The Modern Matchups and Tips with Sideboarding (Updated 12/07/16)
This section will be about certain decks we may be in contact with at tournaments and also how we should consider sideboarding against those decks. The cards listed to sideboard are only options to think about with certain matchups and are not needed exactly but rather ideas for everyones own brew.
Affinity - All of our artifact hate comes in now. This matchup is gonna be hard but we have enough sideboard hate for them. Sideboarding - We need Hurkyl's Recall against a huge board of artifacts, Path to Exile against a really powerful artifact Creature that has Cranial Plating, Stony Silence because this enchantment really stops Affinity hard, Supreme Verdict against a huge board, Engineered Explosives can really stop those pesky zero/one/two drops easily, and Pithing Needle can stop some really bad activated abilities of artifacts.
Bant Eldrazi - This matchup should be a little bit easier than the other decks said above, but we do have some answers. Sideboarding - For this matchup we need Dismember for all the creatures they have, Path to Exile again another creature hate spell against them, Supreme Verdict to get rid of all those Eldrazi, Engineered Explosives can stop the Scion and other permanents up to 3 converted mana cost, Spellskite can stop some Paths against our creatures and Eldrazi Displacer, and finally Pithing Needle to stop some activated abilities of some Eldrazi.
Burn - This matchup is gonna be a race, who can do the damage first. They can't really burn our big creatures so they will burn our face. Sideboarding - For this matchup we will need Countersquall to counter some burns spells, Dispel to stop some instant speed burn spells, Path to Exile to stop some really annoying creatures like Eidolon of the Great Revel, Timely Reinforcements some life and possibly get some creatures, Dragon's Claw without a doubt really good in this matchup that essentially turns their 3 damage burn spells to a 2 damage damage because of the life gain, Spell Snare to stop really problematic two drop spells, and finally Spellskite to stop burn to our face.
Dredge - This deck will be interesting but we tend to out value them in the long run with some really big creatures. Should be a relatively easy matchup. Sideboarding - We will need some cards in this matchup like Dismember to stop some creatures to do damage to us, Grafdigger's Cage this card really stops our opponent dead in their tracks, Path to Exile to get rid of some creatures for good, Relic of Progenitus to really punish our opponent for Dredging, Supreme Verdict to clear the board if it gets full, Dragon's Claw because they a lot of red spells they play, and finally Surgical Extraction to permanently get rid of a creature from the game.
Infect - This will probably be our worst matchup by far, they are faster than us and answers some our stuff. The pure speed alone will be tough. Sideboarding - We will pretty much need all our counter spells in this matchup and creature removal starting with Countersquall to stop some pump spells, Dismember to get rid of problematic infect creatures, Dispel again to stop some pump spells, Path to Exile to exile some infect creatures, Supreme Verdict if we live long enough this might really slow down their board, Timely Reinforcements mainly to get some chump blockers, Engineered Explosives to possibly get rid of some infect creatures, Spellskite is really good in this matchup because it can get all the pump spells to slow down our opponent, Surgical Extraction to possibly exile all copies of a pump spell from our opponent's deck, and finally Pithing Needle to stop Inkmoth Nexus.
Jund - This match will be a challenge for us because they have so much removal for our creatures and key cards in our hand. Sideboarding - For this matchup we will need Countersquall to stop some problems spells, Dismember to kill some Grim Flayers and Tarmogoyfs, Path to Exile is another answer for their creatures, Relic of Progenitus to keep Tarmogoyf small at times, Supreme Verdict to clean the board from problematic creatures, Timely Reinforcements to get some chump blockers and some life as well, Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize to get rid of some problematic cards for us, Engineered Explosives to get rid of those really good two drops our opponent have, Surgical Extraction to get rid of some really bad cards that our opponent have, and finally Pithing Needle to stop some plane walkers and potential creature/creature lands.
Matchup Against Tier 2 Decks
Abzan Company - Like the main Abzan deck in Tier 1 but this deck has a combo to win either by infinite life or infinite damage. This matchup will be about speed of who can get their board set up first and generally they will be a little bit faster than us. Sideboarding - This matchup we will need creature hate for sure. To start off with for sideboard the options Dismember to get rid of the small creatures they will have, Path to Exile will really help in getting rid of a problem for good, Supreme Verdict to get rid of big boards and stop some combo creatures setting up, Thoughtseize to slow down our opponent, and finally with help from our discard effects we can use Surgical Extraction to really get rid of some combo pieces.
