Here is a more traditional take, that appears to be similar to the list Khanagate posted earlier:
And here is my Mardu colored list I came up with yesterday after hearing the news:
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Quote from Frank Karsten »In the past, my sideboards usually contained several versatile 1-for-1 interactive spells. At the moment, I have none.
Affinity has always favored high-power, specific sideboard cards over low-power, versatile ones. After all, every card you remove from the deck weakens your synergies and the deck’s explosiveness. If you’re cutting engine cards, then you preferably want to get a really powerful card in return, not just a marginal 1-for-1.
This has always been true, but the Modern format has evolved:
- There are fewer combos that you can break up with a single interactive spell. In the past, you could stop Deceiver Exarch/Splinter Twin with a single Dismember and Angel’s Grace/Ad Nauseam with a single Stubborn Denial. You’d even net a 2-for-1 in the process. Nowadays, the most popular combo deck is Storm, and Ironworks is gaining a foothold too. Although a single interactive spell is useful against them, they can easily beat it. To stop their combo altogether, you need a card like Rest in Peace or Damping Sphere.
- There seem to be fewer hate cards like Stony Silence around. After Bloodbraid Elf prompted Abzan players to switch over to Jund, Ancient Grudge became the most popular artifact hate card in Modern. I always liked Thoughtseize as a proactive way to fight hate cards like Stony Silence, but there seem to be less of a need for that nowadays.
- Modern has gotten more powerful as a whole. If you compare Affinity lists from 2018 to lists from 2013, they look very much alike. Meanwhile, all other decks have improved substantially. Whereas in 2013 you merely needed a few low-risk, low-reward sideboard options to compete, you need more high-risk, high-reward cards in 2018. In other words, nowadays I’d rather maximize the number of powerful hate cards that can win the game by themselves.
- My decision to cut the 1-for-1s altogether is drastic—perhaps too drastic. I don’t think it’s wrong to keep, say, two Thoughtseize as a versatile catch-all. In fact, versions with lots of main deck Etched Champions and Galvanic Blasts may actually need some to make their sideboard plans work out against decks like Tron. But given that my main deck composition contains almost none of those cards, I have little need for such versatility in my sideboard, and I felt comfortable cutting all 1-for-1s to gain more slots for high-impact hate cards.
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After seeing Gifted Aetherborn being used here, I tried it out as a 2 of on Friday (3-1) and Tuesday (2-2). Seemed good enough at those numbers without overcommiting to black.
1 Arid Mesa
3 Concealed Courtyard
1 Fetid Heath
1 Field of Ruin
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
3 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
2 Shambling Vent
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Vault of the Archangel
Removal (16):
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Cast Down
2 Collective Brutality
2 Fatal Push
4 Path to Exile
2 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Dark Confidant
2 Gifted Aetherborn
2 Jotun Grunt
Other Threats (11):
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Gideon of the Trials
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
4 Lingering Souls
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Damnation
1 Damping Sphere
1 Disenchant
1 Duress
1 Rest in Peace
1 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Wrath of God
1 Zealous Persecution
On an iteration I want to try this week, I'm going a bit more hand attack with Tidehollow Scullers.
Following changes -
+ 2 x Tidehollow Sculler
+ 1 x Concealed Courtyard
+ 1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
- 1 x Collective Brutality
- 1 x Fetid Heath
- 1 x Field of Ruin
Sideboard:
+ 1 x Collective Brutality
- 1 x Timely Reinforcements
The Kalitas was a last minute addition (i've tinkered around with it before). But I'm worried dropping down to 23 lands might mean 3 4 drops a bit much. Just prepping this for the upcoming modern season.