Modern has been in flux for some time now.
Since Gitaxian Probe and Golgari Grave-Troll were banned Modern really hasn’t had a chance to settle down. This also combines with the fact that recent sets have been incredibly influential on Modern.
This past weekend I attended Grand Prix Vancouver to attempt to break Modern wide open with Eldrazi Tron:
Creatures (19)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (24)
Spells (16)
There are a couple of minor changes I made in response to metagame shifts, but for the most part this is the list I played to Vancouver.
I was really happy with Eldrazi Tron, even though I finished the event with a somewhat disappointing 10-5 record. There is plenty of variance with Eldrazi Tron, largely depending on which lands you draw.
I feel like I have a good understanding of the strengths and weakness of Eldrazi Tron, so today I’m going to try something different and purely talk about how to play Eldrazi Tron in relation to its matchups.
I’ll talk about my card choices, how to play the deck, sideboarding, and more while going over the major matchups you can expect to face.
I won’t be able to cover every matchup in Modern, since the metagame is deeper than the Grand Canyon, but I’ll discuss the main decks you can expect to face. I’ll also try and cover unique matchups and avoid covering matchups up that play very similarly to other matchups.
Also, this is your regular disclaimer to think for yourself when sideboarding, and these sideboard suggestions assume you’re on the play. Cards like Chalice of the Void are better on the play, it’s better to side out lands on the draw, etc. Use your discretion.
Let’s get to it!
Burn
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Burn is one of the matchups I don’t want to play against.
Chalice of the Void maindeck goes a long way in this matchup, since if you set it on one in Game 1, it basically means “Oops, I win.”
Post-sideboard they should have a full set of Destructive Revelry and that plan becomes much less of a sure thing, although a Chalice set on two becomes fairly backbreaking if you have time to set it up.
Just don’t try to set a Chalice for two and then a Chalice for one, since a Chalice already set on two will counter a Chalice trying to be set on one.
Dismember may seem like a liability here, and it kind of is, but it’s also what we’ve got to work with as far as removal goes. Dismembering a Goblin Guide turn 1 is much better than taking eight from it in combat.
A lot of your cards are just clunky here, including Walking Ballista, Ratchet Bomb, and Endbringer, which are all slowpokes when you want to be going quickly.
Still, one of the strengths of Eldrazi Tron is that it sometimes has ridiculously fast and busted draws, so if you draw well and natural-Tron out an early Batterskull or Thought-Knot Seer, you can just win.
Affinity
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
This matchup is also about speed, except that Ratchet Bomb and Walking Ballista do great work.
Walking Ballista is a new card that helped push Eldrazi Tron into busted territory. Being able to ping down almost every card Affinity can throw at you in the early-game and completely dominate the battlefield in the late-game is incredibly powerful. That isn’t even taking into account its synergy with Basilisk Collar.
Chalice of the Void goes from amazing on the play (where you can set it for zero on turn 1) to fairly weak on the draw, where it’s almost always too late to counter anything that isn’t topdecked.
One of the main reasons I don’t like All Is Dust as a maindeck card is because it’s almost entirely useless against a decent chunk of the metagame, especially the artifact and other Tron decks.
I also think Ratchet Bomb is a much more versatile and powerful maindeck effect than other two drops like Warping Wail, Mind Stone, or Spellskite. It’s also ridiculously good in some matchups like Affinity.
Death’s Shadow
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Death’s Shadow is the hot new deck that crushed GP Vancouver and it appears to be very powerful.
I’m still not entirely sure if Eldrazi Tron can keep up with the deck, and I don’t think we’re favored here, but it’s not that far behind either. If the metagame is focused on beating Death’s Shadow, that could even be favorable for Tron decks as long as we can also find a way to beat the card Death’s Shadow.
Ratchet Bomb is once again excellent here and one of the reasons I emphasized it in my list, excelling at picking off Death’s Shadow and Tarmogoyf, which can otherwise be difficult to deal with.
Chalice of the Void might look amazing on paper, but plenty of Death’s Shadow lists have lots of artifact removal in Ancient Grudge, Kolaghan’s Command, and Abrupt Decay.
I’m still not exactly sure what the best sideboard strategy is, but attacking their graveyard with Relic of Progenitus and ther few threats with Surgical Extraction seems like a good start.
Eldrazi Tron (The Mirror)
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
The mirror is about fast mana and dropping threats quickly. It’s also more difficult to disrupt that from your opponent than just having a fast start yourself.
That means I don’t quite think Surgical Extraction is worth it, since Ghost Quarter giving your opponent a land is not all that disruptive anyway. That said, Crucible of Worlds recurring Tectonic Edge or Ghost Quarter can beat an opponent by itself while also helping against land destruction from your opponent is excellent. Just be aware it will take a little time before your opponent becomes helpless.