Ad Nauseam - This matchup will be very hard for us to beat because they really don’t care about our creatures, they can win at instant speed by usually turn 4. We will be some disruption against them. Sideboarding -
Death and Taxes - This will be a difficult matchup for the most part but once we are set up with our creatures, we should have this game. Luckily we are a heavy creature based deck so Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Sideboarding -
Death’s Shadow Zoo - Our opponent will be trying to swing some really big creatures at use by making them big for having low life total but we have big creatures too without intentionally making our life total low. This should be a fairly even match but we will have the advantage. Sideboarding -
GR and Gx Tron - This deck starts out low at first but they can get seven mana by turn 3 to cast Karn Liberated. We will want some counters for them and some removal for their problems. Sideboarding -
Grixis Delver - This will be a hard matchup because they are control with aggro. We are gonna need counters for them and answers for their creatures. Sideboarding -
Jeskai Harbinger - Our opponent is going to win by getting out Emrakul, the Aeons Torn with haste by good ol’ Nahiri, the Harbinger. This matchup will be difficult because of the counters and protection for Nahiri to do her job but we do have answers for her. Sideboarding -
Merfolk - This will be a hard matchup because they go wide and attack hard pretty quickly. We will need some creature disruption for them for sure. Sideboarding -
RG Breach - This will be very dependent of noncreature spells to go in for the kill but luckily we will have some answers for them. We should be favored in this matchup for sure. Sideboarding -
RG Titan Scapeshift - Another deck that really relies on noncreature spells as well but we will have some answers for them. This is slower than the Breach version of the deck but we should beat them down with our huge creatures. Sideboarding -
RUG Scapeshift - This deck archetype certainly takes up one fourth of the Tier 2 deck list but this version is different because is also used blue magic to protect their synergy. This deck will be harder for us but we will have some answers for them in sideboard. Sideboarding -
Zoo - Zoo is a rather interesting deck we may encounter but nonetheless we will have some answers. Zoo is in the colors Naya RGW and play a lot creatures to beat us down but are all able to be dealt with. Sideboarding -
1 - Introduction
2 - Why Truth of the Orb?
3 - Card Choices
Artifacts
Creatures
Instants
Sorceries
Lands
Sideboard
4 - The Modern Matchups and Tips with Sideboarding (Updated 11/16/16)
5 - Strengths and Weaknesses
6 - Sample Deck
Introduction
Truth of the Orb is a WUB control and aggro in Esper colors that uses creatures that have really bad enter the battlefield triggers and we use cards to make them work for us. The deck utilizes the card Torpor Orb to allow us to play cards that are really good and getting rid of awful enter the battlefield triggers.
Why Truth of the Orb?
The question that many people wonder is why play a deck that can go horribly wrong for the pilot of the deck is because not that many people ever expect it. Modern right now is dominated by decks that everyone will anticipate like Infect, Jund, Affinty, Dredge and list goes on. Playing a deck that actually make your opponents think of what to do and how to sideboard.
Card Choices
Artifacts
Torpor Orb2 The main reason for the Orb part in the name of the deck. A really cheap artifact with mana cost is the key to how we win and can stop other pesky enter the battlefield triggers.
Creatures
Eater of Days4 This creature would normally never really play because of the negative enter the battlefield trigger but because of Torpor Orb this guy is amazing. A four mana creature with Flying and Trample that is a 9/8 is without a doubt impressive.
Hunted HorrorBB A two black mana creature that is a 7/7 with Trample is unbelievable. The negative enter the battlefield trigger is our opponent gets two 3/3 green Centaur token with protection from black. Normally this would be awful but thanks to Torpor Orb.
Hushwing Gryff2W This creature is our plan B if Torpor Orb doesn't work for us. The fact that this creature has Flash is amazing and can really throw off our opponent.
Inverter of Truth2BB This creature is the other half to how we got the name of the deck. Normally the negative enter the battlefield trigger would scare anyone to play this card by exiling all cards in our library facedown then shuffle all cards in our graveyard to become our new library. Thanks to Torpor Orb and Hushwing Gryff this creature is a fantastic 6/6 with Flying for four mana.
Dust Elemental2WW Another good creature that can help us win the game and most of all if something happens to our enter the battlefield trigger suppressor, we just don't loose the game.
Hunted Phantasm1UU A cheap costed creature that is unblockable and is a 4/6. The negative side is our opponent can get five 1/1 Red Goblin creatures in exchange.
Instants
Trickbind1U A very good option for us to stop bad enter the battlefield triggers incase our opponent gets rid of our Torpor Orb and best of all it has Split Second, one of the best abilities to spells in the game.
CountersquallUB I good counter spell that counters noncreature spells and also takes some life as well.
DispelU A very good counter spell that stops instants dead in their tracks.
Muddle the MixtureUU This card is a hero in our deck. It counters instants and sorceries which is already good enough but the reason why this card is so good in our deck is because it has Transmute. Transmute is really good because the converted manna cost of Torpor Orb is 2 so if you do not have it, this can search it up.
Path to ExileW The best removal spell in our colors, exiles a target creature and our opponent then may get a basic land onto the battlefield tapped.
Remand1U One of Moderns go to counter spells that can save us a turn or more.
