So i was wasting my time tonight browsing around on the internet and popped over to the Modern Nexus where I got an idea I thought would be really cool to see play out. A 40 deck modern tournament, but seeded based on current metagame share rather than subjective seeding like in Mox Boardinghouse's gauntlet of greatness series. I decided to make a bracket to see what it looked like and possibly fill out for fun ala march madness. This is what I got, if people find it interesting maybe ill make another one in a few months, or do a Legacy one.
Decks are seeded based on metagame share as per the Nexus, and the bottom 16 must win a play in game to enter the round of 32. Each comes with a few complimentary sentences of inebriated commentary from me.
Tarmagoyf Region
#1 Deaths Shadow Jund Vs. Winner of #8 Jeskai Midrange/ #9 8-rack
The #1 Overall Seed took the banning of probe in stride but 8-rack could prove dangerous, particularly if it was a Smallpox build with Ensnaring Bridge. Winner faces Dredge or Wafo-Tapa Control
#4 Jeskai Control Vs. #5 Dredge
The first of a few rather uneven matchups, Jeskai may be able to make it interesting with a sideboard cards, but Dredge really is the bane of control decks. Plenty of interesting sweet 16 possibilities in this section of the bracket.
#3 Jund Vs. #6 Living End
I don't know how to feel about this one, on the surface living ends strategy seems like a nightmare for Jund, but perhaps discard and Scavenging Ooze let it be disruptive enough.
#2 Gx Tron Vs. Winner of #7 Griselbrand/ #10 UW Control
UW Control was the last deck into the field, and even if it wins the nightmare of Tron looms in the round of 32. Griselbrand would have a much better chance to take down whatever version of Tron shows up. Winner get either Jund or Living End in the Sweet 16.
Mox Opal Region
#1 Affinity Vs. Winner of #8 Boggles/ #9 Amulet Titan
I cant imagine the play in match being terribly interactive, but Amulet would atleast have the hate to fight Bogles enchantments in the SB. I'm not sure I like either's chances in the round of 32 though, Affinity really is just nuts when it comes down to it. Winner faces the victor of Grixis Control and RW Prison.
#4 Grixis Vs. #5 RW Prison
MaRo may be able to kill prison in standard, but in modern the RW Lockdown deck has been hanging around for a while now. Blood Moon and a lack of enchantment removal on Grixis's part give it some serious advantages here, as well as a ton of great SB cards. This is a matchup I would really want to see with 2 competent pilots going at it.
#3 Abzan Company Vs. #6 Gifts Storm
There's no modern deck that has had more cards banned that storm, but the deck just refuses to die no matter how hard they try. It combos off faster than company will usually but company has a ton of SB hate and ways to tudor it up.
#2 EldraziTron Vs. Winner of #7 Esper Control/ #10 Cheeri0s
Unfortunately Cheri0s hasn't achieved the success some folk's hoped for with its new toys but it gets its chance to try and go off through Esper Draw-Go. It seems like it could potentially have game vs EldraziTron of it wins but consistency issues make it hard to imagine it going far.
Lightning Bolt Region
#1 Burn Vs. Winner of #8 Death and Taxes/ #9 Blue Moon
Of the #1 seed's Burn probably got the best region as far as matchups go. The problem is a possible nightmare game against Ad Nauseum in the sweet 16. That's basically the equivalent of the basketball team that starts 4 guards vs the team with 3 seven footers inside. Interestingly, D&T is classified as a separate deck from Eldrazi and Taxes. Winner gets Ad Nauseam or Bushwhacker Zoo.
#4 Ad Nauseam Vs. #5 Bushwhacker Zoo
one of the most interesting first round matchups in my opinion. Bush-Zoo is fast and against a deck that does not interact well it can fill up the board quickly. Ad Nauseam however refuses to die with stupid cards like Angel's Grace and Phyrexian Unlife. As a burn player, i would sell my soul to help Zoo win this.
#3 Merfolk Vs. #6 Lantern Control
Definitely not happy to see an Ensnaring Bridge deck if you're Fish here, but look at it this way, all that Affinity hate you carry works in this match too!
#2 RG Valakut Vs. Winner of #7 RG Ponza/ #10 Taking Turns
Ok, this is my upset pick if I were filling this thing out. Land destruction is bad enough against Turns, which really needs mana to get going, against a Valakut deck it seams just brutal. Ponza is the South Carolina of this tourney. Winner tangles with the Merfolk/Lantern winner in the sweet 16.
