In Vintage, the format is described as having Pillars that represent the formats different archetypes.
Those being, Mana Drain (Drain/Control), Bazaar of Baghdad (Dredge), Mishra's Workshop (Shops), and Null Rod (Aggro and some Budget options). There are some others like Oath of Druids (Oath) and Tendrils of Agony (Storm), but they are kind of a combination of the pillars, like Oath can be a Drain deck with the Oath combo in it. Or you can have a Storm deck with Drain in it like the deck "Drain Tendrils".
Anyways, are there Pillars of Modern? Does one card represent or sum up a whole archetype? If Splinter Twin was still legal in the format, I would consider that a Pillar.
-Lightning Bolt was a big one, but it seems like not many decks run it these days. i remember a couple years ago when i had to design decks with Bolt in mind, but notsomuch anymore.
-Path to Exile is still used in pretty much every deck that has any trace of W in it.
-Snapcaster Mage, although severely overrated in my book, seems to catch a lot of peoples fancy. but, i wouldn't claim it as a pillar.
-Remand is used in a decent amount of shells, but i wouldn't say that it's a pillar either.
-Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize are definitely pillars of modern, as a lot of shells and decks use them for their go-to form of disruption.
-Cranial Plating, hands down. i doubt there would be an affinity style deck without it.
i'm trying to think of cards that define decks, and it's hard with modern. other than IoK, Thoughtseize, and Cranial Plating, i can't think of any other actual pillars for modern format.
That's a lie. Urza's Power Plant, Urza's Mine and Urza's Tower are a pillar, as well.
Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin are working their way up to pillar status, but it's still too early to tell. i know one of them has been used in tron decks, but i can't remember which one.
You don't seem to understand what I asked, so let me clarify. I am asking for ONE card that represents an archetype as a whole. I can tell you are referring to the Eldrazi deck that is all the buzz right now, but listing a partial deck list doesn't answer my question. Eye of Ugin might better represent that deck, just like Mishra's Workshop represents a deck that plays Sphere of Resistance, Lodestone Golem and other such disruptive artifacts.
You don't seem to understand what I asked, so let me clarify. I am asking for ONE card that represents an archetype as a whole. I can tell you are referring to the Eldrazi deck that is all the buzz right now, but listing a partial deck list doesn't answer my question. Eye of Ugin might better represent that deck, just like Mishra's Workshop represents a deck that plays Sphere of Resistance, Lodestone Golem and other such disruptive artifacts.
They get what you are saying, they're just being a smartass.
if you have asked earlier i would have said twin, pod, jund, and affinity
its lookin more like tron, eldrazi, affinity, and burn now a days
Right, but are there cards that describe these decks? For some of them they are obvious like Splinter Twin and Birthing Pod. But what card typifies Jund or Affinity? Is Burn described by Lightning Bolt or Eidolon of the Great Revel or can you even find a card that would be considered a pillar of some decks? That's what I want to know.
-Lightning Bolt was a big one, but it seems like not many decks run it these days. i remember a couple years ago when i had to design decks with Bolt in mind, but notsomuch anymore.
-Path to Exile is still used in pretty much every deck that has any trace of W in it.
-Snapcaster Mage, although severely overrated in my book, seems to catch a lot of peoples fancy. but, i wouldn't claim it as a pillar.
-Remand is used in a decent amount of shells, but i wouldn't say that it's a pillar either.
-Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize are definitely pillars of modern, as a lot of shells and decks use them for their go-to form of disruption.
-Cranial Plating, hands down. i doubt there would be an affinity style deck without it.
i'm trying to think of cards that define decks, and it's hard with modern. other than IoK, Thoughtseize, and Cranial Plating, i can't think of any other actual pillars for modern format.
That's a lie. Urza's Power Plant, Urza's Mine and Urza's Tower are a pillar, as well.
Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin are working their way up to pillar status, but it's still too early to tell. i know one of them has been used in tron decks, but i can't remember which one.