Mana Leak1U A really good counter spell when an opponent doesn't have a lot of mana to pays the cost.
Hindering LightWU This can protect your creatures and Torpor Orbs with the plus side of drawing a card.
Spell SnareU A good counter that can stop problematic 2 drop spell by only costing U.
Spell PierceU A better Mana Leak in being able to play earlier and can really make a difference.
Sorceries
Serum VisionsU One of the best draw spell in Modern and helps us set up our next possible two turns by scrying.
Gitaxian Probe Another one of the best draw spells in Modern that can 0 mana by paying 2 life and view your opponents tend to see what is coming next.
Inquisition of KozilekB The ability to get rid of a potential problem with converted mana cost 3 of less from your opponents hand is really good.
ThoughtseizeB A slightly better ability to get rid of a potential problem by only paying an additional 2 life from your opponents hand is a little bit better than Inquisition of Kozilek.
Ancestral VisionsuspendU Essentially a Ancestral Recall but a bit slower, still an amazing one drop to draw three cards.
Painful Truths2B A good draw spell in black that can cost some life because we are a three color deck.
Lands
Godless Shrine - Fetchable Plains and Swamp. Pay 2 life to have it come in untapped.
Hallowed Fountain - Fetchable Plains and Island. Pay 2 life to have it come in untapped.
Watery Grave - Fetchable Island and Swamp. Pay 2 life to have it come in untapped.
Marsh Flats - Fetch land for Plains and Swamps type lands.
Flooded Strand - Fetch land for Plains and Island type lands.
Polluted Delta - Fetch land for Island and Swamp type lands.
Isolated Chapel - Buddy land for Plains and Swamp type lands. Comes in untapped if you have a Plains or Swamp.
Glacial Fortress - Buddy land for Plains and Island type lands. Comes in untapped if you have a Plains or Island.
Drowned Catacomb - Buddy land for Island and Swamp type lands. Comes in untapped if you have a Island or Swamp.
Shambling Vent - Creature land that taps for W and B which can be animated to become a 2/3 creature with Lifelink.
Celestial Colonnade - Creature land that taps for W and U which can be animated to become a 4/4 creature with Flying and Vigilance.
Creeping Tar Pit - Creature land that taps for U and B which can be animated to become a 3/2 creature that cannot be blocked.
Concealed Courtyard - Fast land that taps for W and B that comes into play untapped if we control two or fewer lands.
Seachrome Coast - Fast land that taps for W and U that comes into play untapped if we control two or fewer lands.
Darkslick Shores - Fast land that taps for U and B that comes into play untapped if we control two or fewer lands.
Sideboard
CountersquallUB I good counter spell that counters noncreature spells and also takes some life as well.
Dismember1BB A really good removal spell that can only cost 1 mana with also paying 4 life.
DispelU A very good counter spell that stops instants dead in their tracks.
Grafdigger's Cage1 An extremely good artifact that can stop Dredge and other decks that uses the graveyard a lot.
Hurkyl's Recall1U At times where we really want to stop Affinity and hurt other decks that uses artifacts as well.
Path to ExileW The best removal spell in our colors, exiles a target creature and our opponent then may get a basic land onto the battlefield tapped.
Relic of Progenitus1 Another good card that really us against heavily graveyard based decks, and can even draw us a card as well.
Stony Silence1W A really good card against decks that uses activated abilities of artifacts, particularly Affinity.
Supreme Verdict1WWU An uncounterable field wipe spell, this card really helps us make the board less scary.
Timely Reinforcements2W A good spell for us if we are running low on creatures and/or life, can really make a difference if things are going south for us.
Inquisition of KozilekB The ability to get rid of a potential problem with converted mana cost 3 of less from your opponents hand is really good.
ThoughtseizeB A slightly better ability to get rid of a potential problem by only paying an additional 2 life from your opponents hand is a little bit better than Inquisition of Kozilek.
Dragon's Claw2 A really good artifact against decks that run a lot of red spells particularly against Burn.
Engineered ExplosivesX A really good card that can get rid of a lot of problems with the amount of charge counters on it.
Spell SnareU A good counter that can stop problematic 2 drop spell by only costing U.
Spellskite2 An amazing defense creature for us that can redirect potential problems away from the original target.
Surgical Extraction This can get rid of a problem in a graveyard and can potentially get rid of all copies in our opponent's deck.
Pithing Needle1 The ability to make certain cards with ability such as planeswalkers not able to work and be activated.
Grafdigger's Cage is still a good sideboard card regardless of the fact we will most likely outrace Dredge almost all the time. Against control decks that have Snapcaster Mage is enough of a reason to use that card from sideboard. Granted my meta where I am now has a lot of control and dredge decks but that being said, it is a reliable sideboard card.
