American Midrange
example decklist:
Tron variants
the more uncommon but still prevalent
Kikki-Pod, I stole Koopa's List, he wrote the modern primer, go check it out
Koopa's Current ListMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures(29) 4x Birds of Paradise 4x Restoration Angel 4x Wall of Roots 3x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 3x Kitchen Finks 2x Noble Hierarch 1x Deceiver Exarch 1x Eternal Witness 1x Harmonic Sliver 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1x Murderous Redcap 1x Phantasmal Image 1x Qasali Pridemage 1x Spellskite 1x Zealous Conscripts | Spells(8) 4x Birthing Pod 4x Chord of Calling Lands(23) 4x Arid Mesa 3x Fire-Lit Thicket 3x Grove of the Burnwillows 3x Razorverge Thicket 1x Gavony Township 1x Copperline Gorge 1x Horizon Canopy 1x Mountain 1x Plains 1x Rugged Prairie 1x Sacred Foundry 1x Steam Vents 1x Stomping Grounds 1x Temple Garden | Sideboard(15) 2x Combust 2x Fulminator Mage 2x Relic of Progenitus 2x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 1x Ancient Grudge 1x Avalanche Riders 1x Cunning Sparkmage 1x Ethersworn Canonist 1x Fiend Hunter 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1x Qasali Pridemage |
Eggs
Stanislav Cifka - 1st Place @ Pro Tour Return to Ravnica, ModernMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | |
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Lands 4 Ghost Quarter 1 Hallowed Fountain 7 Island 2 Misty Rainforest 1 Plains 2 Scalding Tarn Spells 4 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chromatic Star 4 Conjurer's Bauble 4 Elsewhere Flask 4 Faith's Reward 1 Gitaxian Probe 4 Lotus Bloom 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 4 Reshape 4 Second Sunrise 4 Serum Visions 2 Silence 3 Sleight of Hand | Sideboard: 4 Echoing Truth 1 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Grapeshot 4 Leyline of Sanctity 1 Nihil Spellbomb 2 Pithing Needle 2 Silence |
Affinity
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creature 4x Arcbound Ravager 4x Etched Champion 4x Memnite 4x Ornithopter 4x Signal Pest 4x Vault Skirge Instant (7) 4x Galvanic Blast 2x Shrapnel Blast | Sorcery 2x Steelshaper's Gift Land 4x Blinkmoth Nexus 4x Darksteel Citadel 3x Glimmervoid 4x Inkmoth Nexus 1x Mountain Artifact 4x Cranial Plating 4x Mox Opal 4x Springleaf Drum | Sideboard 3x Blood Moon 3x Ethersworn Canonist 3x Grafdigger's Cage 3x Spellskite 3x Whipflare |
Why are all of these decks prevalent right now? Because one of their bad matchups just left the meta. The storm variants have caused tron/affinity to finally rise in popularity (due to Seething Song being banned). While the blue decks are starting to see a lot of play again because Jund has been neutered, and that makes countering everything that your opponent plays a lot easier. Or does it?
Think about the above-mentioned list. What do most of these decks have in common (with exception of affinity)? They're slow!
Now, what deck beats all of these decks by simply being faster? I'm glad you asked
here it is:
BUG InfectMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | |||
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Creatures 4 Plague Stinger 4 Blighted Agent 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Glistener Elf 4 Inkmoth Nexus Insants/Sorceries 1 Giant Growth 2 Inquisition of Kozilek 1 Simic Charm 3 Apostle's Blessing 4 Might of Old Krosa 4 Groundswell 2 Mutagenic Growth 3 Vines of Vastwood | Lands :3 4 Verdant Catacombs 2 Overgrown Tomb 4 Misty Rainforest 2 Breeding Pool 2 Pendelhaven 2 Forest Enchantments 4 Rancor | Sideboard 2 Nature's Claim 4 Dismember 4 Spellskite 1 Apostle's Blessing 1 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Abrupt Decay 1 Simic Charm |
"Wait, Monovfox, you must be crazy playing this card with that Boggle variant and Spellskites going literally everywhere!"
