At GP Dallas, I played 15 rounds. I played against 10 different decks in those rounds. 3 Hogaak, 2 UW Control, 2 Rock, 2 Burn, 8-whack, UR Phoenix, Eldrazi Tron, Storm, Whir Prison, and Humans. I was playing an almost mono-blue tempo deck and finished in the money, 10-4-1. If you think the format isn't varied maybe that's your local metagame or online, because it is quite varied. Faithless Looting is unlikely to ever leave the format, along with Mox Opal and Ancient Stirrings, these cards make the format what it is. They enable stupid stuff yes, but they also enable a wide range of things.
I imagine Stoneforge Mystic will be unbaned at some point, but they will wait till Modern needs a shake-up. With the new mulligan and all the new toys in Modern Horizons, there's no need to add it now.
Personally I love the format right now, and Modern Horizons did exactly what I hoped, made the format even more varied. Even with Hogaak being every where at that GP, it still felt great. Hogaak will still be a viable deck without having busted turn two kills, although in three matches that never happened.
If you don't feel there's enough interaction, play some yourself.
Echoing truth is good against a host of targets, Phoenix, think in the ice, Hogaak. I can also hit non-creatures like Aria. Infect I'm 2-0 against. They can win turn 2, but aside from that draw I have enough counterspells and tempo to slow them down. I've twice stolen their infect creature with archmage charm. It also helps that their main defense is Spell Pierce which does nothing to stop spellstutter Sprite from countering something or ice-fang with deathtouch from killing their creature. I only equip when I have no other interaction available or if I know I'll connect with Feast and Famine to untap. I've made a few changes, but it's mostly been to add String of Disappearances over Wizard's Retort as I wanted more interaction.
This is my version of U/G Tempo. I started out with a lot more Green. I once played UG back in standard with Tarmogoyf, Quirion Dryad, Coiling Oracle, and a bunch of bounce spells. It's possible I should still try the full bounce plan, but for now I like the full flash suite of creatures. Ice-fang coatl is hands down my favorite card from the new set. It's turn four before his deathtouch comes online, but that still seems early enough in testing. Spellstutter sprite is great against control and infect as their spell pierce can't do anything about it. Rebuying it or Ice-fang with ninjas is pure card advantage. Swords just provide an endgame that doesn't leave you completely open.
Here's my starting point for this Friday. Having a three mana one-sided wrath is very strong. Black for disruption. Marit Lage's Slumber is really there for the scry, if we happen to win with it once or twice, that's just bonus. Scrying sheets hits under half the time, so maybe one is plenty.
The set is legal in Modern, not made for modern. No set is made for just one play group. There's a good 20 cards out of the 100 spoiled so far that will see play and I'd guess about another 20 will see play as well and by that I mean be in decks that are in the top 16 deck lists. On top of that there are tons of cards that will see play in new tier 3 decks. What I'm really amazed by is how many cards don't slot in to current tier 1 decks (a good thing) They are new avenues to explore. This set is a brewers delight already. I'll admit there are some misses, some of the force cycle and the mox, but that's likely because play design felt they were too risky as designed and lowered their power level.
It's a format that I have five different decks to pick from, each one can easily go 3-1 or 4-0 at FNM. I'll end up playing against the same deck maybe once every 10 matches. The last SCG open I went to I faced 7 different decks in 9 rounds. Sure there's a couple decks winning a lot at the moment, but it's still multiple decks winning a lot that play completely differently and they still don't make up 6 out of 8 spots like Eldrazi winter. Will you get paired up against decks you will struggle with? sure. The game has always had the paper/rock/scissors aspect to it.
My understanding, albeit limited, is that this won't change much domestically and has more to do with international prices as tariffs and things like Brexit are making it difficult for those stores overseas to match prices to the MSRP. More of an optics change than anything.
I'm putting together a gauntlet to try new brews against and just play testing in general. I'm also trying to get a few friends interested in playing modern, so I want a variety for them to choose from, trying to show how open your options are. My goal is to have 20 decks and cover all the arch types. This is my list so far. Any suggestions?
Jean Grey (U/R Phoenix)
Amulet Titan
Dredge
Bant Spirits
Jeskai
Colorless Eldrazi
Hardened Scales
Jund
8-whack (I qualified for a RPTQ with this, so it stays)
Burn
Rakdos Burn
Whir Prison
Living End
Mardu Pyromancer
Green Tron
Humans
Death's Shadow (Grixis)
Infect
Adnauseam
Sultai Teaching Reclamation (This is one of the decks I'm trying out to run the gauntlet really)
Won a pptq this weekend, deck list at end of post. There were a couple oddities but either way 8-whack got there in the end.