From playing Infect now, I have noticed that my match up against Burn is really rough. Anyone here knows how to sideboard against Burn or will definitely need in sideboard in Infect?
What is the best matchups now so and the worst mashups as well?
I am kind f sad that this deck is getting less popular tournaments. What counters this deck most of all? It definitely shot up in playability for a while but it has gone down. What does everyone think?
Definitely one of my favorite standard decks to come out in a while. Recently I played at Game Day and I took this deck in to play. One of my friends wanted to play as well and I loaned the RG Energy deck to my friend. I ended up playing my UR Spells deck. At the end, my friend won the whole thing, didn't loose a single game.
My deck was not fully done, I needed better dual lands but here was my list and ended up winning the whole tournament:
Fog is a really good card, I have used it before and is amazing. Carrion Call is interesting, I have never really considered it. Viridian Corrupter is in my mainboard because my area has a lot of artifact based deck. Dismember will definitely come in. What about Kitchen Finks in sideboard?
I have definitely fallen in love with Blossoming Defense in infect. It is a four of in my deck for sure. What do you all think of it?
I played in a tournament yesterday with them in my deck and got 1st place.
Here was my matches: Round 1: (Opponent's deck: N/A)
I got the bye, wasn't too bad, got to play some EDH with friends while I wait.
Round 2: (Opponent's deck: Abzan Company)
Game 1: I wasn't too worried until my opponent played Melira, Sylvok Outcast with Kitchen Finks and Viscera Seer and then I scooped and sideboarded.
Game 2: My opponent tried to path my creature 3 times and failed each time because Blossoming Defense saved me and I won easily on turn 3.
Game 3: Same thing, I managed go to keep my stuff protected.
Round 3: (Opponent's deck: Jund)
Game 1: It was a bit slow but I managed to get there with Wild Defiance helping me on my Inkmoth Nexus.
Game 2: Jund just managed to out value me that match and have answers for my creatures.
Game 3: This game was mine because of turn 2 Spellskite, after that I managed for protects my Blighted Agent for the win.
Round 4: (Opponent's deck: Affinity)
Me and my opponent drew in for top 4 because we only had 15 people playing.
All in all, yesterday was and I managed to go winning the whole tournament. Infect is fun and preformed better than Merfolk which I usually play.
Another card from Affinity that needs to be banned is Mox Opal. Too fast of mana for a deck that can empty ones hand as early as turn 1.
I really want Jace, the Mind Sculptor unbanned because by turn 4 in Modern, people are usually dead by them and casting a 4 drop Planeswalker and tapping out is really bad. It just not wins games our current meta.
I am a little bit biased but I really want Splinter Twin unbanned. I really think that the combo is tame and can be beaten. Perhaps in a year?
Stoneforge Mystic is really not bad. Sure it can get you a turn 3 Batterskull but that can be answered by all the artifact hate that Modern has now.
The last deck that needs the cutting board is Tron. Plain and simple Urza's Tower, Urza's Power Plant, and Urza's Mine needs to go big time. The deck is too strong with fast mana.
What did everyone as well that needs to get banned and/or unbanned?
I am a very big supporter of Affinity (even though I hate it when I play my Merfolk deck against it) but I do admit I am a bit discouraged we don't really see that much of the actual affinity mechanic.
I have been working on a deck that can actually use some of affinity mechanic such as:
I am building Infect right now and I have everything except Noble Hierarch for now until I start saving money. Can the deck function without the Noble Hierarchs? Is the deck even worth playing at Modern Events like FNM and Modern Mondays around my area? What could be a good Substitute in its place if any?
- More in root to the Legacy version of this deck. This card has helped me in so many match ups, particularly is Burn and Infect. I took out Phantasmal Image for this card.
Matchup Against Tier 1 Decks
Sideboarding - Bring in some counter spells, Spellskite for stoping some Paths, Supreme Verdict against a big board, and possibly Relic of Progenitus against Tarmogoyf
Affinity - All of our artifact hate comes in now. This matchup is gonna be hard but we have enough sideboard hate for them.
Sideboarding - We need Hurkyl's Recall against a huge board of artifacts, Path to Exile against a really powerful artifact Creature that has Cranial Plating, Stony Silence because this enchantment really stops Affinity hard, Supreme Verdict against a huge board, Engineered Explosives can really stop those pesky zero/one/two drops easily, and Pithing Needle can stop some really bad activated abilities of artifacts.
Bant Eldrazi - This matchup should be a little bit easier than the other decks said above, but we do have some answers.
Sideboarding - For this matchup we need Dismember for all the creatures they have, Path to Exile again another creature hate spell against them, Supreme Verdict to get rid of all those Eldrazi, Engineered Explosives can stop the Scion and other permanents up to 3 converted mana cost, Spellskite can stop some Paths against our creatures and Eldrazi Displacer, and finally Pithing Needle to stop some activated abilities of some Eldrazi.
