I’ve been “down” on Core sets since Wizards made the choice to go with the “50% reprint 50% new cards” format. I think I’ll always hold a grudge against them for going away from the purely reprinted version, as it was the best way to sneak a few of my favorite cards back into relevance. As Modern Masters has shown us, a set full of good, old cards is nothing to sneeze at, and definitely has the potential to be an insanely fun format. And honestly, I wonder if some of the “M14 is bland/boring” chatter I’ve been seeing on the social networks isn’t primarily influenced by the awesomeness we just experienced in Modern Masters. Very few sets would be able to follow in those footsteps without missing a beat.
No doubt about it, M14 is facing an uphill battle to gain the attention and acclaim most new releases garner. While I’m mostly on the fence with the set as a whole, I have found a few cards that have my brewer juices flowing.
[card]Archangel of Thune[/card]: Some people want to label this the new Baneslayer. I don’t see this being nicknamed “Walletslayer” anytime soon (I see its price tag dropping faster than a dump truck full of kittens pitched out the side of a space shuttle), but I think this definitely has some play potential. When it was spoiled I immediately wanted to slam 3 copies into a Soul Sisters deck. A month later… I still want to slam 3 copies into a Soul Sisters deck. Incidentally, she also combines with [card]Spike Feeder[/card] to create a 2 card infinite life combo. Seems like there might be potential in a GW life gain deck in Modern:
[deck title=Travis Hall – Angel and Spike]
[Lands]
4 Temple Garden
4 Marsh Flats
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Windbrisk Heights
2 Gavony Township
6 Plains
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Mistveil Plains
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
2 Martyr of Sands
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul’s Attendant
4 Serra Ascendant
2 Auriok Champion
4 Ajani’s Pridemate
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Spike Feeder
2 Ranger of Eos
3 Archangel of Thune
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Immortal Servitude
3 Path to Exile
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
1 Path to Exile
3 Rest in Peace
2 Wrath of God
2 Stony Silence
3 Suppression Field
1 Spellskite
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
2 Brave the Elements
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
I think this will be the first brew I run now that M14 has been unleashed. It has a good matchup against a few of the tier 1 decks (Twin, Scapeshift, and it can give Pod decks issues). Dropping an Archangel with a couple of the Sisters in play can end a game quickly. Archangel just feels like the missing piece the Soul Sisters decks needed to end the game in a hurry.
[card]Ogre Battledriver[/card]: This card is one of my picks for the best sleeper in the set. I think its price is really being hampered by the fact that it was one of the Duels of the Planeswalkers redemption cards. But, all it has to do is survive. If you untap with this, there’s a very real possibility that you will end the game in a couple of turns. It seems like a lot of people are looking at curving this into [card]Kalonian Hydra[/card], but if you really want to get the most out of this guy, you want to put a lot of dudes on the battlefield.
[deck title=Travis Hall – Broken Tokens]
[Lands]
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Stomping Ground
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Rootbound Crag
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Gavony Township
1 Forest
1 Plains
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
4 Voice of Resurgence
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Ogre Battledriver
2 Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Assemble the Legion
3 Intangible Virtue
3 Advent of the Wurm
4 Call of the Conclave
3 Selesnya Charm
2 Rootborn Defenses
3 Increasing Devotion
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Druid’s Deliverance
4 Loxodon Smiter
1 Assemble the Legion
2 Rootborn Defenses
2 Rest in Peace
3 Pillar of Flame
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
[card]Ajani’s Chosen[/card]: When I started writing this article, this wasn’t on my short list. But then, my mind turned to Modern Enchantress, a deck I’ve been tinkering with off-and-on since the format was announced. It may not be better than [card]Sigil of the Empty Throne[/card], but it is cheaper to cast and now that we know Theros is an enchantment block, I expect lots of people to be tweaking their enchantress lists in the near future. It might be time to stock up on a few of these cards.
[deck title=Travis Hall – Modern Enchanted]
[Lands]
4 Temple Garden
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Gavony Township
3 Plains
7 Forest
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Ajani’s Chosen
2 Auratog
1 Aura Gnarlid
3 Yavimaya Enchantress
3 Verduran Enchantress
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Runed Halo
2 Fertile Ground
1 Greater Auramancy
2 Idyllic Tutor
3 Rancor
1 Aspect of Mongoose
3 Ghostly Prison
1 Seal of Primordium
1 Open the Vaults
2 Suppression Field
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Path to Exile
1 Ghostly Prison
2 Suppression Field
2 Rest in Peace
1 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
2 Choke
2 Seal of Primordium
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
[card]Galerider Sliver[/card]: A definite upgrade from its previous incarnation, [card]Winged Sliver[/card], more than any other sliver the Galerider has me wanting to assimilate with the Borg… I mean, join in with the hive. The “sort-of” slivers have me anxious to explore the hive in multiple formats. I feel like Slivers don’t really need a lot of explanation. You just put as many of them on the board as you can and beat face. First up, Standard:
[deck title=Travis Hall – Slivers!]
[Lands]
4 Temple Garden
4 Stomping Ground
3 Sacred Foundry
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Breeding Pool
3 Mutavault
4 Cavern of Souls
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Galerider Sliver
4 Bonescythe Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
4 Manaweft Sliver
4 Blur Sliver
4 Striking Sliver
2 Megantic Sliver
2 Thorncaster Sliver
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Domri Rade
4 Hive Stirrings
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
4 Boros Charm
3 Rest in Peace
3 Thragtusk
2 Pithing Needle
3 Pillar of Flame
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
While having a definite weakness to control decks packing a Supreme Verdict, this feels like it has potential. Domri Rade gives us some protection against board sweeprs, but I’m not sure he’s enough.
The mana for this deck is tricky (and I really can’t resist making it 5 colors), but Modern offers a lot more for you sliver fiends.
[deck title=Travis Hall – Slivers?]
[Lands]
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Mutavault
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Reflecting Pool
2 Gemstone Mine
4 Tendo Ice Bridge
4 City of Brass
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Galerider Sliver
2 Bonescythe Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
4 Blur Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Cautery Sliver
2 Syphon Sliver
1 Two-Headed Sliver
3 Homing Sliver
1 Shadow Sliver
1 Syphon Sliver
1 Necrotic Sliver
1 Harmonic Sliver
4 Adaptive Automaton
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Harmonic Sliver
2 Spinneret Sliver
2 Necrotic Sliver
1 Shadow Sliver
1 Homing Sliver
2 Winged Sliver
4 Relic of Progenitus
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
Basically, this should play out like a Merfolk deck that sacrifices the potency of cheap counterspells for power that’s a bit more diversified. Cautery Sliver and Necrotic Sliver give you outs to some of the problematic permanents/creatures and Homing Sliver helps to ensure the deck’s consistency.
Overall, while many found M14 to be disappointing (a sentiment I can understand) there are a few hidden gems for dedicated brewers. And, this is without even dipping into a few of the set’s best cards, (looking at you, [card]Kalonian Hydra[/card], [card]Garruk, Caller of Beasts[/card], [card]Xathrid Necromancer[/card], and [card]Imposing Sovereign[/card]). The next few weeks, leading up to and including the World Championship, should give us a good picture of how M14 has influenced the formats.
If you like my suggestions, you can follow me on Twitter: @travishall456. I throw around random observations and deck ideas every day. You can also hear me on the Horde of Notions podcast each week, discussing deck ideas for FNM level events and the PTQ grinders.
Travis Hall is a resident Mana D rogue deck brewer with an unhealthy addiction to Heartless Summoning and Birthing Pod.