The SCG Top 8: August 29, 2016

1. Burn ‘Em All!

#GPINDY had a very diverse Top 8, but at the end of the day, sometimes all it takes is a bunch of Lightning Bolts!

No matter what the format does, it’s safe to say that setting your opponents on fire is always going to be a 100% viable way to win a Modern tournament. Brandon Burton is heading back to the Pro Tour, to Hawaii no less, thanks to his penchant for pyros!

Burn

Brandon Burton

1st Place at Grand Prix on 08-27-2016

Modern

Creatures (17)

• 1 Grim Lavamancer
• 4 Wild Nacatl
• 4 Goblin Guide
• 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear

Lands (20)

• 4 Wooded Foothills
• 2 Mountain
• 4 Bloodstained Mire
• 3 Sacred Foundry
• 2 Stomping Ground
• 3 Arid Mesa
• 2 Copperline Gorge

Spells (23)

• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Lava Spike
• 3 Rift Bolt
• 4 Searing Blaze
• 4 Boros Charm
• 4 Atarka's Command

Sideboard

• 1 Lightning Helix
• 4 Path to Exile
• 3 Kor Firewalker
• 2 Skullcrack
• 3 Destructive Revelry
• 2 Deflecting Palm

2. Is Modern Good? Is Modern Bad?

Like all formats, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you’re a fan of deck diversity, then this format is great. But if you’re a fan of strategy diversity, then this format is probably not your cup of tea.

This format may become a big lesson about formats for the future: deck diversity isn’t necessarily the end of the format health discussion; if a bunch of different decks are all doing something that feels very similar, does it matter what we call the archetypes?

On Premium, Todd Anderson is leading the crusade against this idea of the illusion of format health. He’s got plenty of detractors and plenty of supporters. Which side are you on?

3. Bedlam Reveler is Going to Win Eventually

A large number of players are hard at work on Bedlam Reveler. This is a card that may eventually be right at home in Modern’s top tier.

It’s being touted as a Delver update, a Grixis Control angle, and even a Standard brew.

If just a player or two is interested, it might be an outlier or a pet card situation. But this is a lot of high-level mages. When this card explodes in popularity eventually, don’t be surprised.

4. We’re Running Out of Standard!

With the SCG Tour^® taking a breather this past weekend, Saturday will mark a return to the home state for SCG and the home format for tournament Magic. It’s #SCGRICH time!

With Season Three ready to roll, there are again plenty of open spots for players to stake their claim at the Players’ Championship! If you’re a master of this Standard format, this is your opportunity to pounce! Before you know it, Kaladesh will be upon us. And everything will change…

5. King Me!

Conspiracy: Take the Crown is finally on the scene, and the reviews are…really, really good.

Magic’s version of Game of Thrones is striking chords of fun and flavor with players everywhere, from the hardest pro to the most casual Prerelease fan. Don’t miss out on your chance to play this wonderfully unique set! Matt Higgs breaks down the art of becoming the monarch here!

6. Whoa Whoa Whoa!

While we’re talking about all things Conspiracy: Take the Crown…

You want to know why people don’t like early spoilers and leaks? Because it lessens the emotional impact of moments like this. Players everywhere opened up Conspiracy: Take the Crown packs with their strategies in mind, only to have every thought they had melt into sweet Christmas morning nothing when they saw this incredible foil.

Hype. Hype. My friends? That is some hype.

7. In Other Grand Prix and Modern News…

Let’s not forget that more Modern was taking place across the Pacific!

Grixis Delver

Albertus Law

1st Place at Grand Prix on 08-27-2016

Modern

Creatures (15)

• 4 Snapcaster Mage
• 4 Delver of Secrets
• 3 Young Pyromancer
• 1 Gurmag Angler
• 3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Lands (19)

• 1 Swamp
• 1 Mountain
• 2 Island
• 3 Polluted Delta
• 2 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Watery Grave
• 2 Steam Vents
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 4 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Darkslick Shores
• 1 Sulfur Falls

Spells (26)

• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 1 Mana Leak
• 4 Serum Visions
• 2 Terminate
• 1 Electrolyze
• 1 Spell Snare
• 1 Countersquall
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 3 Gitaxian Probe
• 4 Thought Scour
• 1 Dreadbore
• 1 Murderous Cut
• 2 Kolaghan's Command

Sideboard

• 2 Blood Moon
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Flashfreeze
• 2 Magma Spray
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 2 Dispel
• 2 Surgical Extraction
• 1 Dismember
• 1 Dreadbore
• 1 Vandalblast
• 1 Izzet Staticaster

Coralhelm Combo

Kelvin Chew

4th Place at Grand Prix on 08-27-2016

Modern

Creatures (27)

• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 3 Noble Hierarch
• 4 Knight of the Reliquary
• 2 Qasali Pridemage
• 1 Spellskite
• 2 Scavenging Ooze
• 3 Voice of Resurgence
• 2 Courser of Kruphix
• 4 Spell Queller
• 2 Selfless Spirit

Lands (22)

• 3 Forest
• 1 Plains
• 4 Windswept Heath
• 2 Flooded Strand
• 1 Temple Garden
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Horizon Canopy
• 4 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run
• 1 Gavony Township

Spells (11)

• 4 Path to Exile
• 4 Collected Company
• 3 Retreat to Coralhelm

Sideboard

• 2 Worship
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 3 Negate
• 3 Kitchen Finks
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 3 Izzet Staticaster
• 2 Blessed Alliance

Goryo's Vengeance

Kentaro Yamamoto

7th Place at Grand Prix on 08-27-2016

Modern

Creatures (12)

• 4 Simian Spirit Guide
• 4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
• 4 Griselbrand

Lands (20)

• 1 Swamp
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Island
• 4 Polluted Delta
• 1 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Watery Grave
• 2 Steam Vents
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 4 Scalding Tarn
• 2 Creeping Tar Pit
• 2 Blackcleave Cliffs

Spells (28)

• 4 Goryo's Vengeance
• 2 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Sleight of Hand
• 4 Serum Visions
• 4 Through the Breach
• 4 Faithless Looting
• 4 Izzet Charm
• 2 Collective Brutality

Sideboard

• 2 Quicksilver Amulet
• 1 Shatterstorm
• 4 Thoughtseize
• 4 Leyline of Sanctity
• 4 Anger of the Gods

Is it even possible to understand how to attack Modern as a whole? Where was the recent breakout Dredge deck? Could we even strategize against this format if we had twenty sideboard slots?

Modern. The mystery that keeps on mystifying.

8. A Simple Question: Who Wins #SCGRICH?