Burn - This matchup is gonna be a race, who can do the damage first. They can't really burn our big creatures so they will burn our face.
Sideboarding - For this matchup we will need Countersquall to counter some burns spells, Dispel to stop some instant speed burn spells, Path to Exile to stop some really annoying creatures like Eidolon of the Great Revel, Timely Reinforcements some life and possibly get some creatures, Dragon's Claw without a doubt really good in this matchup that essentially turns their 3 damage burn spells to a 2 damage damage because of the life gain, Spell Snare to stop really problematic two drop spells, and finally Spellskite to stop burn to our face.
Dredge - This deck will be interesting but we tend to out value them in the long run with some really big creatures. Should be a relatively easy matchup.
Sideboarding - We will need some cards in this matchup like Dismember to stop some creatures to do damage to us, Grafdigger's Cage this card really stops our opponent dead in their tracks, Path to Exile to get rid of some creatures for good, Relic of Progenitus to really punish our opponent for Dredging, Supreme Verdict to clear the board if it gets full, Dragon's Claw because they a lot of red spells they play, and finally Surgical Extraction to permanently get rid of a creature from the game.
Infect - This will probably be our worst matchup by far, they are faster than us and answers some our stuff. The pure speed alone will be tough.
Sideboarding - We will pretty much need all our counter spells in this matchup and creature removal starting with Countersquall to stop some pump spells, Dismember to get rid of problematic infect creatures, Dispel again to stop some pump spells, Path to Exile to exile some infect creatures, Supreme Verdict if we live long enough this might really slow down their board, Timely Reinforcements mainly to get some chump blockers, Engineered Explosives to possibly get rid of some infect creatures, Spellskite is really good in this matchup because it can get all the pump spells to slow down our opponent, Surgical Extraction to possibly exile all copies of a pump spell from our opponent's deck, and finally Pithing Needle to stop Inkmoth Nexus.
Jund - This match will be a challenge for us because they have so much removal for our creatures and key cards in our hand.
Sideboarding - For this matchup we will need Countersquall to stop some problems spells, Dismember to kill some Grim Flayers and Tarmogoyfs, Path to Exile is another answer for their creatures, Relic of Progenitus to keep Tarmogoyf small at times, Supreme Verdict to clean the board from problematic creatures, Timely Reinforcements to get some chump blockers and some life as well, Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize to get rid of some problematic cards for us, Engineered Explosives to get rid of those really good two drops our opponent have, Surgical Extraction to get rid of some really bad cards that our opponent have, and finally Pithing Needle to stop some plane walkers and potential creature/creature lands.
Matchup Against Tier 2 Decks
Sideboarding - This matchup we will need creature hate for sure. To start off with for sideboard the options Dismember to get rid of the small creatures they will have, Path to Exile will really help in getting rid of a problem for good, Supreme Verdict to get rid of big boards and stop some combo creatures setting up, Thoughtseize to slow down our opponent, and finally with help from our discard effects we can use Surgical Extraction to really get rid of some combo pieces.
Ad Nauseam - This matchup will be very hard for us to beat because they really don’t care about our creatures, they can win at instant speed by usually turn 4. We will be some disruption against them.
Sideboarding -
Death and Taxes - This will be a difficult matchup for the most part but once we are set up with our creatures, we should have this game. Luckily we are a heavy creature based deck so Thalia, Guardian of Thraben.
Sideboarding -
Death’s Shadow Zoo - Our opponent will be trying to swing some really big creatures at use by making them big for having low life total but we have big creatures too without intentionally making our life total low. This should be a fairly even match but we will have the advantage.
Sideboarding -
GR and Gx Tron - This deck starts out low at first but they can get seven mana by turn 3 to cast Karn Liberated. We will want some counters for them and some removal for their problems.
Sideboarding -
Grixis Delver - This will be a hard matchup because they are control with aggro. We are gonna need counters for them and answers for their creatures.
Sideboarding -
Jeskai Harbinger - Our opponent is going to win by getting out Emrakul, the Aeons Torn with haste by good ol’ Nahiri, the Harbinger. This matchup will be difficult because of the counters and protection for Nahiri to do her job but we do have answers for her.
Sideboarding -
Merfolk - This will be a hard matchup because they go wide and attack hard pretty quickly. We will need some creature disruption for them for sure.
Sideboarding -
RG Breach - This will be very dependent of noncreature spells to go in for the kill but luckily we will have some answers for them. We should be favored in this matchup for sure.
Sideboarding -
RG Titan Scapeshift - Another deck that really relies on noncreature spells as well but we will have some answers for them. This is slower than the Breach version of the deck but we should beat them down with our huge creatures.
Sideboarding -
RUG Scapeshift - This deck archetype certainly takes up one fourth of the Tier 2 deck list but this version is different because is also used blue magic to protect their synergy. This deck will be harder for us but we will have some answers for them in sideboard.
