ModernNews

Breaking Modern in half

It’s time to solve Modern for Mythic Championship London.

In this article you will get decklists, strategy talk and even a couple pieces of tech that we’ve been working on ahead of the event. With a Modern Magic Fest (MF) win and a Modern MF Top 8 to my name I like to think I have a handle on how to tackle Modern, but at the end of this you can be the judge of that.

My goal is going to be to give you a glimpse at the gauntlet of decks my Team Face to Face Games teammates and my are considering for the upcoming Mythic Championship, and some of the logic for and against each choice.

So let’s jump in:

[Deck Title= 6th Place MF Sao Paolo, Izzet Phoenix – Oliveira Graichen]
[Creatures]
4 Arclight Phoenix
2 Crackling Drake
1 Snapcaster Mage
4 Thing in the Ice
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Pyromancer Ascension
1 Echoing Truth
1 Izzet Charm
1 Lightning Axe
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose
4 Opt
2 Surgical Extraction
4 Thought Scour
4 Faithless Looting
4 Serum Visions
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Island
2 Mountain
2 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Spirebluff Canal
3 Steam Vents
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Dragon’s Claw
2 Blood Moon
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Abrade
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Dispel
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Spell Pierce
1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Beacon Bolt
1 Shatterstorm
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

I’m not going to waste anyone’s time by going too far into a deck you’re all deeply familiar with by now. This is a pretty stock list of what Izzet Pheonix looks like these days, the reason it comes first in my article is because the format has become warped around the existence of this deck. It was 20 per cent or more of the field in multiple large events and currently has the biggest following. The deck has inherent weaknesses to cards like [Card]Ensnaring Bridge[/Card], [Card]Rest in Peace[/Card] and [Card]Fatal Push[/Card]. The true power of this deck is it’s consistency — trust me, I should know.

Here’s how to beat it:

[Deck Title= 2nd Place SCG Cleveland, Esper Control – Zach Allen]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
3 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Cast Down
3 Cryptic Command
3 Esper Charm
3 Fatal Push
2 Logic Knot
2 Negate
3 Opt
4 Path to Exile
2 Supreme Verdict
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
2 Glacial Fortress
1 Godless Shrine
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Polluted Delta
2 Watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Detention Sphere
2 Celestial Purge
1 Dispel
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Collective Brutality
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Thoughtseize
2 Unmoored Ego
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Zack did particularly well by facing seven Izzet Pheonix during his run in Cleveland and designed his deck in such a way that it took advantage of the matchup. Beware brewers, this deck is weak to Humans, Spirits, [Card]Blood Moon[/Card] and Burn but if it’s all Phoenix all the time then by all means break out your [Card]Creeping Tar Pit[/Card]s. This strategy could also be utilized by this next deck:

[Deck Title= Azorius Control – Takahashi Yuuta]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Opt
4 Path to Exile
2 Oust
2 Spell Pierce
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Logic Knot
1 Mana Leak
1 Negate
3 Cryptic Command
3 Terminus
1 Relic of Progenitus
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
[/Spells]
[Lands]
6 Island
2 Plains
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Glacial Fortress
4 Field of Ruin
1 Ghost Quarter
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Rest in Peace
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Celestial Purge
1 Disenchant
1 Negate
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

I think this take on Azorius Control is excellent due to its ability to combat the graveyard-centric nature of the format by being the best maindeck [Card]Surgical Extraction[/Card] deck out there. Even in the case of a mirror match catching an opponents [Card]Snapcaster Mage[/Card] target can be back breaking. Bad matchups in the past like Storm are vastly improved with the addition of Surgical in the main as well. It does however decrease your game against many of the aggro decks in the format.

Modern can be frustrating as someone that’s looking to play “fair” Magic. But, Azorius is one of the rare fair decks in the format that CAN actually answer everything when built correctly.

When you decide to give up on the rock, paper, scissors that usually is Modern. This is where people usually end up.

