Updating Humans For SCG Regionals

Modern returns to the forefront of the SCG Tour after a 2019 that thus far has been primarily Standard, Legacy, and Team Constructed.

The Team Modern Open that kicked off the year in Columbus now sits in a completely different era for the format. We have since seen the banning of Krark-Clan Ironworks, which set the gears of a metagame shift into motion. The top brass of Modern right now isn’t too different from what is was before Ironworks was put in DCI jail, as the ban was significant enough to both hurt and help some strategies that were sitting on the edge.

One deck that benefited from the Krark-Clan Ironworks ban is Humans.

During the later months of 2018, after Bant Spirits became the premier disruptive creature deck of choice and Humans faded into being just another deck in the metagame, I saw the writing on the wall. I joined the dark side, and very quickly, as the only Human I was registering for events for some time was Sai, Master Thopterist. After spending countless hours trying to tune the deck for the post-Guilds of Ravnica metagame, I was never able to solve several problems Humans faced at the time:

• Thanks to a rise in Dredge and Ironworks (as well as Arclight Phoenix decks after Ross Merriam’s victory at the December 2018 Baltimore Modern Open), the format was forced into being a Turn 3-4 format, instead of the Turn 4-6 format it was previously. The slight decrease in average turns per game in Modern proved to be too fast for the Humans deck’s disruption to take hold on the game as effectively as it used to. In many cases, being on the draw while playing Humans proved to be a death sentence, rather than a minor disadvantage as it had been before.
• Bant Spirits saw a boost in popularity, thanks to being propped up by the incredible positioning of the duo of Stony Silence and Rest in Peace out of the sideboard. On top of being an overall better choice against the field at the time, it boasted a strong matchup against Humans in the head-to-head due to being able to control the flow of combat so well.
• As is typically the case, any and all good matchups Humans had previously were pushed out of the format by virtue of it being the best deck for so long. Additionally, players had learned how to play against the deck, as well as tune their lists with it in mind (more Walking Ballistas in Tron, more Searing Blaze / Searing Blood / Grim Lavamancer in Burn, etc.).

No one thing on the above list was enough on its own to push Humans out, but all three created the perfect storm to shove it back into the pile of dozens of Modern decks people chose to play.

Fast forward to today, things are a little bit different. Let’s start by examining what sits at the top of the hill right now in Modern:

• Izzet Phoenix
• Dredge
• Grixis Death’s Shadow
• Amulet Titan

Dredge had the most to gain following the ban of Krark-Clan Ironworks, as Ironworks was one of its more challenging matchups (and arguably the only truly bad one as far as the top tier of decks was concerned). Izzet Phoenix has sat at the top of the roost since the deck burst into the format late last year, and Grixis Death’s Shadow is benefitting from its best positioning in the Modern metagame since late 2017.

Amulet Titan is on the list despite a lack of representation in the format, as it’s quite obviously due to a lack of players playing the deck, not unlike what we saw with Ironworks before it was banned. Decks that are simultaneously powerful and challenging to play optimally have historically gone through the unfortunate life cycle of going from underrepresented to banned in short order, and it would be unsurprising to me to be sitting here three months from now with Amulet Titan sitting as the undisputed best deck in Modern.

Where does this put Humans?

• A massive drop-off in Bant Spirits due to a horrific Izzet Phoenix matchup, as well as the sideboard being unable to make up for the low power level of the deck, has removed a major predator of Humans from the metagame.
• Grixis Death’s Shadow, a deck that was practically nonexistent in 2018, has become one of the format’s top contenders and is of the best matchups for Humans.
• The format has slowed down just a bit since the banning of Krark-Clan Ironworks, making the disruptive elements of Humans more effective again.

Already the deck has begun coming out of the woodwork, most recently putting up a Top 8 finish in a recent Magic Online Mythic Championship Qualifier (note that this article was submitted prior to the results of Grand Prix Los Angeles):

Magic Online competitor superdan_7 took the above list to a fantastic finish, going 7-1 in the Swiss rounds but unfortunately losing to the third-place finisher player playing Izzet Phoenix in the Top 8. This list gives serious consideration to the Izzet Phoenix matchup with the addition of Anafenza, the Foremost and Eidolon of Rhetoric to the sideboard. While some of the numbers perplex me, like three Izzet Staticaster, I generally like the direction this list is taking.

Most of the conversations regarding card choices in Modern target two areas: the sideboard and the flex slots of the deck, which usually refer to anywhere from one to three slots that can change any given week.