29 players
Round 1- Tooth & Nail
My opp. and I are mulliganing when the match slip arrives and he realizes he is at the wrong table. My real opp. arrives and gets a game loss for not having his deck list finished on time.
Match actually starts, he wins game one as I have a slow start. And game two I kill his first mana creature with a bolt off of a burning-tree emissary and swarm him to death
2-1*
Round 2-Eldrazi & taxes
Both games he has path and tidehollow sculler to slow me down and once the eldrazi displacers come down and can't regain the advantage.
0-2
Round 3-KCI
game 1- he goes off turn three... but never sees my sacred foundry, so doesn't sideboard hate for stony silence.
Game 2- I keep a one land hand since it has stony silence and Rest in peace. Finally on turn six I draw a second land and Stony silence shuts him down. He does have Sai to make tokens, but I kill it with a grenade and kill him. Game 3 is then exact same but I get stony down on turn two this time.
2-1
Round 4-no idea, but I think it's humans
We get deck checked and his aether vials are too warped. He gets a game loss and decides to drop.
Round 5-Humans
game 1-I mull to 5 and lose.
Game 2- I kill his turn one noble after playing two Burning-tree Emissarys and kill him two turns later.
Game 3- He mulls to five and I easily swarm him.
2-1
Going into round 5 I had the second worst opp win % and had to play, but all the 3-1 decided to play and I ended up in first after the swiss. No one with a record worse than 2-2 had stayed in and the bye went to the 2-2 player with the best opp win % and got him into the top 8... it was kinda weird.
Quarter finals- Eldrazi & Taxes- same opp as round 2
Game one I have a fast hand but he has double path and is able to pull ahead.
Game two I kill him on turn three with a huge swarm.
Game three we both mulligan and keep one land hands, but he has double vial. I get a second land on turn three, but he keeps vialing in Flickerwisps to slow me down. He gets a thought-knot down and double Eldrazi dispacer when I get him down to 2. Luckily he was overly conservative with his attacks, I think due to fearing the swarm attack I did in game two. I top deck a goblin grenade on my last possible turn and win.
2-1
Semis-Living End
Game one- all the salt. He cycles a bunch and I figure out what he is playing. Due to double goblin guides I see most of his draws and know he has an instant cascade spell. I haven't played against living end in awhile (6 months) He's down to 3, I draw a lighting bolt. Decide to attack for lethal and once he casts cascade spell (tapping out) I bolt him. This completely tilts him the following two games as he feels I slow rolled him. I could understand if I had let him cascade and resolve Living End, but I just waited till he tapped out in case there was any card I wasn't aware of.
Game two- he crushes me
Game three- I have a fairly quick hand and get him down to 5. He's digging for a cascade spell and cycles a streetwraith then I bolt him for the win.
He spends the next half hour salty while I wait for the finals
2-1
Finals-Tron
game one he mulls to 5, I have turn one goblin guide, and turn three have burning-tree into Reckless and another reckless plus a one drop on turn 4.
game two he mulls to five again, keeps then says go, to which I respond “no, you are going first” he says “I know... go” he kept a no land hand hoping I would goblin guide him again. Turn one is a foundry Street Denizen, turn two is Burning-tree, burning-tree, Reckless, take 13. He finally plays a land and I swing for 7 for the win.
After the tournament the only card I question having was Harsh Mentor. I sided it in but wonder if two copies of Shattering Spree would have been a better option as Mentor doesn't actually hurt KCI much. I don't like more than the one Goblin Chainwhirler as three mana is a lot in this deck. Not impossible but I'd rather have two CMC and lower. Mentor was a good option for against Eldrazi & Taxes, but I never drew it. The white splash for Stony Silence and Rest in Peace is well worth it in my opinion.