Sideboarding -
Zoo - Zoo is a rather interesting deck we may encounter but nonetheless we will have some answers. Zoo is in the colors Naya RGW and play a lot creatures to beat us down but are all able to be dealt with.
Sideboarding -
Matchup Against Tier 3 Decks
1 - Introduction
2 - Why Truth of the Orb?
3 - Card Choices
5 - Strengths and Weaknesses
6 - Sample Deck
Truth of the Orb is a WUB control and aggro in Esper colors that uses creatures that have really bad enter the battlefield triggers and we use cards to make them work for us. The deck utilizes the card Torpor Orb to allow us to play cards that are really good and getting rid of awful enter the battlefield triggers.
The question that many people wonder is why play a deck that can go horribly wrong for the pilot of the deck is because not that many people ever expect it. Modern right now is dominated by decks that everyone will anticipate like Infect, Jund, Affinty, Dredge and list goes on. Playing a deck that actually make your opponents think of what to do and how to sideboard.
Artifacts
Creatures
Hunted Horror BB A two black mana creature that is a 7/7 with Trample is unbelievable. The negative enter the battlefield trigger is our opponent gets two 3/3 green Centaur token with protection from black. Normally this would be awful but thanks to Torpor Orb.
Hushwing Gryff 2W This creature is our plan B if Torpor Orb doesn't work for us. The fact that this creature has Flash is amazing and can really throw off our opponent.
Inverter of Truth 2BB This creature is the other half to how we got the name of the deck. Normally the negative enter the battlefield trigger would scare anyone to play this card by exiling all cards in our library facedown then shuffle all cards in our graveyard to become our new library. Thanks to Torpor Orb and Hushwing Gryff this creature is a fantastic 6/6 with Flying for four mana.
Dust Elemental 2WW Another good creature that can help us win the game and most of all if something happens to our enter the battlefield trigger suppressor, we just don't loose the game.
Hunted Phantasm 1UU A cheap costed creature that is unblockable and is a 4/6. The negative side is our opponent can get five 1/1 Red Goblin creatures in exchange.
Instants
Countersquall UB I good counter spell that counters noncreature spells and also takes some life as well.
Dispel U A very good counter spell that stops instants dead in their tracks.
Muddle the Mixture UU This card is a hero in our deck. It counters instants and sorceries which is already good enough but the reason why this card is so good in our deck is because it has Transmute. Transmute is really good because the converted manna cost of Torpor Orb is 2 so if you do not have it, this can search it up.
Path to Exile W The best removal spell in our colors, exiles a target creature and our opponent then may get a basic land onto the battlefield tapped.
Remand 1U One of Moderns go to counter spells that can save us a turn or more.
Mana Leak 1U A really good counter spell when an opponent doesn't have a lot of mana to pays the cost.
Hindering Light WU This can protect your creatures and Torpor Orbs with the plus side of drawing a card.
Spell Snare U A good counter that can stop problematic 2 drop spell by only costing U.
Spell Pierce U A better Mana Leak in being able to play earlier and can really make a difference.
Sorceries
Gitaxian Probe Another one of the best draw spells in Modern that can 0 mana by paying 2 life and view your opponents tend to see what is coming next.
Inquisition of Kozilek B The ability to get rid of a potential problem with converted mana cost 3 of less from your opponents hand is really good.
Thoughtseize B A slightly better ability to get rid of a potential problem by only paying an additional 2 life from your opponents hand is a little bit better than Inquisition of Kozilek.
Ancestral Vision suspend U Essentially a Ancestral Recall but a bit slower, still an amazing one drop to draw three cards.
Painful Truths 2B A good draw spell in black that can cost some life because we are a three color deck.
Lands
Hallowed Fountain - Fetchable Plains and Island. Pay 2 life to have it come in untapped.
Watery Grave - Fetchable Island and Swamp. Pay 2 life to have it come in untapped.
Marsh Flats - Fetch land for Plains and Swamps type lands.
Flooded Strand - Fetch land for Plains and Island type lands.
Polluted Delta - Fetch land for Island and Swamp type lands.
Isolated Chapel - Buddy land for Plains and Swamp type lands. Comes in untapped if you have a Plains or Swamp.
Glacial Fortress - Buddy land for Plains and Island type lands. Comes in untapped if you have a Plains or Island.
Drowned Catacomb - Buddy land for Island and Swamp type lands. Comes in untapped if you have a Island or Swamp.
Shambling Vent - Creature land that taps for W and B which can be animated to become a 2/3 creature with Lifelink.
Celestial Colonnade - Creature land that taps for W and U which can be animated to become a 4/4 creature with Flying and Vigilance.
Creeping Tar Pit - Creature land that taps for U and B which can be animated to become a 3/2 creature that cannot be blocked.