If I’m building a Humans deck right now, before I decide on my flex slots, I would play with this core of cards without thinking twice about it:

That makes 57 cards locked in. I like the return of Kitesail Freebooter to the list after some time away due to it not lining up particularly well against most of the decks in pre-Ironworks ban-land. Another shave I’d look at is in the Phantasmal Image slot for two reasons:

• A move up to four Thalia, Guardian of Thraben due to it being well positioned (especially against Izzet Phoenix), as well as some of the better flex slot options being legendary (more on this later), means you don’t want to be glutted up on Images.
• Two of the best decks in the format play Conflagrate and Gut Shot. Phantasmal Image loses a tiny bit of stock in the face of those two cards being prevalent in the format.

So what do we do with those last three slots?

The fourth Kitesail Freebooter is option worth talking about, even though I think it sits lowest for consideration compared to the others I’ll discuss. There’s a distinct lack of Celestial Colonnade decks in the winner’s metagame, due to poor performances against three of the top four decks I discussed above (Grixis Death’s Shadow being the one that struggles against Jeskai and Azorius the most). Kitesail Freebooter tends to be one of your best cards in that matchup, so a lack of Azorius/Jeskai Control in the format hurts Kitesail Freebooter’s viability some.

Additionally, Kitesail Freebooter is only an okay tool to have against Izzet Phoenix to help poke a hole in their hand and is frequently too difficult to have stick around for the whole game. It doesn’t really help in breaking up their three- or four-spell turns where they’re trying to bring back Arclight Phoenixes and/or transform Thing in the Ice into Awoken Horror.

Anafenza is the card I have personally tested with most recently and I have been fairly impressed. Two copies in the maindeck is where I’d like to be should I choose this option. Being an absolutely enormous creature that most notably dodges Lightning Bolt and can attack into Thing in the Ice is the biggest reason I’m interested in Anafenza. The ability to prevent Arclight Phoenixes from being placed in the graveyard, as well as disrupting the creature recursion element of Dredge, should be viewed as a secondary perk, as Anafenza being a three-mana creature frequently will make her too slow to disrupt that plan in time. Should none of these perks apply, she’s still a threat that hits hard and helps make your other creatures hit harder as well.

I opted to play two Tajic while playing in the Modern seat at the Team Constructed Open in Baltimore not too long ago and was very impressed by the utility and aggression that Tajic provided. In many cases, Tajic ended up being the fifth and sixth copies of Mantis Rider I never knew I wanted, and a non-zero amount of time, I was able to nullify burn spells from my opponents by strategically holding him to use Aether Vial to place him onto the battlefield at the right moment. This is a card I would never have liked in a Bant Spirits-heavy metagame, but since many of the top decks don’t really glut up the battlefield much save for Dredge, I think this is likely one of the better options available for this slot.

The best card to play when you don’t feel like thinking about what your opponent is going to be doing in the mid- to late-game, as it frequently will shave off an entire turn from the game. On top of that, it most notably does so without the need of the combat step, which can be nice if your opponent managed to set up profitable blocks on their side of the battlefield. If I were to play Malcontents, I would likely opt to play two and play the fourth Phantasmal Image alongside it, tossing caution to the wind at the existence of Gut Shot.

This was a common addition as a one- or two-of back in the first half of 2018. Much like Anafenza, Restoration Angel has the benefit of a fourth point of toughness to dodge Lightning Bolts. The added utility of having flash and being able to save our other creatures from removal on occasion makes it a worthy consideration. It can even gobble up an Arclight Phoenix in combat, though be wary of Gut Shot when choosing to block in this case. Four mana is no small cost, so keep this in mind as well.

I’ll add this one in here since it’s a commonly asked about option. It still isn’t good enough. Don’t play it in the maindeck.

With the flex slots in the maindeck covered, let us go to the sideboard. I’d pick from this pool of cards right now and would not really consider cards outside of it at this time:

I want at least three copies of Auriok Champion in my sideboard at present, leaning towards four. Being so strong against Dredge and Grixis Death’s Shadow, as well as Burn, is a huge plus and frequently facilitates winning the game on its own, so long as you are also executing your gameplan normally.

The new kid on the block. A good friend of mine suggested I give Deputy of Detention a shot in my sideboard prior to the event in Baltimore. I was incredibly impressed at the flexibility and wish I had played more than one copy. The ability to remove multiple Arclight Phoenixes, Bloodghasts, or Prized Amalgams from the battlefield at once, as well as being able to hit problematic permanents like Ensnaring Bridge, has made this card a slam-dunk addition to the sideboard. I would look to play two to three copies.

One of my favorite sideboard options for a handful of matches, Kambal is serviceable against the control decks of the format to provide incidental damage and be a must-kill target, and is fantastic against Izzet Phoenix due to them needing to cast multiple spells a turn to execute their gameplan in most cases. I would play one to two copies.

