Theros Brews, Pauper and Modern Decklists (pics)

Last night towards the end of my stream, I decided to brew up a decklist that I would be interested in playing in the post Theros format. I wanted to start with GR Aggro because of how much I like Polukranos and Stormbreath Dragon but I also want to look at GW Aggro and WU Control. Here are my initial ideas:

Gruul

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Experiment One

4 Kalonian Tusker

3 Scavenging Ooze

2 Boon Satyr

4 Ghor-Clan Rampager

4 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Stormbreath Dragon

4 Domri Rade

3 Mizzium Mortars

4 Stomping Ground

4 Temple of Abandon

12 Forest

4 Mountain

There are no Burning-Tree Emissary because it doesn't fit well with Tusker, which is a card I like better in this deck. Boon Satyr may not be good enough to be included in large numbers but it's still a 4 power 3-drop and that's something I want. Magma Jet is probably not better than Mizzium Mortars but I could see a combination. The new planeswalker, Xenagos, is fine but I would prefer to play 4 Domri and the two don't mix that well. Xenagos does interact well with all of our late game mana sinks so it's something I will try at some point, sideboard at least. Fitting Mutavault into the manabase is probably too greedy, especially when we already have so many late game mana sinks.

Selesnya

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Soldier of the Pantheon

4 Voice of Resurgence

4 Fleecemane Lion

2 Scavenging Ooze

4 Loxodon Smiter

4 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Advent of the Wurm

4 Selesnya Charm

2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride

4 Temple Garden

4 Selesnya Guildgate

8 Forest

8 Plains

I'm not sure which of the available 1-drops are best but Soldier is worth a shot over Dryad Militant. Experiment One has been great in Standard so far so that could still be the way to go. It even works with Ajani in a cute way. Ajani is a card I think can shine in correct circumstances. This deck is incredibly dense so I think it's perfect for Ajani, so long as he's easily castable. The God weapons in red, green, and white are all playable in my opinion but they need to be better than the alternatives and I think Ajani is better in this case.

Azorius/r

1 AEtherling

4 Chained to the Rocks

4 Syncopate

1 Celestial Flare

4 Azorius Charm

2 Azorius Keyrune

4 Detention Sphere

4 Supreme Verdict

4 Jace, Architect of Thought

2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

4 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Hallowed Fountain

4 Azorius Guildgate

4 Sacred Foundry

4 Steam Vents

2 Mutavault

3 Island

5 Plains

I hit a wall while working on this deck. There are almost no good cards from Theros to help this deck along so I decided that I wanted to give the new 1-drop removal spell a try. Playing 8 additional dual lands isn't ideal, and my just not be worth it, but Chained to the Rocks gives you a Swords to Plowshares type effect that works well with Jace's -2 ability. Otherwise we could always adopt Pacifism or Sensory Deprivation. Going deeper into red could be the way to go but for now I'm sticking to this idea. I would love to be able to play 4 Mutavault in this type of deck but I'm pretty conservative when it comes to mana, at least before any testing.

Going deeper into red could definitely alleviate some of the card quality issues in just UW. It also means that we get access to scrylands but at the cost of Mutavaults and being a more streamlined deck. We'll have to wait and see how important Thunder Strike, Warleader's Helix, and friends are to the new format. And for the record, I'm not a huge fan of Steam Augury. I'm a much bigger fan of Jace, though alongside more instant speed removal it probably has a place. 

Also last night, Pauper bannings were announced. Temporal Fissure and Cloudpost both met the hammer which I think is great for the format. I took a decklist that I brewed up previously in the format (but knew it was bad in a Cloudpost format) and updated it for my expectations of the new format:

4 Fume Spitter

4 Augur of Skulls

4 Chittering Rats

1 Crypt Rats

4 Mulldrifter

1 Snuff Out

1 Brainstorm

1 Disfigure

1 Undying Evil

1 Vendetta

1 Grim Harvest

1 Oona's Grace

1 Soul Manipulation

1 Traumatic Visions

1 Spinning Darkness

4 Tragic Slip

4 Diabolic Edict

3 Mystical Teachings

3 Dimir Aqueduct

2 Dimir Guildgate

4 Evolving Wilds

12 Swamp

1 Island

Sideboard

3 Basilica Screecher

1 Crypt Rats

1 Disfigure

1 Dispel

4 Duress

1 Echoing Decay

1 Grim Harvest

1 Psychic Strike

1 Soul Manipulation

1 Spinning Darkness

This type of deck has a natural advantage against creature decks which is what most of the remaining format is made of but it also has enough card advantage to fight through control decks. A deck comprised of mostly countermagic would give us a hard time but if we can deal with their threats (easy enough), then that'll give us a chance for our engines to take over.

I used to employ a Probe and/or Trinket Mage Engine but I've decided the Mystical Teachings engine is going to be the way to go. It's less clunky than Probe, more versatile than Trinket Mage, and works through discard and countermagic. It also allows the deck to play a lot of sweet singletons as seen above. I would list the sweetest ones, but I'd end up listing almost all of them.

