Just posted my FNM results yesterday but I managed to top a PPTQ today. I went 3-1-1 in Swiss.
Round 1 - Dredge (won)
Round 2 - Bant Eldrazi (loss)
Round 3 - Tron (win)
Round 4 - RG Valakut/Through the Breach (win)
Round 5 - Infect (draw to lock in top 4)
Top 4 was two infect, Affinity and Bant Eldrazi.
I had to play my would be opponent from round 5 in Semifinals and won. Finals I played against Bant Eldrazi and got there. Remanding my opponents become immense was probably play of the day for me as no one was expecting it (including my opponent who left 2 mana open in case of spell pierce).
Hey everyone, I just played at my Modern FNM which had an usually high amount of people than normal (27) and figured I would write about my matchups. I eventually went x-0 and drew for 1st and 2nd.
Round 1 RG Through the Breach Titan/Valakut 1-0
Game 1
My opening hand was ok but no infect creature. I ship it and Mulligans 6 and 5 didn't have any lands. I kept a 4 hander with 2 lands, noble and a blighted agent. He draws all the bolts and I can't really do anything.
Game 2
I mulliganed to 6 and kept. It was a land heavy hand with a sylvan scrying and a remand. I scry a spell pierce and leave it on top. The matchup is fairly uninteractive while each player was getting set up. On turn 4 I sylvan scrying and pass leaving open 2 mana. He already knows I'm playing 4 main deck spell pierce so he hard casts Primeval titan and I remand it. I swing for lethal with inkmoth next turn.
Game 3
First hand where it's actually fast. 2 land (fetches) hand with noble, two blighted agents and 1 might of old krosa and a mutagenic. He tries to summoner's pact on T4 to get primeval titan and cast him but I spell pierce it. He pays the two but he is no longer able to cast it. He is now locked out for this turn and the next as he has to pay for the pact next upkeep. On my turn after he's mostly tapped out for the pact mana draw into probe and have an answer for his only bolt in hand so I have the clear to go for the kill with become immense and mutagenic and might.
Game 2 GW Hatebears 2-0
Game1
This game was unusual. Eventually we establish a board state of him having Noble, Wilt Liege, and old Thalia. He keeps pinging for 4 for a couple of turns dropping me to 10 and eventually he stops as I play two blighted agent. He stops attacking for some reason (later on he tells me he was scared of me pumping and trying to trade) and eventually he taps out for a COCO which only gets him an aven mindcensor and I dismember thalia during his end step and swing for lethal.
Game2
He was on the play and got out a T2 and T3 Leonin while vialing in Thalia on T3. I only had fetchlands in hand with no noble and 1 mana open. I couldn't do anything while he pinged me to death with them.
Game3
I had the T3 kill with mutagenic/probe/become immense and took it. I had probed his hand prior and saw no removal.
Round 3 Naya Burn - 3-0
Game 1
I can't describe how lucky I was to be on the play. I play a T1 glistner elf and he swings with goblin guide in response. On T2 I double Might of Old Krosa to get him to 9. he spends his turn bolting my elf and I play an inkmoth on T3. He tries to interact with the last point of infect on T4 but I have an apostle's blessing ready.
Game 2
I feel like I spooked him in the first game as he pretty much stopped playing creatures and kept mana open at all times. Eventually I am able to land a spellskite which he couldn't answer after I defended it from path with Apostle's Blessing. I played a blighted agent and drew a spell pierce the turn I wanted to go off. Fortunately, it worked out as he had deflecting palm but spell pierce was able to stop it.
Round 4 Merfolk - 4-0
Game 1
I was on the play and still got absolutely crushed. This was my first time playing against merfolk with infect. He was simply just a turn faster than me.
Game 2
I am able to stick a spellskite and avoid playing any islands for his creatures to get islandwalk. Fortunately for me he never drew a single spreading seas this entire match. I should have lost this game but my opponent made a mistake. As I was preparing to go off on one of my turns as I couldn't do anything to deal with his army of fish. I had cast might and it resolved. I attempted to cast become immense when he flashed in Harbinger of Tides to try and return inkmoth to hand. Fortunately, I had not declared attacks yet. I let him return harbinger to hand due to his mistake but I swung with spellskite and inkmoth together so I could redirect Harbinger's ability to Spellskite. If he had not done this mistake I probably would not have attacked with both and lost.