More or less my exact thinking when I read the question. Might add Goyf until we know for sure its not viable. That gives us a card in each color.
I might add the anti control cards as another pillar like decay and smiter. But at the moment, like Goyf, it seems not really top tier.
Vintage is a very different format from Modern. In Vintage, single powerful unrestricted cards can shape the rest of the deck. This is why you end up with Oath, Workshop, Drain, Bazaar, and Null Rod decks.
If I really had to break it down, the "Pillars" are:
Snapcaster decks (Delver, Grixis Control, Jeskai Control, Scapeshift)
Goyf decks (Jund, Junk, some Zoo)
Goblin Guide decks (Burn, some Zoo)
Eye of Ugin decks (various Eldrazi flavors, Tron)
Inkmoth Nexus decks (Infect, Affinity)
Other considerations include Spreading Seas decks (Merfolk, some other lists), Simian Spirit Guide decks (All-in Red, Eldrazi Aggro, Grishoalbrand, Ad Nauseam), and Chord of Calling decks (Melira Company, Kiki-Chord, Elves)
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I don't think Modern is stable enough to have pillars. It changes fairly quickly, as the recent invasion of the eldrazi has shown. Some of Modern's most iconic cards, like Inquisition of Kozilek, Lightning Bolt, etc. are used in a large variety of different decks. Twin fits that theme I'll grant you, but even when Pod was a thing, Melira Pod and Kiki Pod were very different decks. You can certainly list cards that are played in one deck almost exclusively (any of the auras in Bogles, or really any merfolk in Merfolk, for example), but there are other decks that have a solid identity but no cards that only they play, for example Grixis Control.
if you have asked earlier i would have said twin, pod, jund, and affinity
its lookin more like tron, eldrazi, affinity, and burn now a days
Right, but are there cards that describe these decks? For some of them they are obvious like Splinter Twin and Birthing Pod. But what card typifies Jund or Affinity? Is Burn described by Lightning Bolt or Eidolon of the Great Revel or can you even find a card that would be considered a pillar of some decks? That's what I want to know.
Vintage is a very different format from Modern. In Vintage, single powerful unrestricted cards can shape the rest of the deck. This is why you end up with Oath, Workshop, Drain, Bazaar, and Null Rod decks.
If I really had to break it down, the "Pillars" are:
Snapcaster decks (Delver, Grixis Control, Jeskai Control, Scapeshift)
Goyf decks (Jund, Junk, some Zoo)
Goblin Guide decks (Burn, some Zoo)
Eye of Ugin decks (various Eldrazi flavors, Tron)
Inkmoth Nexus decks (Infect, Affinity)
Other considerations include Spreading Seas decks (Merfolk, some other lists), Simian Spirit Guide decks (All-in Red, Eldrazi Aggro, Grishoalbrand, Ad Nauseam), and Chord of Calling decks (Melira Company, Kiki-Chord, Elves)
I agree that the formats are different, but that's kinda why I wanted to know if there are pillars associated with Modern. And I agree with your list for the most part. I see the Urza Tron being a Pillar and even if you had to pick one, it would be Urza's Tower, since if just one was banned Tron as a deck wouldn't exist. So that's what I think of when I say Pillar, it's a card in a deck that if it was banned, the deck wouldn't be playable anymore.
I wouldn't call Jund a Dark Confidant deck, nor would I consider it a pillar of the Modern format. If for some strange reason they banned Dark Confidant, Jund wouldn't suddenly cease being a deck.
Vintage is a very different format from Modern. In Vintage, single powerful unrestricted cards can shape the rest of the deck. This is why you end up with Oath, Workshop, Drain, Bazaar, and Null Rod decks.