Concealed Courtyard - Fast land that taps for W and B that comes into play untapped if we control two or fewer lands.
Seachrome Coast - Fast land that taps for W and U that comes into play untapped if we control two or fewer lands.
Darkslick Shores - Fast land that taps for U and B that comes into play untapped if we control two or fewer lands.
Sideboard
Dismember 1BB A really good removal spell that can only cost 1 mana with also paying 4 life.
Dispel U A very good counter spell that stops instants dead in their tracks.
Grafdigger's Cage 1 An extremely good artifact that can stop Dredge and other decks that uses the graveyard a lot.
Hurkyl's Recall 1U At times where we really want to stop Affinity and hurt other decks that uses artifacts as well.
Path to Exile W The best removal spell in our colors, exiles a target creature and our opponent then may get a basic land onto the battlefield tapped.
Relic of Progenitus 1 Another good card that really us against heavily graveyard based decks, and can even draw us a card as well.
Stony Silence 1W A really good card against decks that uses activated abilities of artifacts, particularly Affinity.
Supreme Verdict 1WWU An uncounterable field wipe spell, this card really helps us make the board less scary.
Timely Reinforcements 2W A good spell for us if we are running low on creatures and/or life, can really make a difference if things are going south for us.
Inquisition of Kozilek B The ability to get rid of a potential problem with converted mana cost 3 of less from your opponents hand is really good.
Thoughtseize B A slightly better ability to get rid of a potential problem by only paying an additional 2 life from your opponents hand is a little bit better than Inquisition of Kozilek.
Dragon's Claw 2 A really good artifact against decks that run a lot of red spells particularly against Burn.
Engineered Explosives X A really good card that can get rid of a lot of problems with the amount of charge counters on it.
Spell Snare U A good counter that can stop problematic 2 drop spell by only costing U.
Spellskite 2 An amazing defense creature for us that can redirect potential problems away from the original target.
Surgical Extraction This can get rid of a problem in a graveyard and can potentially get rid of all copies in our opponent's deck.
Pithing Needle 1 The ability to make certain cards with ability such as planeswalkers not able to work and be activated.
What is the best matchups now so and the worst mashups as well?
My deck was not fully done, I needed better dual lands but here was my list and ended up winning the whole tournament:
4 Bristling Hydra
4 Electrostatic Pummeler
2 Longtusk Cub
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Voltaic Brawler
Instants (14):
4 Blossoming Defense
4 Built to Smash
2 Harnessed Lightning
4 Uncaged Fury
4 Attune with Aether
4 Larger Than Life
Lands (20):
4 Aether Hub
1 Cinder Glade
6 Forest
1 Game Trail
5 Mountain
3 Timber Gorge
2 Appetite for the Unnatural
2 Commencement of Festivities
2 Harnessed Lightning
4 Lathnu Hellion
2 Take Down
3 Weaver of Lightning
Are people still playing the version with Electrostatic Pummeler?
I played in a tournament yesterday with them in my deck and got 1st place.
Here was my matches:
Round 1: (Opponent's deck: N/A)
I got the bye, wasn't too bad, got to play some EDH with friends while I wait.
Round 2: (Opponent's deck: Abzan Company)
Game 1: I wasn't too worried until my opponent played Melira, Sylvok Outcast with Kitchen Finks and Viscera Seer and then I scooped and sideboarded.
Game 2: My opponent tried to path my creature 3 times and failed each time because Blossoming Defense saved me and I won easily on turn 3.
Game 3: Same thing, I managed go to keep my stuff protected.
Round 3: (Opponent's deck: Jund)
Game 1: It was a bit slow but I managed to get there with Wild Defiance helping me on my Inkmoth Nexus.
Game 2: Jund just managed to out value me that match and have answers for my creatures.
Game 3: This game was mine because of turn 2 Spellskite, after that I managed for protects my Blighted Agent for the win.
Round 4: (Opponent's deck: Affinity)
Me and my opponent drew in for top 4 because we only had 15 people playing.
All in all, yesterday was and I managed to go winning the whole tournament. Infect is fun and preformed better than Merfolk which I usually play.
Here is my deck that I played last night:
4 Blighted Agent
4 Glistener Elf
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Viridian Corrupter
Enchantments (1):
1 Wild Defiance
Instants (20):
1 Apostle's Blessing
3 Become Immense
4 Blossoming Defense
1 Groundswell
4 Might of Old Krosa
4 Mutagenic Growth
3 Vines of Vastwood
2 Distortion Strike
4 Gitaxian Probe
Lands (20):
3 Breeding Pool
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Forest
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Pendelhaven
4 Windswept Heath
2 Dismember
2 Fog
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Nature's Claim
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spellskite
2 Twisted Image
1 Wild Defiance
I am still working on the sideboard. Any recommendation to make better?