Basilisk Collar is probably the most important card when looking at controlling the battlefield, since if it’s equipped to Endbringer or Walking Ballista, you just win.
Karn Liberated off natural Tron is also going to be game, or Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, but land destruction is too abundant to make them reliable.
Tron
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Surgical Extraction and Crucible of Worlds are everything in this matchup, since they can’t realistically win without assembling Tron first. Unlike Eldrazi Tron, they just don’t have the backup plan of playing random creatures; they need that mana fast to function.
Basilisk Collar is kind of a backup plan to deal with Wurmcoil Engine, but it’s probably just better not to get to that point.
Tectonic Edge isn’t found in many other Eldrazi Tron lists, but it really shines against big mana decks and in my experience vastly outshines the other utility lands like Cavern of Souls, Dreadship Reef, or Gemstone Caverns.
That makes Tectonic Edge the ultimate tech edge you can get.
Jund/Abzan
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Ideally you assemble a bunch of mana quickly and steamroll your opponent by being a much faster midrange deck, but if you have a weak start, you might just die or have to grind out a long game.
You’re vastly favored in the long game and happy to get to that point, though.
Eventually you’ll probably get a bunch of mana and be activating Sea Gate Wreckage each turn until you find a Walking Ballista or Batterskull and win the game.
Ratchet Bomb is better against Lingering Souls and worse against Dark Confidant.
Abzan Company and Kiki Chord also play similarly, although you want to emphasize Grafdigger’s Cage and stopping them from comboing off more.
Lantern Control
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Walking Ballista is one of the cards I always seeing people making mistakes with in Standard and Modern.
Walking Ballista is good against Ensnaring Bridge. If they have a card in hand, shrink your Ballista down by pinging their face, attack, and then put more counters on Ballista once you’ve attacked.
If there’s an important card on the top of your deck that your opponent’s trying to mill and you have Matter Reshaper on the battlefield, you can Dismember it or shoot it with Walking Ballista to draw it or put it onto the battlefield.
Practice your Ballista control!
Similarly, you can Dismember your own Thought-Knot Seer to make your opponent draw a card to mess with their Ensnaring Bridge.
Pithing Needle is essentially the big card that matters in this matchup, since they otherwise can’t realistically beat Ratchet Bomb, Karn Liberated, Walking Ballista, or Endbringer.
Through the Breach
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Surgical Extraction on Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle is your easiest route to victory, but savvy Valakut players won’t make that easy for you and will try not to needlessly play out their Valakuts.
Crucible of Worlds and Tectonic Edge is another win condition. This is another matchup where Tectonic Edge is invaluable and an excellent option to have with Expedition Map.
After that, you’re just trying to disrupt them with Thought-Knot Seer and Karn Liberated while quickly Reality Smasher-ing them.
Chalice of the Void set on zero is great if they have Summoner’s Pact. Look for opportunities to set Chalice on zero in mind if you ever play against decks with Lotus Bloom, Ancestral Vision, Mishra’s Bauble, Mox Opal, or Bone Saw as well.
Basilisk Collar is surprisingly techy against Through the Breach and Reanimator decks. If you have it equipped to Walking Ballista or Endbringer, you’ve completely neutralized a Breached Emrakul, the Aeons Torn! Keep in mind Endbringer can make creatures not be able to attack without any additional assistance.
Merfolk
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Another deck where Ratchet Bomb shines. Not only is the mass removal you want to have against two-drop lords, it can pick off multiple Aether Vials or clear out Spreading Seas.
Spreading Seas is a very important card for them to have against you, since it can otherwise be very difficult for them to surf past your defenses. Consider Ghost Quartering yourself aggressively to deny their Seas card draw and keep your side of the battlefield Island-free. Also don’t forget you can Ghost Quarter or Tectonic Edge your “Island” after they’ve attacked, expecting to islandwalk on through your defenses.
U/R Gifts Storm
Sideboarding
In:
Out:
Yet another great deck to be Ratchet Bombing against. That card is the Bomb.
It’s nice to save up a Ratchet Bomb on two to deal with Baral, Chief of Compliance and Goblin Electromancer at any point when they try to combo off. Ratchet Bomb for zero also conveniently cleans up as many Goblin tokens as they can make with Empty the Warrens.
Grafdigger’s Cage stops Past in Flames, but they’ll usually have a bunch of artifact destruction, which makes me like Relic of Progenitus as a more balanced hate card.
Chalice of the Void on two is the sweet spot, but Chalice on one works in a pinch as well.
Tronstoppable
I hope you enjoyed the structure of this article and found this informative if you’re looking to Tron it up in the future. I think that covers a nice swath of the matchups you can expect to face in Modern. If you did especially like the approach, I can try it again sometime with another deck.
They don’t call me Tron McLaren for nothin’ (no one calls me that).