Game 3
Similar to Game 2, eventually I am able to swing with spellskite and blighted agent and predict his only answer was Harbinger which let me go for the kill as I redirect his trigger to spellskite.
Round 5 4-0-1
I split top 2 with I think Jund or Bant Eldrazi, I wasn't sure what he was playing as he has multiple decks.
Some notable cards:
Remand - Remand is great in some weird matchups like RG Valakut/Titan where the opponents know that you run spell pierce and intentionally do not use Through the Breach which makes it difficult to interact with. Remanding a 6CMC spell is great as they need to tap mostly out for them to win and even just setting them back a turn lets you do what you need to uninterrupted. Plus it cantrips and fuels delve. Not to mention it can hit stuff like Spellskite or Melira. If you are on the play and go T1 Noble > T2 Elf you are able to keep remand open to deal with Melira/Spellskite/Any other creature they want to play so you can go off on T3. I've remanded a T2 goyf and killed Jund this way before. Right now Remand is only a 1 of and I am tempted to add a 2nd in the SB. While it is a good card, it's also important to keep our curve low.
Spell Pierce - I've been running 4 maindeck spell pierce and drawing them consistently have been amazing. They also help the burn match up which I feel is our most difficult one (besides now maybe Merfolk).
Mutagenic Growth - MG is great as it acts like psuedo removal in the early game. At one point during my merfolk match I dismembered one lord (Lord of Atlantis) which allowed me to block the other lord (Master of Pearl Trident) which only gives other fish islandwalk. With spellskite blocking and being able to +2 him to take down the last lord felt really good and let me control their board presence long enough for me to assemble the kill.
Overall I'm still really enjoying the deck only having built it a few months ago and I will most likely be taking it to GP Dallas in November.
Bant Eldrazi has been popping up a lot in my meta lately (faced it twice last week). I'm going to a PPTQ tomorrow. Are there are any tips or strategies to help this matchup? I also expect there to be a pretty grindy meta as I know a few people on Jund will also be there. Any tips on maximizing game 1 and SB against these match ups? I am running a list very similar to Owen's list.
I topped my LGS's modern event tonight. 8 people with 3 rounds, went 3-0.
1st round played against some weird UW Enchantress? deck. 1st game they kept O-ringing my lilianas but they didn't draw a threat and eventually scooped as I was about to affliction them for the last few. Game 2 was pretty one sided as I i had Raven's crime, a finisher and the rest lands. Interestingly enough he kept Spreading Seas my swamps and then boomeranging them back and doing it again to draw cards. He never drew anything relevant.
2nd round played against Eldrazi BW Hatebears. Game 1 he was able to take it as topdeck mode he eventually drew into flickerwisp and displacer and kept displacing bridge long enough for him to kill me. Game 2 and 3 was very onesided as I had lots of raven's crimes and lands. I was testing out Infinite Obliteration in the sideboard and naming thought knot seer was pretty fantastic as I hit the one in his hand and he no longer had any options to take my bridge.
3rd round I played against RG Tron. I hate the tron match up so much. I drew with him but we played for the bonus prize. I won the first round after a very difficult time with Karn. I was able to get 2 racks to lower his Karn so he couldn't ultimate. He eventually exiled both racks but I drew another affliction to finish him off. I was able to surgical extraction Karn and infinite obliteration Ulamog game 2 and he couldn't recover.
I am really liking Infinite Obliteration in the SB right now. I will probably keep it in my meta as it could do well against Abzan company too.
This is the second week I have topped at my local FNMs running Naya Burn.
I don't think thopter combo is here to stay. All the thopter players have not done particularly well and it seems they are getting hit with the same sideboard hate most people were already packing (artifact destruction/stony silence). We had a much smaller FNM this week as a lot of our players were either at GP or out, but Burn is still successful. I have been running a mix of 1:2 of Kozilek's return/Volcanic Fallout in my side and I am very pleasantly surprised by the results. I have been able to use Return to wipe affinity boards with etched champions and volcanic fallout is pretty great against most aggro decks including merfolk while not being a terrible topdeck late game due it still damaging players.
My meta has become great to run full searing blazes as there is almost always a target (Affinity, Elves, thopters, Zoo, Infect, etc). The only match i'd side them out against would be the one Scapeshift player.