Arguably the least interesting member of the sideboard right now, but the flexibility of Knight of Autumn cannot be ignored. I’d look to play two copies.

The best sideboard option you can have for Tron, as well as being very good in other matchups like Storm and Amulet Titan. Gaddock Teeg used to be better when Ironworks was still around and Azorius Control was more popular, but I would rather have Damping Sphere right now. I’d play two copies minimum, maybe three.

I’ve brought up on multiple occasions in this article that control decks in Modern are more of a laughingstock than they normally are right now, but that won’t stop people from playing them, so I like giving Sin Collector a nod here. Sin Collector is still quite good against Izzet Phoenix and Grixis Death’s Shadow as well, so I could see playing one to two copies as a result.

A card I’m actually unsure of playing in light of adding Deputy of Detention to the sideboard, but it’s still likely you want some numbers of Dismember, since it only costs one mana, is an instant, and kills the thing dead instead of removing it temporarily from the battlefield.

Much like Dismember, I’ve yet to decide if Deputy of Detention just does a better Izzet Staticaster impression to where this card isn’t needed any longer. I think the answer to this depends on whether the repeatability of the effect that Izzet Staticaster provides is more valuable, but I think that answer, right now, is no. It would make sense to me that the decks that suffer against Gut Shot and Lightning Bolt, like Elves and Infect, have been pushed out of the format for the most part, making this card unnecessary. If your local metagame calls for it, I’d look to play one or two copies.

Taking all these things into consideration, this is where I’d start my testing for Regionals this weekend:

There’s a lot of importance in closing games out a little bit quicker right now, so I’d look to see how Kessig Malcontents can help facilitate a more explosive draw from the deck. The sideboard for the most part is straightforward save for the three copies of Deputy of Detention, a card I have a lot of faith in at the moment. Swap one for a second Sin Collector if you don’t want to play three.

Sideboarding

VS Izzet Phoenix

Out:

In:

As I mentioned earlier, Phantasmal Image ends up being a liability in this matchup. Additionally, it does not play well with Deputy of Detention due to timing constraints, making it less impactful. Bring in Deputy to try to eat a bunch of Phoenixes and reset Thing in the Ice. Preventing Thing from transforming is your number one priority in this matchup, so try to time your Reflector Mages and Deputy of Detentions as best you can to do so. Damping Sphere is a trap, as your opponent will be shifting to a more controlling role after sideboard, which Damping Sphere does nothing to help against.

VS Grixis Death’s Shadow

Out:

In:

Recent builds of Death’s Shadow have shied away from Lightning Bolts, so keep this in mind when naming with Meddling Mage, especially Game 1. Thalia’s Lieutenant and Kessig Malcontents come out due to it being difficult to amass a large amount of creatures on the battlefield in this matchup. Auriok Champions and ways to remove their creatures are the best sideboard options. Pace your damage output accordingly and you should be able to win this matchup easily.

VS Dredge

Out:

In:

Deputy does a nice job at locking down the creature draws from Dredge. Auriok Champion is an all-star in this matchup, keeping your life total at a reasonable level through the Conflagrates and Creeping Chills that will chip at you over the course of the game, as well as blocking and attacking with impunity (except for pesky Narcomoebas!). Phantasmal Image is a huge liability against Conflagrate and Darkblast, so it’s a quick cut. Freebooter rarely nabs a valuable spell, so it can go as well. I have heard discussions of cutting Reflector Mages in this matchup, but I’m interested in maxing out my answers to my opponent actually casting Stinkweed Imps.

VS Humans

Out:

In:

I used to be a fan of cutting Meddling Mage in this matchup due to how much it gets nullified by Aether Vial, but Deputy of Detention and Knight of Autumn give you a lot of ways to keep Aether Vials off the battlefield and Deputy specifically can help punish the land-light, Vial-heavy draws.

VS Burn

Out:

In:

VS Amulet Titan

Out:

In:

VS Tron

Out:

In:

I used to like Thalia in some capacity on the play, but Tron is so Walking Ballista-heavy these days that she’s simply a liability.

VS Hardened Scales

Out:

In:

VS Azorius / Jeskai Control

Out:

In:

VS Hollow One

Out:

In:

VS Bant Spirits

Out:

In:

VS Jund/Golgari Midrange

Out:

In:

VS Whir Prison

Out:

In:

VS Storm

Out:

In:

VS Selesnya Hexproof

Out:

In:

VS Ad Nauseam

Out:

In:

Humans has shown signs of life in this post-Ironworks Modern format. Whether it can truly compete with Izzet Phoenix and Dredge and return to the top tier of Modern remains to be seen, but the tools to get the job done are certainly there.

Good luck at SCG Regionals this weekend!