Magic The Gathering Thread XXIII: Modern is Dead, Long Live Modern

[Ninjaman]

It's currently control winter. I'm staying away until they put commander in and add support for phones.

Aren't they only including some of the newer sets?

[Turalisj]

For now. I'm hoping older sets get added. And if not, well, they've had as much time from me on it as they're going to get.

[Ninjaman]

For now. I'm hoping older sets get added. And if not, well, they've had as much time from me on it as they're going to get.

Wouldn't count on any more sets.

[Svata]

All of Standard is in, and they don't plan on adding supplemental sets, because that's not what Arena's for.

[Androgeus]

Arena is probably why they introduced Brawl as a format, so they can have commander in arena without having to implement all the old sets

[Svata]

Here's the thing, though. Arena has a 60-card, standard-only singleton format. It is not brawl. It has no commanders.

[Turalisj]

Arena is probably why they introduced Brawl as a format, so they can have commander in arena without having to implement all the old sets

Brawl isn't in Arena. You can only draft and play standard constructed. And... that's honestly not the magic I play.

[Spore]

Brawl isn't in Arena. You can only draft and play standard constructed. And... that's honestly not the magic I play.

Relax, Arena is still in closed beta and the implemented features are bugging out sometimes. I disconnected for a few games already and a bugged interaction denied my input to summon a creature.

I don't think if someone used his ingame gold on a Brawl or Draft and then the game bugs out majorly, they'd get angry. It needs polish and stability, then we can talk about adding features imho.

[thorgrim29]

So I just had a thought for a modern deck... I'm not sure how realistic pulling it off is but if you manage to get at least 2 Anointed Processions and a Spawnsire of Ulamog on the board you basically have unlimited mana and you also get to flood with as many eldrazi as you want.

[Shadow of the Sun]

So I just had a thought for a modern deck... I'm not sure how realistic pulling it off is but if you manage to get at least 2 Anointed Processions and a Spawnsire of Ulamog on the board you basically have unlimited mana and you also get to flood with as many eldrazi as you want.

That is pretty unrealistic. A four drop enchantment that doesn't win the game or put you in dominating position is just too slow in Modern. Also, the ability on Spawnsire can only get Eldrazi from your sideboard in competitive Modern play.

[Zombimode]

After several years I finaly made a new EDH deck. It's Brion Stoutarm's Rugby playing field. With fans of the Boros Legion.
Of course, I ran into the age-old EDH problems: 100 card solts are not enough! Currently at 105 and I not sure what to cut. Maybe the fine Magic-afine ladies and gentlemen on this forum can help me out?

The deck:

Spoiler

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Creature (28)
1x Ajani's Pridemate
1x Anarchist
1x Burnished Hart
1x Captain of the Watch
1x Evangel of Heliod
1x Giant Harbinger
1x Hamletback Goliath
1x Hedron-Field Purists
1x Hellrider
1x Karmic Guide
1x Kor Duelist
1x Mirror Entity
1x Mother of Runes
1x Odric, Master Tactician
1x Preacher
1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
1x Reya Dawnbringer
1x Scourge of Geier Reach
1x Serra Ascendant
1x Serra Avatar
1x Siege-Gang Commander
1x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Sun Titan
1x Sunhome Guildmage
1x Sunspear Shikari
1x Taurean Mauler
1x Valduk, Keeper of the Flame
1x Vulshok Sorcerer

Land (38)
1x Battlefield Forge
1x Boros Garrison
1x Boros Guildgate
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Ghost Quarter
13x Mountain
1x Needle Spires
13x Plains
1x Rogue's Passage
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1x Temple of the False God
1x Temple of Triumph
1x Wind-Scarred Crag

Instant (9)
1x Blessed Light
1x Boros Charm
1x Comet Storm
1x Dawn Charm
1x Rootborn Defenses
1x Secure the Wastes
1x Shattering Pulse
1x Street Spasm
1x White Sun's Zenith

Enchantment (6)
1x Angelic Accord
1x Angelic Renewal
1x Assemble the Legion
1x Dictate of Heliod
1x Flickerform
1x Oblivion Ring

Artifact (11)
1x Argentum Armor
1x Basilisk Collar
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Scythe of the Wretched
1x Sol Ring
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Staff of Nin
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Ur-Golem's Eye
1x Whispersilk Cloak

Sorcery (7)
1x Act of Treason
1x Fireball
1x Mass Calcify
1x Mizzium Mortars
1x Traitorous Blood
1x Traitorous Instinct
1x Vandalblast

Planeswalker (5)
1x Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1x Ajani Goldmane
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Koth of the Hammer
1x Nahiri, the Harbinger

Candidates for cuting:

Ajani's Pridemate Maybe I'm not that much of a Lifegain deck. Sure, gaining (lots) of life is the plan but it is mostly done in larger chunks once a turn or so instead if the Soul Warden "oops, my Ajani's Pridemate is a 12/12 on turn 4" style of life gain. Maybe it is just mediocre in my deck.