Well, I guess I am a little bit crazy, but hear me out on this. A lot of these decks are slow, and lack the large amount of spot removal needed to deal with every single creature infect can throw at them. Not to mention, they have an amazingly awesome lack of Thoughtseize. This is absolutely amazing for infect. Infect is the fastest proven deck in the modern format (it is actually faster than pre-ban storm). With the banning of seething song, many people stopped maindecking ethersworn cannonist. This is great for Bug infect. A lot of the storm players switched over to Eggs (which is practically an auto-win for infect). Then, with storm getting neutered we have many people playing a deck that feared the once-great combo deck: Red-Green Tron.
"Monovfox, we know all of that stuff, silly fox. But, how does this deck beat UWR?"
UWR can't counter a turn 1 Glistener Elf, and I know they can't counter Inkmoth Nexus. BUG infect is also really good at protecting its creatures, and also is better against pyroclasm than Bogle.dec, while still being resilient to damaged based removal due to maindecking 8 protection spells, and 26 different ways to buff its creatures (pendelhaven, noble hierarch, pump spells). Not to mention, UWR is a slower deck. Many slower decks have a lot of trouble with Infect (Scapeshift, UWR, Control variants) due to lack of discard and effecient non-damage based, colourless, or non-targeting spot removal, and since Pyroclasm is easily negated by Mutagenic Growth, one can see why this is actually a favorable matchup for infect.
"Why does this matter in the grand scheme of things?"
It's simple, we kill the Ba- OKAY, hold on, this isn't The Dark Knight.
Infect's positioning in the format can be shown as proof of the Modern Rock paper scissors, of which I will link the two articles I feel best talk about this modern Rock Paper Scissors
this excellent analysis by UnstableMutant:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=482060
and this proof of UnstableMutant's analysis by The Dead Weatherman:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/blog.php?b=8350
Out of these two articles, we can see why infect is so well-placed in this current meta.
UWR wants to play the Control Spectra (as mentioned in The Dead Weatherman's article), so Infect can simply play the aggro spectra, since UWR lacks the pressure needed to beat the Aggro-Spectra plan of Infect. Aggro-Spectra beats Control-Spectra.
Within the "Combo Spectra" we see that Straight-up Combo beats ramp. This means Infect beats Tron and Scapeshift (and I have tested both matchups to back this up). Infect can play the role of "Combo" in the Combo Spectra. This seems to prove UnstableMutant's point about good decks straddling multiple spectra.
Now, looking at the Affinity Matchup:
Affinity is straight up Aggro-Spectra. What can infect do vs affinity? Why, it can play its combo-spectra plan. It is the beatdown, and affinity is control. What beats control? Aggro, and infect can also play the aggro spectra.
Now, a look at the Kikki-Pod matchup:
Infect, here, plays the combo spectra, and if kikki-pod decides to play the combo spectra here, we win. So, kikki Pod plays the Control Spectra Role. But what beats control? Aggro, so infect simply just runs over face, like it should. But, beware spellskite in the main. That is their best way to play the control spectra. It works surprisingly well.
"Wait, Monovfox, does infect have any bad matchups?!?!?!"
oh yes, very much so.
Kikki-Twin is by-far the worst matchup for infect (Okay, melira pod is bad, but no one is playing that right now).
Why is Kikki-Twin Infect's worst matchup?
Spectras. Kikki-Twin straddles the control and combo spectras. It plays a very finite clock in the form of a turn 4 win, while being able to protect itself with spot removal (noticeably, a lot of damage based spot removal). It also occasionally maindecks a few Spellskite, which splash-hates infect.
With this rambling over, I hope you now have the courage to try infect, the deck I consider the best deck in the format (and definitely the most fun!), as well as ponder Spectra Theory and what it says about the format.
CHEERs!
Monovfox