4x Gilded Goose (ELD)
1x Kess, Dissident Mage (MH1)
3x Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Planeswalker
2x Oko, Thief of Crowns
2x Teferi, Time Raveler
2x Wrenn and Six
Instant/Sorcery
3x Assassin's Trophy
3x Bring to Light
2x Glittering Wish
2x Kaya's Guile
2x Kolaghan's Command
4x Lightning Helix
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Unmoored Ego
Artifact
4x Arcum's Astrolabe
1x Arid Mesa
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Breeding Pool
1x City of Brass
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Overgrown Tomb (GRN)
4x Pillar of the Paruns
4x Prismatic Vista
1x Sacred Foundry
2x Snow-Covered Forest (MH1)
1x Snow-Covered Island (MH1)
1x Snow-Covered Mountain (MH1)
2x Snow-Covered Plains (MH1)
1x Snow-Covered Swamp (MH1)
1x Windswept Heath (KTK)
1x Wooded Foothills
2x Ashiok, Dream Render
1x Crumble to Dust (BFZ)
1x Dreadbore (GK2)
1x Fracturing Gust (SHM)
2x Fulminator Mage
1x Hostage Taker
1x Huntmaster of the Fells (DKA)
1x Izzet Staticaster
1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1x Knight of Autumn (GRN)
1x Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Unmoored Ego
This is my current build I'm trying out. Goose helps churn out Oko turn two possibly and helps add extra life gain against aggressive decks.
I imagine Stoneforge Mystic will be unbaned at some point, but they will wait till Modern needs a shake-up. With the new mulligan and all the new toys in Modern Horizons, there's no need to add it now.
Personally I love the format right now, and Modern Horizons did exactly what I hoped, made the format even more varied. Even with Hogaak being every where at that GP, it still felt great. Hogaak will still be a viable deck without having busted turn two kills, although in three matches that never happened.
If you don't feel there's enough interaction, play some yourself.
4 Faerie Seer
4 Ice-Fang Coatl
1 Merfolk Trickster
1 Mist-Syndicate Naga
2 Ninja of the Deep Hours
1 Scion of Oona
1 Snapcaster Mage
4 Spellstutter Sprite
2 Vendilion Clique
Spells
1 Spell Snare
3 Mana Leak
3 Remand
2 Wizard's Retort
2 Archmage's Charm
2 Cryptic Command
2 Echoing Truth
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
Land
8 Snow-Covered Island
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Field of Ruin
2 Flooded Strand
4 Breeding Pool
2 Hinterland Harbor
2 Waterlogged Grove
2 Beast Within
1 Cyclonic Rift
2 Force of Negation
3 Ravenous Trap
2 Spell Pierce
2 Vapor Snag
3 Weather the Storm
This is my version of U/G Tempo. I started out with a lot more Green. I once played UG back in standard with Tarmogoyf, Quirion Dryad, Coiling Oracle, and a bunch of bounce spells. It's possible I should still try the full bounce plan, but for now I like the full flash suite of creatures. Ice-fang coatl is hands down my favorite card from the new set. It's turn four before his deathtouch comes online, but that still seems early enough in testing. Spellstutter sprite is great against control and infect as their spell pierce can't do anything about it. Rebuying it or Ice-fang with ninjas is pure card advantage. Swords just provide an endgame that doesn't leave you completely open.
1 Abominable Treefolk
4 Ice-Fang Coatl
3 Icehide Golem
1 Mist-Syndicate Naga
3 Ohran Viper
4 Saddled Rimestag
1 Snapcaster Mage
Spells
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Assassin's Trophy
3 Dead of Winter
3 Fatal Push
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
1 Unearth
Artifacts
3 Arcum's Astrolabe
1 Marit Lage's Slumber
2 Rancor
Lands
1 Breeding Pool
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Nurturing Peatland
1 Overgrown Tomb
2 Polluted Delta
4 Prismatic Vista
2 Scrying Sheets
3 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Island
3 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Waterlogged Grove
1 Watery Grave
1 Collective Brutality
2 Damping Sphere
1 Force of Despair
4 Iceberg Cancrix
3 Leyline of the Void
1 Plague Engineer
1 Vraska, Golgari Queen
2 Weather the Storm
Here's my starting point for this Friday. Having a three mana one-sided wrath is very strong. Black for disruption. Marit Lage's Slumber is really there for the scry, if we happen to win with it once or twice, that's just bonus. Scrying sheets hits under half the time, so maybe one is plenty.
Also probably beautiful foil.
It's a format that I have five different decks to pick from, each one can easily go 3-1 or 4-0 at FNM. I'll end up playing against the same deck maybe once every 10 matches. The last SCG open I went to I faced 7 different decks in 9 rounds. Sure there's a couple decks winning a lot at the moment, but it's still multiple decks winning a lot that play completely differently and they still don't make up 6 out of 8 spots like Eldrazi winter. Will you get paired up against decks you will struggle with? sure. The game has always had the paper/rock/scissors aspect to it.