If control starts to pop up I may dedicate some SB slots to Exquisite Firecraft.
I am really happy for Burn as it seems to be arguably the best deck of the format right now. There are a lot of fast decks and burn seems to be the fastest right now. We will see how the meta continues to shift but I truly think that thopters/AV is not going to impact burn or the meta as some people thought.
Round 1 - Dredge (won)
Round 2 - Bant Eldrazi (loss)
Round 3 - Tron (win)
Round 4 - RG Valakut/Through the Breach (win)
Round 5 - Infect (draw to lock in top 4)
Top 4 was two infect, Affinity and Bant Eldrazi.
I had to play my would be opponent from round 5 in Semifinals and won. Finals I played against Bant Eldrazi and got there. Remanding my opponents become immense was probably play of the day for me as no one was expecting it (including my opponent who left 2 mana open in case of spell pierce).
Round 1 RG Through the Breach Titan/Valakut 1-0
Game 1
My opening hand was ok but no infect creature. I ship it and Mulligans 6 and 5 didn't have any lands. I kept a 4 hander with 2 lands, noble and a blighted agent. He draws all the bolts and I can't really do anything.
Game 2
I mulliganed to 6 and kept. It was a land heavy hand with a sylvan scrying and a remand. I scry a spell pierce and leave it on top. The matchup is fairly uninteractive while each player was getting set up. On turn 4 I sylvan scrying and pass leaving open 2 mana. He already knows I'm playing 4 main deck spell pierce so he hard casts Primeval titan and I remand it. I swing for lethal with inkmoth next turn.
Game 3
First hand where it's actually fast. 2 land (fetches) hand with noble, two blighted agents and 1 might of old krosa and a mutagenic. He tries to summoner's pact on T4 to get primeval titan and cast him but I spell pierce it. He pays the two but he is no longer able to cast it. He is now locked out for this turn and the next as he has to pay for the pact next upkeep. On my turn after he's mostly tapped out for the pact mana draw into probe and have an answer for his only bolt in hand so I have the clear to go for the kill with become immense and mutagenic and might.
Game 2 GW Hatebears 2-0
Game1
This game was unusual. Eventually we establish a board state of him having Noble, Wilt Liege, and old Thalia. He keeps pinging for 4 for a couple of turns dropping me to 10 and eventually he stops as I play two blighted agent. He stops attacking for some reason (later on he tells me he was scared of me pumping and trying to trade) and eventually he taps out for a COCO which only gets him an aven mindcensor and I dismember thalia during his end step and swing for lethal.
Game2
He was on the play and got out a T2 and T3 Leonin while vialing in Thalia on T3. I only had fetchlands in hand with no noble and 1 mana open. I couldn't do anything while he pinged me to death with them.
Game3
I had the T3 kill with mutagenic/probe/become immense and took it. I had probed his hand prior and saw no removal.
Round 3 Naya Burn - 3-0
Game 1
I can't describe how lucky I was to be on the play. I play a T1 glistner elf and he swings with goblin guide in response. On T2 I double Might of Old Krosa to get him to 9. he spends his turn bolting my elf and I play an inkmoth on T3. He tries to interact with the last point of infect on T4 but I have an apostle's blessing ready.
Game 2
I feel like I spooked him in the first game as he pretty much stopped playing creatures and kept mana open at all times. Eventually I am able to land a spellskite which he couldn't answer after I defended it from path with Apostle's Blessing. I played a blighted agent and drew a spell pierce the turn I wanted to go off. Fortunately, it worked out as he had deflecting palm but spell pierce was able to stop it.
Round 4 Merfolk - 4-0
Game 1
I was on the play and still got absolutely crushed. This was my first time playing against merfolk with infect. He was simply just a turn faster than me.
Game 2
I am able to stick a spellskite and avoid playing any islands for his creatures to get islandwalk. Fortunately for me he never drew a single spreading seas this entire match. I should have lost this game but my opponent made a mistake. As I was preparing to go off on one of my turns as I couldn't do anything to deal with his army of fish. I had cast might and it resolved. I attempted to cast become immense when he flashed in Harbinger of Tides to try and return inkmoth to hand. Fortunately, I had not declared attacks yet. I let him return harbinger to hand due to his mistake but I swung with spellskite and inkmoth together so I could redirect Harbinger's ability to Spellskite. If he had not done this mistake I probably would not have attacked with both and lost.