As for Theros additions, Read the Bones is a viable option but I've always said that if you're playing blue you can do better when it comes to card draw.

Lastly, if you missed my Living End decklist that I've started streaming with, here it is:

4 Fulminator Mage

2 Shriekmaw

4 Deadshot Minotaur

4 Monstrous Carabid

4 Street Wraith

3 Pale Recluse

2 Twisted Abomination

4 Jungle Weaver

3 Living End

4 Demonic Dread

4 Violent Outburst

4 Blackcleave Cliffs

3 Copperline Gorge

1 Raging Ravine

1 Blood Crypt

1 Stomping Ground

1 Godless Shrine

1 Overgrown Tomb

4 Verdant Catacombs

1 Swamp

2 Forest

Sideboard

2 Avalanche Riders

1 Domri Rade

2 Faerie Macabre

3 Ingot Chewer

2 Jund Charm

2 Shriekmaw

3 Sin Collector

There's no Dryad Arbor because you rarely need to have one for Demonic Dread and even when you do it's really situational. The deck doesn't need more dead cards either.

The 1 Domri Rade in the sideboard could easily be a 4th Sin Collector but I've had good results with him so far. It serves as a way to circumvent hate while still being a bro otherwise. I bring him in against Tron and UWR.

A Daily Event with a similar decklist will go up on ChannelFireball in a few days so look for that and if you'd like to watch the archived stream from yesterday go here. Thanks for reading!

Currently Playing

Modern: RWU Wafo Tapa Control

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

4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
1 Izzet Charm
4 Lightning Helix
3 Shadow of Doubt
2 Electrolyze
2 Supreme Verdict
4 Cryptic Command
1 Batterskull
2 Sphinx's Revelation

Sideboard
2 Batterskull
1 Counterflux
2 Negate
2 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
1 Isochron Scepter
3 Vendilion Clique
1 Wrath of God
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

 Standard: Esper Control

2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Augur of Bolas
1 Restoration Angel

4 Devour Flesh
4 Azorius Charm
4 Think Twice
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Dissipate
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Planar Cleansing
4 Sphinx's Revelation

24 Duals
3 Nephalia Drownyard

Sideboard
1 Blind Obedience
1 Duress
3 Negate
1 Planar Cleansing
4 Rest In Peace
1 Tragic Slip
3 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Witchbane Orb

Currently Playing

Modern: RWU Flash

4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
4 Izzet Charm
1 Lightning Helix
2 Remand
4 Electrolyze
2 Batterskull
1 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
4 Arid Mesa
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Plains
1 Mountain
3 Island
1 Slayer's Stronghold

2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Lightning Helix
2 Meddling Mage
3 Molten Rain
2 Negate
1 Purify the Grave
1 Runed Halo

Standard: Esper Control

2 Snapcaster Mage

4 Devour Flesh
4 Azorius Charm
4 Think Twice
1 Blind Obedience
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Murder
1 Dissipate
1 Detention Sphere
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace, Memory Adept
4 Sphinx's Revelation

24 Duals
3 Nephalia Drownyard

Sideboard
1 Detention Sphere
1 Duress
3 Negate
4 Rest In Peace
4 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Witchbane Orb

UW Control in Modern

I recently wrote an article detailing many of the various options available to UW Control players in Modern. It wasn't meant to be comprehensive because there are still plenty of unexplored variations in the format. For instance, Spellstutter Sprite + Mutavault is something that could be viable (potentially in conjunction with equipment).

There are some other cool things that I've been exploring though, leading me to like this list. A few of the ideas I took from Riccardo Neri's Worlds 2009 Extended decklist (which I've always liked).

4 Celestial Colonnade
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Tolaria West
3 Island
1 Plains
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Academy Ruins

3 Wall of Omens
1 Snapcaster Mage
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Restoration Angel

2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Talisman of Progress
1 Batterskull
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Path to Exile
3 Spell Snare
3 Mana Leak
2 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Cryptic Command
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Sphinx's Revelation

Sideboard
3 Damping Matrix
1 Batterskull
4 Meddling Mage
2 Runed Halo
2 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Celestial Purge

This version makes use of a few synergies not seeing play elsewhere:

• Tolaria West, Academy Ruins, Engineered Explosives

This package has very little cost and in a very diverse format can be rewarding. It shines in some matchups more than others (like GW Auras) but even in matchups you wouldn't expect, it can still be good. Also, playing Tolaria West increase the density of the deck slightly more.

• Relic of Progenitus, Talisman of Progress, Thirst for Knowledge

Maindeck Relic allows Thirst for Knowledge to be playable, which is something this deck really wanted, but is also great against the many graveyard interactions in the format. On occasion you'll end up exiling a card from your graveyard that you rather wouldn't but if you have to then you have to.

• Mystical Teachings

A pure value card that works really well with Cryptic Command and the many instants/flash creatures. At 1 copy and with a pretty modest curve, it should only be clunky in fast matchups.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments or on twitter. It's early in the week so I'm sure I'll make more changes but this is what I intend to PTQ with if I don't end up going to SCG San Diego this weekend.