If I really had to break it down, the "Pillars" are:
Snapcaster decks (Delver, Grixis Control, Jeskai Control, Scapeshift)
Goyf decks (Jund, Junk, some Zoo)
Goblin Guide decks (Burn, some Zoo)
Eye of Ugin decks (various Eldrazi flavors, Tron)
Inkmoth Nexus decks (Infect, Affinity)
Other considerations include Spreading Seas decks (Merfolk, some other lists), Simian Spirit Guide decks (All-in Red, Eldrazi Aggro, Grishoalbrand, Ad Nauseam), and Chord of Calling decks (Melira Company, Kiki-Chord, Elves)
I agree that the formats are different, but that's kinda why I wanted to know if there are pillars associated with Modern. And I agree with your list for the most part. I see the Urza Tron being a Pillar and even if you had to pick one, it would be Urza's Tower, since if just one was banned Tron as a deck wouldn't exist. So that's what I think of when I say Pillar, it's a card in a deck that if it was banned, the deck wouldn't be playable anymore.
I wouldn't call Jund a Dark Confidant deck, nor would I consider it a pillar of the Modern format. If for some strange reason they banned Dark Confidant, Jund wouldn't suddenly cease being a deck.
What? Confidant is literally the reason to run Jund over junk because it gets tons of card adv. If Bob was banned there would be no reason to run jund over junk
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One of the things that makes Modern so different from Legacy and especially Vintage is that it's less of a "goodstuff" format as a "synergy" format. If you look at legacy, there's a lot of overlap. Cards like force of will, wasteland, and brainstorm are in almost literally everything. Top tier combo decks are almost always Lion's eye diamond + storm + stuff. Modern's not like that at all. You could easily take a half-dozen Tier 1/2 decks at random and find they only share a few cards (and that those are things like thoughtseize and lightning bolt that aren't really pillars). For example, pre-ban, the top decks were arguably burn, affinity, infect, jund, junk, twin, and GR tron. Only two of those decks have more than a card or two in common, so that's like 6 pillars right there, and you could easily think of another 6. This diversity of cards is one reason people love modern and also why people hate modern.
So if we decide on one for Affinity and one for Infect and count the Urza Lands as one, that leaves us with 8 pillars for the biggest decks in modern.
Think this is the post I agree with most i this thread.
you could even add in a few others that are small representations of the metagame.. Ad Nauseam, Goryo's Vengeance.
What about Aether Vial? Used in both Death and Taxes and Merfolk, right? They certainly use different tools, but attempt to be disruptive while swinging.
Those being, Mana Drain (Drain/Control), Bazaar of Baghdad (Dredge), Mishra's Workshop (Shops), and Null Rod (Aggro and some Budget options). There are some others like Oath of Druids (Oath) and Tendrils of Agony (Storm), but they are kind of a combination of the pillars, like Oath can be a Drain deck with the Oath combo in it. Or you can have a Storm deck with Drain in it like the deck "Drain Tendrils".
Anyways, are there Pillars of Modern? Does one card represent or sum up a whole archetype? If Splinter Twin was still legal in the format, I would consider that a Pillar.
BUWGRChilds PlayGRWUB
BUWGR Highlander GRWUB
UBSquee's Shapeshifting PetBU
BW Multiplayer Control WB
RG Changeling GR
UR Mana FlareRU
UMerfolkU
B MBMC B
Lightning Bolt
Tarmogoyf
Cranial Plating
Remand
Snapcaster Mage
Thoughtseize
Inquisition of Kozilek
Dark Confidant
Path to Exile
Blood Moon
That's all that comes to mind right now.
edit: The Eldrazi onslaught might, of course, make the above mostly irrelevant...
Matter Reshaper
Reality Smasher
Thought-Knot Seer
Endless One
Oblivion Sower
Chalice of the Void
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
-Lightning Bolt was a big one, but it seems like not many decks run it these days. i remember a couple years ago when i had to design decks with Bolt in mind, but notsomuch anymore.
-Path to Exile is still used in pretty much every deck that has any trace of W in it.