Hellrider Great card and I do have lots of token producers (it's kind of the second game plan of this deck) but maybe it is to much of a win-more? Still, end of turn Secure the Wastes, then Hellrider smash for millions seems to good to pass...

Purphoros Very strong and would without a doubt perform well in this deck. The issue is that he may be too strong: I have a dislike for "oops, I win" combos and while Purphoros + mass token producing is not quite on the level of Purphoros + Cloud of Fairies would be, it is very close.

Elixir of Immortality I do have some ammount of graveyard recuring and rather few draw effects. Maybe I just don't need Elixir.

Blessed Light Maybe I don't need it, but I have not that much removal for enchantments or exile effects for creatures. I feel a bit uncomfortable with cuting it, but maybe I should replace it with Angelic Edict. Sure, sorcery speed is worse but at least I could get it back with Anarchist...

Comet Storm/Fireball Maybe I don't need two fireball effects. But I would like to draw one with some ammount of consistency to close out a game.

Act of Treason / Traitorous Blood / Traitorous Instinct Maybe three Threaten effects are to many? But these effects are great with Brion so I don't feel comfortable with going less then three.


I probably need to make more then 5 cuts, since my mana situation is not ideal. Currently it's just Burnished Hart, Sol Ring and Ur-Golems Eye. I probably should make room to include at least one of the likes of Land Tax, Armillary Sphere or Weathered Wayfarer, and one or two additional mana rocks.


Suggestions?

[The Hellbug]

This might not be too helpful but just something I noticed: I think you could cut down on the threaten effects. They're good with Brion but kind of inconsistent and quite weak in a multiplayer game when Brion isn't on the field--and he won't be all the time, he's a big threat. That said, you could look intro replacing at least one of them with Captivating Crew, which can do that repeatably, even if it's pricey to drop it and do it in the same turn.

[Zombimode]

Hm, you have a point that Brion will not always be on the field. But I will try with 3 Threaten, as stealing the opponents creates and tossing them right back was kind of the original idea of this deck.
I will keep the Captivating Crew in mind, good find!

Cuts and changes so far:

Cuts:
- Ajanis Pridemate: it just not the right deck for it
- Siege Gang Commander: it feels like he is playing his own sidegame of tossing goblins - of that there are none besides him self, his gang, Mirror Entity and Taurean Mauler. I'm sure he would pull his weight but I have to make cuts...
- Dawn Charm: it is really nice to have and I would love to have a slot for it, but it is not essential and Boros Charm and Rootborn Defense simply do more against board wipes
- Elixir of Immortality: don't need it
- Fireball: I do want acces to this kind of effect, but I have to settle with one card. But maybe I should axe the Comet Storm and keep the Fireball, just for the sake of Anarchist...
- Koth: after having reduced the number of mountains Koth is just bad in this deck. An easy cut!

Changes:
Minus 4 Mountains
Plus 2 Plains
Plus Command Tower
Plus Slayers Stronghold
Plus Boros Keyrune
Changed Blessed Light for Angelic Edict


I need to make one more cut to make room for Land Tax or Armillary Sphere...

[Emmerlaus]

I would like some feedback on a deck a cooamnder deck Im trying to make about:

Jalira, Master Polymorphist

I wanted to make it a token, Undead theme... And a bit of milling. A lot in fact. But I have trouble finishing the deck...

First, can that commander be good?

And second... is that strategy any good? Im not sure how many creatures I should have. Should all of them have a way to come back from the Graveyard, like the Undying ability? Should I add Elixir of Immortality or Perpetual Timepiece?

EDIT: Should I use Stitcher Geralf instead as my commander?

Spoiler: The deck

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Creatures: (10)

Rusted Slasher
Reef Worm
Forgotten Creation
Thopter Assembly
Docent of Perfection
Chasm Skulker
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
Laboratory Maniac
Psychosis Crawler
Thing in the Ice

Sorcery: (8)

Preordrain
Ponder
Windfall
Rite of Replication
Wash Out
Polymorph
Tinker
Milotic Manipulation

Instant: (17)

Ray of Command
Swan Song
Cyclonic Rift
Arcane Denial
Hinder
Lat Nam Legacy
Boomerang
Marchant Scroll
Fabricate
Visions of Beyond
Brainstorm
Hurkyl's Recall
Milotic Manipulation
Oona's Blessing
Think Twice
Steel Sabotage
Day's Undoing


Enchantement (7)

Shinx Tutelage
Intruder Alarm
Control Magic
Compulsion
Skywise Teaching
Ensoul Artefact
Metallurgic Summoning

...Artefacts: (17)

Hedron Archive
Sky Diamond
Grimoire of the Dead
Coats of Arm
Thought Vessel
Proteus Staff
Armillary Sphere
Mind's Eye
Lightning Grease
Eldrazi Monument
Batterskull
Sickleslicer
Chemeric Mass
Acorn Catapult
Nuisance Engine
Crawlspace
Vedalken Shakles


Planeswalker: (2)

Jace, Memory Adept
Jace, Unralver of Secrets

[Fable Wright]

Jalira, tokens, and self-mill are the bread and butter of her archetype.