All that said there’s certainly the feeling that you want to do something powerful in Modern. Your control deck could be built perfectly, but it’s never going to come roaring out of the gates and run your opponent over. With that in mind here’s the deck my team has deemed the most powerful that has many favorable matchups:

[Deck Title= Amulet Titan – Edgar Magalhaes]
[Creatures]
1 Walking Ballista
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Primeval Titan
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Pact of Negation
4 Summoner’s Pact
4 Ancient Stirrings
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Amulet of Vigor
3 Coalition Relic
2 Hive Mind
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Boros Garrison
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Khalni Garden
4 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Slayers’ Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
3 Tolaria West
1 Vesuva
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Pact of Negation
4 Path to Exile
2 Negate
1 Ramunap Excavator
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Hornet Queen
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

The addition of [Card]Hive Mind[/Card] has given this deck yet another path to victory. Funny enough the Amulet Titan shell used to be a [Card]Hive Mind[/Card] deck primarily, but has since gone over to the Titan side. The deck’s greatest weaknesses are to [Card]Blood Moon[/Card], [Card]Damping Sphere[/Card] and control decks maybe? (It depends on whether you ask Edgar or Nassif)

You’ll want to decide which decks you want to beat and which decks you’ll be taking the loss to based on your estimation of your competition. With this Pro Tour being an open decklist tournament, this deck gets monumentally better in my estimation as you can accurately see the ways in which you’ll be hated on and account for them properly. No more bringing in answers to [Card]Blood Moon[/Card] when they aren’t even playing it.

It’s hard to overstate just how good powerful toolbox decks are, [Card]Birthing Pod[/Card] is banned after all. Amulet is a strong choice for the weekend.

Now if you ask me and you’re reading my article so you must be, here’s what I predict the most played deck in the room will be in London:

[Deck Title= Humans – Eli Kassis]
[Creatures]
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Meddling Mage
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Mantis Rider
4 Reflector Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Plains
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Unclaimed Territory
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Auriok Champion
2 Damping Sphere
1 Spellskite
2 Deputy of Detention
2 Dismember
2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Knight of Autumn
1 Whirler Rogue
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Humans has shown itself to be resilient and puts up a great fight against a majority of the format. If you’re looking to have an even spread of close matchups across the board then here’s a good place to start. Be warned, this deck is secretly one of the most difficult decks in the format to pilot. With cards like [Card]Meddling Mage[/Card] to consider every card you may need to name, you better get your reps in and have a good understanding of the format.

Last but not least is another popular deck that many have deemed most-improved thanks to the new London Mulligan:

[Deck Title= Tron – Eli Kassis]
[Creatures]
2 Walking Ballista
4 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Karn Liberated
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Expedition Map
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Oblivion Stone
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Sanctum of Ugin
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Urza’s Tower
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Nature’s Claim
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Spatial Contortion
1 Dismember
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Thragtusk
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Here’s the thing, while this deck has gained extra consistency in its ability to establish Tron by turn three, it’s still susceptible to hate. The room is going to be read for Tron. We even see the Azorius Control players playing four [Card]Field of Ruin[/Card]s and [Card]Surgical Extraction[/Card]s in their maindeck! Be prepared for some grueling tight battles if this is your choice and realize that [Card]Thought-Knot Seer[/Card] and [Card]Thragtusk[/Card] are meant to allow you to play midrange battles post-board, when your big mana will likely be shut off.

Now of course there are too many decks to go into all of them, but I want to list some of the other top contenders for most chosen decks for MC London. Dredge, Hardened Scales, Eldrazi, Bogles, Lantern/Whir Prison and Collected Company decks are all worth considering for this event in my estimation. The fact that the format is so diverse really tells me how healthy it is.

Now obviously if you came here looking for my exact decklist you will leave empty handed, but I think the real takeaway here is that you have so much choice in Modern. Any of the decks I’ve mentioned above are capable of winning this Mythic Championship and almost all of them are customizable enough to adjust to different metagames. So, if you’re looking to break Modern in half you don’t have to go any further than these lists.

If you’re looking for the exact decklists Team Face to Face Games will be registering in London make sure to tune into Face to Face’s Facebook page and Twitter feed on Friday morning prior to Round 4 where they’ll be published for you.

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