-Snapcaster Mage, although severely overrated in my book, seems to catch a lot of peoples fancy. but, i wouldn't claim it as a pillar.
-Remand is used in a decent amount of shells, but i wouldn't say that it's a pillar either.
-Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize are definitely pillars of modern, as a lot of shells and decks use them for their go-to form of disruption.
-Cranial Plating, hands down. i doubt there would be an affinity style deck without it.
i'm trying to think of cards that define decks, and it's hard with modern. other than IoK, Thoughtseize, and Cranial Plating, i can't think of any other actual pillars for modern format.
That's a lie. Urza's Power Plant, Urza's Mine and Urza's Tower are a pillar, as well.
Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin are working their way up to pillar status, but it's still too early to tell. i know one of them has been used in tron decks, but i can't remember which one.
You don't seem to understand what I asked, so let me clarify. I am asking for ONE card that represents an archetype as a whole. I can tell you are referring to the Eldrazi deck that is all the buzz right now, but listing a partial deck list doesn't answer my question. Eye of Ugin might better represent that deck, just like Mishra's Workshop represents a deck that plays Sphere of Resistance, Lodestone Golem and other such disruptive artifacts.
BUWGRChilds PlayGRWUB
BUWGR Highlander GRWUB
UBSquee's Shapeshifting PetBU
BW Multiplayer Control WB
RG Changeling GR
UR Mana FlareRU
UMerfolkU
B MBMC B
They get what you are saying, they're just being a smartass.
its lookin more like tron, eldrazi, affinity, and burn now a days
Tooth & Nail........Grishoalbrand....Living Dominance....Tezzerator.........Vannifar Pod
My Decks that have been BANNED
DRS Jund | Kiki-Pod | Bloom Titan | Splinter Twin | KCI
Right, but are there cards that describe these decks? For some of them they are obvious like Splinter Twin and Birthing Pod. But what card typifies Jund or Affinity? Is Burn described by Lightning Bolt or Eidolon of the Great Revel or can you even find a card that would be considered a pillar of some decks? That's what I want to know.
What deck does Blood Moon represent? What about Dark Confidant? Have you ever seen someone play a Dark Confidant deck?
BUWGRChilds PlayGRWUB
BUWGR Highlander GRWUB
UBSquee's Shapeshifting PetBU
BW Multiplayer Control WB
RG Changeling GR
UR Mana FlareRU
UMerfolkU
B MBMC B
More or less my exact thinking when I read the question. Might add Goyf until we know for sure its not viable. That gives us a card in each color.
I might add the anti control cards as another pillar like decay and smiter. But at the moment, like Goyf, it seems not really top tier.
Now it is screwed up, but Plating and Reality Smasher are the "pillars" atm, subject to change.
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StaffIn Modern, however, you see decks form around clusters of cards. Tarmogoyf on it's own isn't a pillar, but Goyf + Liliana of the Veil + Abrupt Decay + Thoughtseize/Inquisition of Kozilek forms a powerful basis for Junk, Jund, Wilted Abzan, and similar lists. Likewise, Snapcaster Mage isn't a pillar on its own, but shows up paired with Serum Visions, Lightning Bolt, Remand, Mana Leak, etc. There's no one card you can pinpoint as being a pillar of Affinity, but being able to combine Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, Mox Opal, and Etched Champion into the core of one list makes it one.