The usual strategy is to have some cheap token producing spells, and only high mana creatures in the deck, preferably with powerful ETB effects. I'd cut a lot of the weaker creatures in your deck like Fatestitcher, add a few more things like Stormtide Leviathan, and add some Thopter producers as mono blue Zombies is sadly hard to do. Rise from the Tides is definitely a great centerpiece card in the deck, if you can dig it out of your graveyard at all reliably.

[Emmerlaus]

Jalira, tokens, and self-mill are the bread and butter of her archetype.

The usual strategy is to have some cheap token producing spells, and only high mana creatures in the deck, preferably with powerful ETB effects. I'd cut a lot of the weaker creatures in your deck like Fatestitcher, add a few more things like Stormtide Leviathan, and add some Thopter producers as mono blue Zombies is sadly hard to do. Rise from the Tides is definitely a great centerpiece card in the deck, if you can dig it out of your graveyard at all reliably.

Thanks for your imput!

However, I discovered a few things while making this deck... One of them being Living Weapons and Chimeric Mass.

Both doesnt count as creature when you seek your deck with either the commander,Polymorph spell or Proteus Staff.

With that in mind, I took off most of my creature that werent HORROR... Why? Because of the synergy the monster have between them. Thing in the Ice for exemple will be able to clear the field while my biggest more threatening monsters remain on the field.

I added a few artefacts that give tokens as you suggested. Tell me if I need more things that give free tokens, like Flayer Husk, Mortar Pod or Skinwing

... Im not sure how many lands should I keep available though but I figured 39 was enough

[Silverraptor]

Hey all. I just wanted to let you all know I just received 5 additional closed beta keys to Magic the gathering Arena. If anyone is interested, please let me know.

[Spore]

Hey all. I just wanted to let you all know I just received 5 additional closed beta keys to Magic the gathering Arena. If anyone is interested, please let me know.

they want to do a stress test

on Friday, July 20 between the hours of 12PM – 8PM PDT (7PM – 3AM UTC) and get access to:
• Half-Off Draft Event. Draft Core Set 2019 for half-off (2,500 Gold or 375 Gems) with all the same rewards!
• No-Entry Constructed Event. Play in a special constructed event with no entry fee and extra prizes.

Spoiler

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Your 5 Closed Beta Access Codes:
kx9-wqaa-rrc
ema-ugom-jec
z4d-6a6t-181
y3w-1b1p-a38
ut1-ak3b-8fp

[Svata]

I also have some beta keys. Only gonna give 2 here, because I know some other people who might want some.

Spoiler: Spoiler

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1jo-qejd-ec3
msw-xh41-hqe

[Emmerlaus]

Im working every days for the whole month of July... Won't be able to participate in this, unfortunatly.

[sonofzeal]

A friend gave me a MTG Arena promo code, but I can't seem to get it to work.... T____T

[Silverraptor]

I still got my codes.

[sonofzeal]

I still got my codes.

Can you PM me one?

[Emmerlaus]

What are those codes giving us btw?

[Spore]

What are those codes giving us btw?

Beta Access mostly. I think a bit of starting gold to invest into your first deck though there are a few nice decklists out there that just use the cards you get with the game. Other than that, you can start grinding the daily quest - and if you are good with drafting, you can grind it for packs You pull equal with 4 wins (1 loss allowed, second one is kill afaik).

[Emmerlaus]

Oooh, I'll take one of those codes too then! If someone want to share that is

[Spore]

Oooh, I'll take one of those codes too then! If someone want to share that is

we posted a few in the thread, just try them out.

[Spore]

Fire up MTG Arena before 1. of August to get 3 packs and 5k gold for free.

[Emmerlaus]

... I just discovered I should play Commander with a different group. OMG I was so eager to play my Toothy and Pir deck but one game I was focused by one player. He made me mill half my deck! (for NO reasons! He started it and never stopped it! 4 cards a turn for 10 turns) and the other I was playing against a competitive deck with almost no answer agaisnt.

[Gauntlet]

... I just discovered I should play Commander with a different group. OMG I was so eager to play my Toothy and Pir deck but one game I was focused by one player. He made me mill half my deck! (for NO reasons! He started it and never stopped it! 4 cards a turn for 10 turns) and the other I was playing against a competitive deck with almost no answer agaisnt.

To be fair, having half of your deck milled is probably an advantage.

Mill is pretty difficult to make work in Commander, and unless you're going infinite you sort of have to focus one player or you're never going to get anything done.