Modern Love

Is it just me, or is Modern the most exciting format in Magic right now?

It seems to me you can play just about anything you like, and so long as you've thought carefully about constructing your deck, and have a decent plan and sideboard for the more common matchups (Affinity, UR combos, Zoo), you can do well.

As such, we're seeing completely original decks coming out of nowhere, as well as completely new takes on archetypes we've seen in Standard before in the results from the PTQ season. Take for example these examples from the most recent (23/01/12) Magic Online PTQ:


Winning the blue envelope, Dracc0n with UWR scepter aggro, boarding into Gifts/Rites!


1  Arid Mesa
2  Celestial Colonnade
1  Hallowed Fountain
4  Island
2  Misty Rainforest
1  Mountain
1  Sacred Foundry
4  Scalding Tarn
2  Steam Vents
3  Sulfur Falls
2  Tectonic Edge
23 lands

4  Delver of Secrets
3  Snapcaster Mage
2  Vendilion Clique
9 creatures
4  Isochron Scepter
4  Lightning Bolt
4  Lightning Helix
3  Magma Jet
4  Path to Exile
1  Research/Development
4  Serum Visions
2  Spell Pierce
2  Spell Snare
28 other spells

Sideboard
1  Combust
2  Dispel
1  Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3  Gifts Ungiven
2  Grim Lavamancer
2  Pyroclasm
1  Relic of Progenitus
1  Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1  Unburial Rites
1  Vendilion Clique

The scepter element of this deck reminds me of Adrian Sullivan's WRB deck from Extended last year, while the rest of it is much along the lines of the UR(g) Delver decks being pushed hard by Todd Anderson and Brad Nelson at the moment. The alternate sideboard plan of Gifts Ungiven into Unburial Rites up a huge guy that (ideally) kolds your opponent must have caught virtually everyone with their pants down, though loses some surprise value now people know the deck is out there.


In 7th place, Wirecat (who I am reliably informed is "The" Ben Seck) has a new hybrid of Death Cloud and BuningLoam:


4  Blackcleave Cliffs
2  Blood Crypt
2  Graven Cairns
1  Lavaclaw Reaches
2  Overgrown Tomb
3  Swamp
1  Tectonic Edge
4  Twilight Mire
1  Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4  Verdant Catacombs
24 lands

3  Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
4  Tarmogoyf
7 creatures
3  Burning Vengeance
3  Death Cloud
1  Garruk Wildspeaker
4  Inquisition of Kozilek
4  Life from the Loam
4  Liliana of the Veil
3  Nameless Inversion
3  Raven's Crime
4  Smallpox
29 other spells

Sideboard
2  Ancient Grudge
3  Damnation
1  Engineered Explosives
1  Forest
3  Nature's Claim
3  Nihil Spellbomb
2  Victim of Night

The beautiful innovation here is the revival of the Haakon + Nameless Inversion combo. This not only gives repeatable removal for creatures, but is a spell cast from the graveyard for Burning Vengeance, and doesn't require a land each time like Raven's Crime. Victim of Night in the sideboard may as well read "destroy target creature in Modern" right now, so I'm surprised it's not seeing more play.




In 13th place, CoreySMann with.. KITHKIN?!


4  Arid Mesa
4  Marsh Flats
9  Plains
2  Rustic Clachan
2  Sacred Foundry
4  Windbrisk Heights
25 lands

3  Burrenton Forge-Tender
4  Cloudgoat Ranger
4  Figure of Destiny
1  Goldmeadow Stalwart
4  Knight of Meadowgrain
3  Ranger of Eos
4  Wizened Cenn
23 creatures
4  Honor of the Pure
4  Path to Exile
4  Spectral Procession
12 other spells

Sideboard
4  Blood Moon
4  Combust
4  Ethersworn Canonist
3  Kataki, War's Wage


This favourite of mine is virtually the old standard deck, only with fetchlands, and a very light red splash for sideboarded Blood Moon and Combust. I'm surprised he got away with just Kataki vs fast Affinity draws though, as now artifact lands are banned, paying the upkeep is  much more realistic prospect.


Finally, a shoutout to all the blue decks running Hurkyl's Recall as their Affinity sideboard card of choice. I first saw this in Bruno Panara's winning UB Delver list from PTQ Manchester last weekend, and he informs me it is an utter beating, often acting as a double Time Walk. SICK.


Modern continues to look super fun, and I can't wait to play some very soon! (No PTQs yet this season for me, frown).