This week in magic: Brace Yourself, Modern is coming!

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

Welcome to another “This Week in Magic.” What do you folks think of that title? I have to admit, I borrowed it from one of my favorite shows growing up, “This Week in Baseball” or “TWIB” as some people know it. Not a baseball fan? Okay, moving on.

This week I present a fun little deck you and your buddies can try out at this Friday’s FNM. Now, those of you at Battleground Games & Hobbies may have seen it played already, but in case you weren’t there, here’s the decklist:

Main board:

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Sylvan Caryatid

4 Courser of Kruphix

4 Jace, Architect of Thought

4 Peregrination

4 Riddle of Lightning

4 Blast of Genius

4 Worldspine Wurm

4 Enter the Infinite

4 Temple of Epiphany

2 Temple of Abandon

4 Temple of Mystery

4 Breeding Pool

2 Stomping Sround

4 Forest

2 Mountain

2 Island

Side board:

4 Mizzium Mortars

2 Prognostic Sphinx

1 Opportunity

2 Negate

2 Gainsay

2 Unravel the Aether

2 Agoraphobia

This is a list that Tomoharu Saito posted on his Twitter page when Journey Into Nyx came out. This is a really fun deck to play and the look on your opponent will not disappoint you. The trick is knowing when to pull the trigger for Riddle of Lightning. There are definitely going to be a few occasions when you swing and miss with that card. However, when you hit, you hit hard. The best card in the deck is Blast of Genius. What you really want to do is draw into another Blast of Genius. There is going to be a great chance that you’ll already have one of your big spells in your hand to discard. So drawing into multiple Blasts is the best thing that could happen to you.

One suggestion I have for this list is to try Dictate of Karametra in place of Peregrination. Dictate costs one extra, but you should be okay considering you’re running a little bit of ramp in the Caryatids. Speaking of which, the Caryatids and Course will be your best friends because they’ll be your only line of defense from the onslaught of early and aggressive decks. Luckily they have big butts and this should carry you until you can go off.

It should be important to note that this deck plays more like a combo deck than anything. Try to hold out as long as you can in casting your burn spells until you know you can kill your opponent in one swing. The side board is just a suggestion. So change it up however you feel. Otherwise, good luck and have fun!

Modern is coming!

Actually, it’s been here for a while already. However, now that June is here we can really talk about Modern. Speaking of which, did you know that Battleground Games & Hobbies in Abington and Plainville are hosting GPTs for GP Worcester? The first one will be held on Saturday, June 14, in Plainville. The second one will be held Sunday, June 29, in Abington. Of course the format for both events will be Modern, and entrance into both will be $25 for each event.

The trial in Abington will also feature a box of Modern Masters to first place in addition to the byes for GP Worcester. The times of the event are different though. For more information click here.

Are you still wondering what to play for Modern? It can be a little expensive to get into Modern. Currently you can try your hands on the new Event Deck that was recently released. Battleground Games does have them in stock. The new event deck features a decent introduction to B/W Tokens. The thing to remember about this deck is that it’s a stepping stone into Modern. So, please, don’t expect to win a major tournament with it. However, with the right tweaks and tools, you could be well on your way.

If that’s not your cup of tea, though, you can always try your hand at a more “budget” oriented deck. Something you could try is good ol’ mono red burn. Here’s the list:

Main board:

20 Mountain

4 Goblin Guide

4 Hellspark Elemental

4 Spark Elemental

4 Flames of the Blood Hand

4 Lava Spike

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Rift Bolt

4 Searing Blaze

4 Shard Volley

4 Skullcrack

Side board:

3 Combust

2 Molten Rain

2 Relic of Progenitus

2 Satyr Firedancer

3 Searing Blood

3 Smash to Smithereens

It’s simple and straight to the point. In Modern, thanks to fetch lands and shock lands, sometimes you’ll find your opponent starting at 17 or even 14 life. That means with a few well placed burn spells, you could be on your way winning game after game, and so on.

Modern can be a very skill intensive format, so don’t go in thinking all you have to do is tap your lands and play stuff to win. Look both ways before you cross the street. Practice and get to know your deck. Those are the keys to success.

Besides the Goblin Guides, this is a very affordable deck. The Guides can go anywhere between $10-$12. You just have to keep your eye out for the right deal. I know for a fact the online store (at the time of this writing) has some in stock. However, don’t wait too long to pull the trigger, because they’ll go fast now that the season is underway.

If you really want to try your luck, you can always play the Standard R/W Boros Burn deck and play that in Modern. It might be a little bit slower, but it could be just as effective. Give it a shot!

For more information on GP Worcester, then click here.  GP Worcester will be held from July 25-27 at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester, Mass.

Extra Life

Hey everyone! Just letting you know that May was a pretty successful month in getting closer to my goal of $1000 for Extra Life. June is here and it’s time to step up even more. I fell a little short of my month goal, but no worries. It’s time to hit it out of the ballpark for this month. For June, I’ve set a target of $400! That means I’m looking to raise just $200. You can donate anywhere from $5 to $500. If I hit that goal of $400, I’m going to pick two random people who donated. One lucky winner will get a copy of “Takenoko” and the other will get a copy of “Rampage!” How cool is that? And all this goes towards a great charity and cause, the Children’s Miracle Network and, in particular, the Boston Children’s Hospital.

So what are you waiting for? Click on the Extra Life banner below and donate today, please. Thanks! (Oh, and tell all your friends and family members about it)

About the author

Simeon is an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!

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Tags: FNM, Magic the Gathering, Modern, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Standard, Wizards of the Coast
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