Friday Night Magic Recaps for the Month of August: Part 2

Welcome back to the FNM recap, Month of Modern edition. With Modern being an Eternal format, it leads to quite the brewer’s paradise, with interesting and entertaining decks showing up all the time. We had quite a few different decks show up over the last month in the winner’s circle, so let’s take a look at a few of them.

First up we have Dan Hopkins’ Mostly Mono-Red goblins deck:

4x Goblin Arsonist
4x Goblin Guide
4x Mogg Fanatic
2x Mogg War Marshal
2x Goblin Chieftain
4x Legion Loyalist
4x Goblin Bushwhacker
4x Foundry Street Denizen
2x Goblin Rabblemaster

30 Creatures

4x Lightning Bolt
4x Boros Charm
4x Goblin Grenade

12 Non-Creature Spells

5x Mountain
4x Arid Mesa
4x Sacred Foundry
3x Cavern of Souls
2x Battlefield Forge

18 Lands

2x Tormod’s Crypt
2x Smash to Smithereens
1x Blood Moon
1x Magus of the Moon
2x Lightning Helix
2x Erase
2x Skullcrack
2x Electrickery
1x Goblin Chieftain

15 Sideboard Cards

Dan brought Red-Splash-White Goblins to the table, and I can tell you from experience (having lost to him in the last round), that the deck is a real contender. He comes out of the gate quickly with Goblin Guide, Foundry Street Denizen, Mogg War Marshall and the like and is the able to quickly close the door with burn spells, Goblin Grenade being the leader of the group. Being able to do 25% of your opponent’s starting life total with 1 card is an incredibly good bargain, especially if it doesn’t cost you any card advantage if you can work around the pesky “sacrifice a goblin” phrase with Mogg War Marshall. Having died at exactly 5 life after stabilizing in games 1 and 3 I can tell you firsthand just how good the card is.

Up next we have Alex Bianchi’s Blue/Red Delver list:

4x Delver of Secrets
1x Grim Lavamancer
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Young Pyromancer

13 Creatures

1x Batterskull
4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Pillar of Flame
4x Serum Visions
1x Spell Pierce
2x Spell Snare
1x Twisted Image
3x Vapor Snag
1x Mana Leak
3x Remand
2x Electrolyze

28 Non-Creature Spells

4x Scalding Tarn
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Steam Vents
1x Breeding Pool
1x Sulfur Falls
4x Island
1x Mountain
19 Lands

Sideboard:
1x Dispel
1x Magma Spray
1x Mizzium Skin
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Ancient Grudge
1x Combust
1x Flashfreeze
1x Negate
1x Blood Moon
1x Dismember
2x Threads of Disloyalty
1x Keranos, God of Storms
15 Sideboard Cards

Blue/Red Delver is a deck that is very popular in the Magic Online metagame. The deck focuses on tempo above all else. The point of the deck is to stick an early threat, usually Delver of Secrets, and protect it with countermagic and other disruption and chump blockers from his Young Pyromancer tokens. The sideboard seems primed to take on Splinter Twin, which is a popular deck in the competitive Magic scene, Blue/White/Red Control and any other deck that seeks to combat the deck with 1-for-1 removal.

Coming up we have Dan Leff with another tempo-oriented deck, Blue/Black Faeries:
3x Island
1x Swamp
4x Watery Grave
2x Darkslick Shores
1x Secluded Glen
1x River of Tears
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Mutavault
4x Marsh Flats
4x Watery Grave

25 Lands

4x Spellstutter sprite
2x Vendilion Clique
3x Mistbind Clique

9 Creatures

2x Liliana of the Veil
4x Bitterblossom
4x Mana Leak
1x Repeal
1x Cryptic Command
3x Dismember
1x Doomblade
1x Go for the throat
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Batterskull

26 Non-Creature Spells

1x Darkblast
1x Disfigure
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Trickbind
2x Hurkyl’s Recall
3x Spellskite
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Extirpate
1x Memoricide
1x Mindbreak trap
1x Grafdigger’s Cage

15 Sideboard Cards

Dan’s list is very reminiscent of the Blue/Black Faeries list from back during when Lorwyn Block was in Standard. When it was announced that Bitterblossom was going to be un-banned in the most recent round of changes, the hype for the card was very high, however the results never really materialized. The deck is still a force to be reckoned with because of all the synergy it generates between all of its cards. Bitterblossom is a massive threat on its own. It’s able to produce chump blockers which can save you two or more life per turn against aggressive decks, able to produce a constant stream of attackers against control decks that want to sweep all its creatures away at once, and is a two-card combo with Spellstutter Sprite.

Finally we have our most recent Modern winner, Adam Stadelman, piloting Affinity:

4x Blinkmoth Nexus
4x Inkmoth Nexus
4x Darksteel Citadel
3x Glimmervoid
1x Island

16 Lands

4x Ornithopter
2x Memnite
4x Signal Pest
4x Vault Skirge
4x Archbound Ravager
2x Master of Etherium
2x Etched Champion

22 Creatures

4x Mox Opal
4x Springleaf Drum
4x Galvanic Blast
2x Shrapnel Blast
4x Ensoul Artifact
4x Cranial Plating

22 Non-Creature Spells

3x Stain the Mind
1x Tormod’s Crypt
1x Whipflare
2x Etched Champion
1x Shrapnel Blast
1x Grafdigger’s Cage
1x Illness in the Ranks
2x Spellskite
3x Ancient Grudge

15 Sideboard Cards

Affinity is currently the best aggressive deck in Modern. The deck is capable of throwing its whole hand on the table in the first turn or two using Mox Opal and Springleaf Drum. The deck then tries to ride large, resilient or evasive creatures to the win with Cranial Plating. The deck is even capable of attacking with a 5/5 flier or a 5/5 indestructible on turn two, thanks to Ensoul Artifact, Ornithopter and Darksteel Citadel. Adam has his sideboard primed for the Affinity mirror as well as the combo matchup, with his inclusion of Ancient Grudge, Tormod’s Crypt, Illness in the Ranks and Ancient Grudge.

What does Khans of Tarkir hold for Modern? Will the addition of the ally-colored fetch lands from Onslaught allow for new color combinations, or will the traditional powerhouses continue to thrive? Come find out at Buffalo’s largest Friday Night Magic tournament and the Khans of Tarkir prerelease on 9/20!