Standard, Modern, and Pauper

It's been a while since I've made a post and I had a request to post my lists and thoughts on the current format so I thought I'd do that for all formats I'm currently playing.

If you'd to ask or state anything, feel free to in the comments section or on twitter.

Standard (RUG Pod)

I don't know what it is, but I actually don't like UW Delver. It has seen very good results and is touted as the best deck in the format but I still can't get behind it. Then again, I rarely do get behind the "best" deck so I guess it's actually normal. I've tested other decks too but I keep coming back to RUG Pod. It's been performing the best for me all while being an unpopular deck, which is a quality I much prefer the deck I play to have.

Matt Nass's primer on the deck can be found here. And here's my most recent list:

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
2 Elvish Visionary
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Strangleroot Geist
1 Viridian Corrupter
2 Borderland Ranger
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Thragtusk
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Inferno Titan

4 Birthing Pod
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Bonfire of the Damned

4 Copperline Gorge
3 Hinterland Harbor
3 Rootbound Crag
2 Mountain
1 Island
9 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run

Sideboard
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Arc Trail
1 Bonfire of the Damned
3 Hellrider
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
3 Pillar of Flame
1 Stingerfling Spider
1 Thragtusk
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Zealous Conscripts

The ability to switch to a very fast Hellrider deck is really awesome. I've started doing it in matchups that I didn't used to, like RG Aggro and Zombies.

Modern (UW Control)

I haven't done as well as I'd like to have with my UW deck. I think there is a version of it that is good but I'm still not there yet. I'll continue playing it but I'm also going to try some other decks soon (RWU Delver unfortunately). Hopefully Ravnica will have something that puts it over the top (I'm looking at you, Azorius Charm). In the meantime, the Magic Player's Championship will hopefully shake up the format a bit.

This is my current list (which is changing constantly):

4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Squadron Hawk
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Kitchen Finks

2 Engineered Explosives
4 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
4 Sleight of Hand
3 Remand
4 Cryptic Command

4 Celestial Colonnade
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Marsh Flats
2 Plains
6 Island
1 Moorland Haunt
3 Tectonic Edge

Sideboard
1 Academy Ruins
2 Disenchant
1 Dispel
3 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Vedalken Shackles
1 Oust
1 Pulse of the Grid
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Wrath of God

Vedalken Shackles, while really powerful, are too slow in the important creature matchups. If I drop them entirely then I could go back to a mana base with Seachrome Coast which casts the MD Kitchen Finks better.

I've decided that a lot of the matchups are basically races while in others (combo) we play as a true control deck. But even then, I still have Kitchen Finks over Geist of Saint Traft due to its higher versatility.

I think I'm also going to try a version that has Gifts Ungiven, though that would be in contrary to the idea that most matchups are races. I guess the deck would be a lot different/ have a much different game plan.

Pauper (UR Post)

I only just started playing Pauper so I don't have a lot to say about it. But I have become very opinionated on the deck that I've been playing with, which is UR Post. I'll go over the differences from other versions and why I think this one is correct.

3 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Mnemonic Wall
4 Mulldrifter
1 Ulamog's Crusher

3 Expedition Map
4 Firebolt
4 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Izzet Signet
4 Prophetic Prism
1 Counterspell
1 Harvest Pyre
3 Prohibit
1 Capsize
1 Ghostly Flicker
3 Mystical Teachings

9 Island
6 Mountain
4 Cloudpost
4 Glimmerpost

Sideboard
4 Earth Rift
1 Echoing Truth
1 Envelop
2 Flame Slash
3 Negate
1 Pyroblast
1 Seismic Shudder
2 Serrated Arrows

Sea Gate Oracle

Compulsive Research is a much better card in this deck but the body is actually very relevant in this format. In addition to that, I have to play this card to justify the Ghostly Flicker.

Ulamog's Crusher

At first I didn't like the random fatty that you can't tutor for, but I realized that the one random X spell was virtually the same thing and since I've never actually managed to kill any creatures of relevance with  Rolling Thunder I decided to make the switch. So far there's not much difference between the two but I like that this one is a giant.

Firebolt

Firebolt is easily the best of the available burn spells. It hits players, can deal 4, and is a two for one. Most of the time you want to sorcery speed the burn anyways. As an instant, Lightning Bolt does give you more safety which is why it's my second pick for this slot. I play one copy as a tutor target currently. I used to also have a Staggershock but it was (surprisingly) unimpressive.

EDIT: I've actually decided Harvest Pyre has been under-performing and have switched back to Staggershock which I think is better in the matchups where you really need removal. It could also just be another Lightning Bolt instead.

Brainstorm

Other versions usually play Mysteries of the Deep but I prefer one mana to five. My version also has more shuffle / "scry" effects to make Brainstorm do what it's best at. In addition, when drawn it still acts as a way to find relevant cards early game even why you can't shuffle.

Prohibit

Other versions usually play Condescend which I've found to be horrible in this format. It's bad against pretty much every deck that you want a counterspell in as well as the other ones. Prohibit is an actual two (sometimes four) mana hard counter and is definitely best in this slot.


That's all I've got for you today. See you in the queues!