Jean Grey (U/R Phoenix)
Amulet Titan
Dredge
Bant Spirits
Jeskai
Colorless Eldrazi
Hardened Scales
Jund
8-whack (I qualified for a RPTQ with this, so it stays)
Burn
Rakdos Burn
Whir Prison
Living End
Mardu Pyromancer
Green Tron
Humans
Death's Shadow (Grixis)
Infect
Adnauseam
Sultai Teaching Reclamation (This is one of the decks I'm trying out to run the gauntlet really)
29 players
Round 1- Tooth & Nail
My opp. and I are mulliganing when the match slip arrives and he realizes he is at the wrong table. My real opp. arrives and gets a game loss for not having his deck list finished on time.
Match actually starts, he wins game one as I have a slow start. And game two I kill his first mana creature with a bolt off of a burning-tree emissary and swarm him to death
2-1*
Round 2-Eldrazi & taxes
Both games he has path and tidehollow sculler to slow me down and once the eldrazi displacers come down and can't regain the advantage.
0-2
Round 3-KCI
game 1- he goes off turn three... but never sees my sacred foundry, so doesn't sideboard hate for stony silence.
Game 2- I keep a one land hand since it has stony silence and Rest in peace. Finally on turn six I draw a second land and Stony silence shuts him down. He does have Sai to make tokens, but I kill it with a grenade and kill him. Game 3 is then exact same but I get stony down on turn two this time.
2-1
Round 4-no idea, but I think it's humans
We get deck checked and his aether vials are too warped. He gets a game loss and decides to drop.
Round 5-Humans
game 1-I mull to 5 and lose.
Game 2- I kill his turn one noble after playing two Burning-tree Emissarys and kill him two turns later.
Game 3- He mulls to five and I easily swarm him.
2-1
Going into round 5 I had the second worst opp win % and had to play, but all the 3-1 decided to play and I ended up in first after the swiss. No one with a record worse than 2-2 had stayed in and the bye went to the 2-2 player with the best opp win % and got him into the top 8... it was kinda weird.
Quarter finals- Eldrazi & Taxes- same opp as round 2
Game one I have a fast hand but he has double path and is able to pull ahead.
Game two I kill him on turn three with a huge swarm.
Game three we both mulligan and keep one land hands, but he has double vial. I get a second land on turn three, but he keeps vialing in Flickerwisps to slow me down. He gets a thought-knot down and double Eldrazi dispacer when I get him down to 2. Luckily he was overly conservative with his attacks, I think due to fearing the swarm attack I did in game two. I top deck a goblin grenade on my last possible turn and win.
2-1
Semis-Living End
Game one- all the salt. He cycles a bunch and I figure out what he is playing. Due to double goblin guides I see most of his draws and know he has an instant cascade spell. I haven't played against living end in awhile (6 months) He's down to 3, I draw a lighting bolt. Decide to attack for lethal and once he casts cascade spell (tapping out) I bolt him. This completely tilts him the following two games as he feels I slow rolled him. I could understand if I had let him cascade and resolve Living End, but I just waited till he tapped out in case there was any card I wasn't aware of.
Game two- he crushes me
Game three- I have a fairly quick hand and get him down to 5. He's digging for a cascade spell and cycles a streetwraith then I bolt him for the win.
He spends the next half hour salty while I wait for the finals
2-1
Finals-Tron
game one he mulls to 5, I have turn one goblin guide, and turn three have burning-tree into Reckless and another reckless plus a one drop on turn 4.
game two he mulls to five again, keeps then says go, to which I respond “no, you are going first” he says “I know... go” he kept a no land hand hoping I would goblin guide him again. Turn one is a foundry Street Denizen, turn two is Burning-tree, burning-tree, Reckless, take 13. He finally plays a land and I swing for 7 for the win.
3 Legion Loyalist
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
2 The flame of Keld
3 Goblin Grenade
4 Lightning Bolt
8 Mountain
1 Sacred Foundry
9 fetches
2 searing blaze
2 Dismember
2 rest in peace
2 stony silence
2 smash to smithereens
2 harsh mentor
2 damping sphere
1 Goblin chainwhirler
After the tournament the only card I question having was Harsh Mentor. I sided it in but wonder if two copies of Shattering Spree would have been a better option as Mentor doesn't actually hurt KCI much. I don't like more than the one Goblin Chainwhirler as three mana is a lot in this deck. Not impossible but I'd rather have two CMC and lower. Mentor was a good option for against Eldrazi & Taxes, but I never drew it. The white splash for Stony Silence and Rest in Peace is well worth it in my opinion.