeless gems. Some are a little janky (Tsabo’s Web, It That Betrays, Trading Post), but some are really strong (Mimic Vat, Praetor’s Grasp, Chord of Calling).
The first one I’ll rehome is Dauntless Escort. I’m going to put it into Trostani, taking out Masked Admirers, which I’ll set aside to put into Radha. Next I’ll take that Mimic Vat from Kresh and slide it over to Ruhan. Ruhan keeps mana open a fair amount of the time, so activating the Vat shouldn’t be all that difficult—and it kind of fits into the “You Did This to Yourself” theme. War’s Toll is an easy removal since it’s one of the few cards in the deck that actually draws a good deal of hate in my direction. Black Sun’s Zenith from Karador will find a home in Obzedat, replacing the non-foil one in there.
I think I’ll save the rest to put into the slew of upcoming decks as I march toward one of every color combination. In the next few months, expect to see Radha, Melek, and Rakdos to complete the guilds—in fact, they’ll complete all the two- and three-color combinations. All that will be left afterward will be each of the monocolored decks and, finally, the five-color. If there’s anything you think would be cool to see, feel free to say so!