If I really had to break it down, the "Pillars" are:
Snapcaster decks (Delver, Grixis Control, Jeskai Control, Scapeshift)
Goyf decks (Jund, Junk, some Zoo)
Goblin Guide decks (Burn, some Zoo)
Eye of Ugin decks (various Eldrazi flavors, Tron)
Inkmoth Nexus decks (Infect, Affinity)
Other considerations include Spreading Seas decks (Merfolk, some other lists), Simian Spirit Guide decks (All-in Red, Eldrazi Aggro, Grishoalbrand, Ad Nauseam), and Chord of Calling decks (Melira Company, Kiki-Chord, Elves)
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I don't think Modern is stable enough to have pillars. It changes fairly quickly, as the recent invasion of the eldrazi has shown. Some of Modern's most iconic cards, like Inquisition of Kozilek, Lightning Bolt, etc. are used in a large variety of different decks. Twin fits that theme I'll grant you, but even when Pod was a thing, Melira Pod and Kiki Pod were very different decks. You can certainly list cards that are played in one deck almost exclusively (any of the auras in Bogles, or really any merfolk in Merfolk, for example), but there are other decks that have a solid identity but no cards that only they play, for example Grixis Control.
UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU's prison: blue is the new orange is the new black.
BSidisi, Undead VizierB: Bis zum Erbrechen
GTitiania, Protector Of ArgothG: Protecting Argoth, by blowing it up!
GYisan, The Wanderer BardG: Gradus Ad Elfball.
Duel EDH: Yisan & Titania.
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Goyf/Liliana -- Midrange grind
Snap/Bolt -- URx Tempo
Cranial Plating/Raveger -- Affinity
Urza Lands/Karn -- Tron/ Big Mana
Goblin Guide/Lava Spike -- Burn
Control and Combo are kind of missing in modern right now.
Pillar of Light
Pillar of the Paruns
Pillar of War
Pillarfield Ox
I believe those are the pillars legal in Modern
Eye of Ugin
Tarmogoyf
Lightning Bolt
Arcbound Ravager/Cranial Plating
Thoughtseize
Path to Exile
Tasigur
Delver
Honestly, I'd say:
Mox Opal, Cranial Plating, or Arcbound Ravager for Affinity (11% of meta), not sure which is biggest though.
Lightning Bolt for Burn (9%)
Tarmogoyf for BGx (10%)
The three Urza lands collectively for Tron (6%)
Wild Nacatl for Zoo (4%)
Eldrazi Temple for Eldrazi (both control and aggro) (7%)
Chord of Calling for Creatures Toolbox/Kiki Chord (5%)
Glistener Elf or Noble Hierarch for Infect, not sure which. (5%)
So if we decide on one for Affinity and one for Infect and count the Urza Lands as one, that leaves us with 8 pillars for the biggest decks in modern.
One day Wizards will grant my wish and errata Pillarfield Ox to creature - pillar ox
Dark Confidant deck = jund....
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
I agree that the formats are different, but that's kinda why I wanted to know if there are pillars associated with Modern. And I agree with your list for the most part. I see the Urza Tron being a Pillar and even if you had to pick one, it would be Urza's Tower, since if just one was banned Tron as a deck wouldn't exist. So that's what I think of when I say Pillar, it's a card in a deck that if it was banned, the deck wouldn't be playable anymore.
I wouldn't call Jund a Dark Confidant deck, nor would I consider it a pillar of the Modern format. If for some strange reason they banned Dark Confidant, Jund wouldn't suddenly cease being a deck.
BUWGRChilds PlayGRWUB
BUWGR Highlander GRWUB
UBSquee's Shapeshifting PetBU
BW Multiplayer Control WB
RG Changeling GR
UR Mana FlareRU
UMerfolkU
B MBMC B
What? Confidant is literally the reason to run Jund over junk because it gets tons of card adv. If Bob was banned there would be no reason to run jund over junk
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
I don't mean to nitpick but Wilted Abzan never runs Goyf or Liliana.
Abzan Traverse / Traverse Shadow / UR Kiki
Or are you interested in a Fiora flavor cube? Conspire and win!
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Think this is the post I agree with most i this thread.
you could even add in a few others that are small representations of the metagame.. Ad Nauseam, Goryo's Vengeance.
What about Aether Vial? Used in both Death and Taxes and Merfolk, right? They certainly use different tools, but attempt to be disruptive while swinging.