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 The Rack
Creatures (2):
2 Silent Skimmer
Enchantments (4):
4 Shrieking Affliction
Instants (4):
4 Surgical Extraction
Sorceries (16):
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Raven's Crime
4 Thoughtseize
4 Wrench Mind
4 Liliana of the Veil
Lands (22):
2 Dakmor Salvage
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Mutavault
12 Swamp
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Darkblast
2 Dash Hopes
2 Deathmark
2 Dismember
4 Extirpate
2 Flaying Tendrils
1 Relic of Progenitus
I'm thinking about taking out 2 Swamp to add in 2 Dismember. Not sure yet, I am gonna play this deck more after taking out Phyrexian Obliterator for Silent Skimmer because it can attack through a Ensnaring Bridge.
I for one want to see Cranial Plating needs to get banned and in return perhaps unban Ancient Den, Great Furnace, Seat of the Synod, Tree of Tales, and Vault of Whispers.
Another card from Affinity that needs to be banned is Mox Opal. Too fast of mana for a deck that can empty ones hand as early as turn 1.
I really want Jace, the Mind Sculptor unbanned because by turn 4 in Modern, people are usually dead by them and casting a 4 drop Planeswalker and tapping out is really bad. It just not wins games our current meta.
I am a little bit biased but I really want Splinter Twin unbanned. I really think that the combo is tame and can be beaten. Perhaps in a year?
Stoneforge Mystic is really not bad. Sure it can get you a turn 3 Batterskull but that can be answered by all the artifact hate that Modern has now.
The last deck that needs the cutting board is Tron. Plain and simple Urza's Tower, Urza's Power Plant, and Urza's Mine needs to go big time. The deck is too strong with fast mana.
What did everyone as well that needs to get banned and/or unbanned?
I have been working on a deck that can actually use some of affinity mechanic such as:
4 Cranial Plating
2 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum
Creatures (28):
4 Atog
4 Etched Champion
4 Frogmite
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
2 Fling
4 Galvanic Blast
1 Shrapnel Blast
Lands (15):
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Inkmoth Nexus
3 Mountain
2 Dismember
2 Ghirapur Æther Grid
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Spellskite
1 Stubborn Denial
3 Torpor Orb
2 Whipflare
What do y'all think?
4 Blighted Agent
4 Glistener Elf
4 Ichorclaw Myr
Instants (18)
2 Apostle's Blessing
4 Giant Growth
4 Groundswell
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Vines of Vastwood
2 Distortion Strike
4 Gitaxian Probe
2 Preordain
Lands (22)
4 Evolving Wilds
9 Forest
5 Island
4 Thornwood Falls
2 Daze
2 Dispel
2 Fog
2 Hydroblast
2 Nature's Claim
2 Spell Pierce
2 Vapor Snag
I am still working on the Sideboard but is going well. I really like this version of Pauper Infect.
Cards I have taken out:
2 x Phantasmal Image
- I took this card out because I rarely used it, not really a Merfolk, and dies too easily to any kind of removal without Kira, Great Glass-Spinner.
2 x Vapor Snag
- I would more often than sideboard this card out for cards to help in other matches.
Cards I have put in:
2 x Chalice of the Void
- More in root to the Legacy version of this deck. This card has helped me in so many match ups, particularly is Burn and Infect. I took out Phantasmal Image for this card.
2 x Unsubstantiate
- Now my deck has a light counterspell in a form to counter uncounterable cards like Supreme Verdict and Abrupt Decay along with others spells I may come in contact with. This also helps me with bouncing problematic creature like a Glistener Elf with 2 Might of Old Krosa and Mutagenic Growth. I took out Vapor Snag for this card.
Sideboard changes I have made:
I have also made some changes to my sideboard too. I took out both Dispel and trading them for Swan Song and Spell Pierce. I took out both Pithing Needle, because I rarely used it, for Grafdigger's Cage for Dredge and Gut Shot for Infect and Affinity.
4 Aether Vial
2 Chalice of the Void
Creatures (28)
4 Cursecatcher
4 Harbinger of the Tides
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of Waves
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
3 Merrow Reejerey
4 Silvergill Adept
1 Sea's Claim
4 Spreading Seas
Instant (2)
2 Unsubstantiate
Lands (19)
2 Cavern of Souls
10 Island
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
4 Mutavault
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Wanderwine Hub
2 Echoing Truth
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Gut Shot
3 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Spell Pierce
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Swan Song
3 Tidebinder Mage
What do you all think? Any other changes you all would recommend?
4 Vault Skirge
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Atog
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
Instants (8):
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Assert Authority
Sorcery (5):
2 Hunger of the Nim
3 Thoughtcast
4 Chromatic Star
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Flayer Husk
Lands (16):
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
2 Dispel
2 Chainer's Edict
4 Hydroblast
4 Pyroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Nihil Spellbomb