Game 3
Similar to Game 2, eventually I am able to swing with spellskite and blighted agent and predict his only answer was Harbinger which let me go for the kill as I redirect his trigger to spellskite.
Round 5 4-0-1
I split top 2 with I think Jund or Bant Eldrazi, I wasn't sure what he was playing as he has multiple decks.
Some notable cards:
Remand - Remand is great in some weird matchups like RG Valakut/Titan where the opponents know that you run spell pierce and intentionally do not use Through the Breach which makes it difficult to interact with. Remanding a 6CMC spell is great as they need to tap mostly out for them to win and even just setting them back a turn lets you do what you need to uninterrupted. Plus it cantrips and fuels delve. Not to mention it can hit stuff like Spellskite or Melira. If you are on the play and go T1 Noble > T2 Elf you are able to keep remand open to deal with Melira/Spellskite/Any other creature they want to play so you can go off on T3. I've remanded a T2 goyf and killed Jund this way before. Right now Remand is only a 1 of and I am tempted to add a 2nd in the SB. While it is a good card, it's also important to keep our curve low.
Spell Pierce - I've been running 4 maindeck spell pierce and drawing them consistently have been amazing. They also help the burn match up which I feel is our most difficult one (besides now maybe Merfolk).
Mutagenic Growth - MG is great as it acts like psuedo removal in the early game. At one point during my merfolk match I dismembered one lord (Lord of Atlantis) which allowed me to block the other lord (Master of Pearl Trident) which only gives other fish islandwalk. With spellskite blocking and being able to +2 him to take down the last lord felt really good and let me control their board presence long enough for me to assemble the kill.
Overall I'm still really enjoying the deck only having built it a few months ago and I will most likely be taking it to GP Dallas in November.
Thanks
1st round played against some weird UW Enchantress? deck. 1st game they kept O-ringing my lilianas but they didn't draw a threat and eventually scooped as I was about to affliction them for the last few. Game 2 was pretty one sided as I i had Raven's crime, a finisher and the rest lands. Interestingly enough he kept Spreading Seas my swamps and then boomeranging them back and doing it again to draw cards. He never drew anything relevant.
2nd round played against Eldrazi BW Hatebears. Game 1 he was able to take it as topdeck mode he eventually drew into flickerwisp and displacer and kept displacing bridge long enough for him to kill me. Game 2 and 3 was very onesided as I had lots of raven's crimes and lands. I was testing out Infinite Obliteration in the sideboard and naming thought knot seer was pretty fantastic as I hit the one in his hand and he no longer had any options to take my bridge.
3rd round I played against RG Tron. I hate the tron match up so much. I drew with him but we played for the bonus prize. I won the first round after a very difficult time with Karn. I was able to get 2 racks to lower his Karn so he couldn't ultimate. He eventually exiled both racks but I drew another affliction to finish him off. I was able to surgical extraction Karn and infinite obliteration Ulamog game 2 and he couldn't recover.
I am really liking Infinite Obliteration in the SB right now. I will probably keep it in my meta as it could do well against Abzan company too.
I don't think thopter combo is here to stay. All the thopter players have not done particularly well and it seems they are getting hit with the same sideboard hate most people were already packing (artifact destruction/stony silence). We had a much smaller FNM this week as a lot of our players were either at GP or out, but Burn is still successful. I have been running a mix of 1:2 of Kozilek's return/Volcanic Fallout in my side and I am very pleasantly surprised by the results. I have been able to use Return to wipe affinity boards with etched champions and volcanic fallout is pretty great against most aggro decks including merfolk while not being a terrible topdeck late game due it still damaging players.
My meta has become great to run full searing blazes as there is almost always a target (Affinity, Elves, thopters, Zoo, Infect, etc). The only match i'd side them out against would be the one Scapeshift player.
If control starts to pop up I may dedicate some SB slots to Exquisite Firecraft.
I am really happy for Burn as it seems to be arguably the best deck of the format right now. There are a lot of fast decks and burn seems to be the fastest right now. We will see how the meta continues to shift but I truly think that thopters/AV is not going to impact burn or the meta as some people thought.