Noble Hierarch Region
#1 Bant Eldrazi Vs. Winner of #8 Mono-Green Devotion/ #9 Bant Knightfall
Tooth and Nail vs putting all your lands in the yard is a pretty odd match, no idea how the decks stack up. Whoever wins has to face the ghost of winters past. Winner of that match faces Infect or Elves.
#4 Infect Vs. #5 Elves
If Dick Vitale knew what Magic was, Infect would be the blue blood he insists was insulted by the committee. Thankfully Dick has no clue about any of this and please keep it that way. Do all Elves creatures make attacking problematic for infect? I have no idea myself as I haven't piloted either deck.
#3 Grixis Delver Vs. # 6 Eldrazi and Taxes
Another one I'm not super knowledgeable about, but Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Thought-Knot Seer seem horrifying to play against with Delver. Can Fatal Push even the odds?
#2 Abzan Vs Winner of #7 Bring to Light Scapeshift/ #10 Skred
Of all the decks in this tournament no one got shafted by seeding like Scapeshift. A control deck built around Blood Moon is not what they want to see and a clever player can use Koth of the Hammer's +1 to make his opponents lands into all to killable creatures or just apply pressure. Skred would also pose a cool matchup against Abzan as it packs tons of removal and can get free wins off of any 3 color deck. Winner faces Grixis Delver or Eldrazi and Taxes.
What do you guys think? I would definitely travel to go see this tournament over a weekend. Would anyone else like to see an event like this every year, possibly from SCG now that Wizards is cutting us loose to go frolic in the Forgotten Cave with Legacy and Vintage?
Decks are seeded based on metagame share as per the Nexus, and the bottom 16 must win a play in game to enter the round of 32. Each comes with a few complimentary sentences of inebriated commentary from me.
Tarmagoyf Region
#1 Deaths Shadow Jund Vs. Winner of #8 Jeskai Midrange/ #9 8-rack
The #1 Overall Seed took the banning of probe in stride but 8-rack could prove dangerous, particularly if it was a Smallpox build with Ensnaring Bridge. Winner faces Dredge or Wafo-Tapa Control
#4 Jeskai Control Vs. #5 Dredge
The first of a few rather uneven matchups, Jeskai may be able to make it interesting with a sideboard cards, but Dredge really is the bane of control decks. Plenty of interesting sweet 16 possibilities in this section of the bracket.
#3 Jund Vs. #6 Living End
I don't know how to feel about this one, on the surface living ends strategy seems like a nightmare for Jund, but perhaps discard and Scavenging Ooze let it be disruptive enough.
#2 Gx Tron Vs. Winner of #7 Griselbrand/ #10 UW Control
UW Control was the last deck into the field, and even if it wins the nightmare of Tron looms in the round of 32. Griselbrand would have a much better chance to take down whatever version of Tron shows up. Winner get either Jund or Living End in the Sweet 16.
Mox Opal Region
#1 Affinity Vs. Winner of #8 Boggles/ #9 Amulet Titan
I cant imagine the play in match being terribly interactive, but Amulet would atleast have the hate to fight Bogles enchantments in the SB. I'm not sure I like either's chances in the round of 32 though, Affinity really is just nuts when it comes down to it. Winner faces the victor of Grixis Control and RW Prison.
#4 Grixis Vs. #5 RW Prison
MaRo may be able to kill prison in standard, but in modern the RW Lockdown deck has been hanging around for a while now. Blood Moon and a lack of enchantment removal on Grixis's part give it some serious advantages here, as well as a ton of great SB cards. This is a matchup I would really want to see with 2 competent pilots going at it.
#3 Abzan Company Vs. #6 Gifts Storm
There's no modern deck that has had more cards banned that storm, but the deck just refuses to die no matter how hard they try. It combos off faster than company will usually but company has a ton of SB hate and ways to tudor it up.
#2 EldraziTron Vs. Winner of #7 Esper Control/ #10 Cheeri0s
Unfortunately Cheri0s hasn't achieved the success some folk's hoped for with its new toys but it gets its chance to try and go off through Esper Draw-Go. It seems like it could potentially have game vs EldraziTron of it wins but consistency issues make it hard to imagine it going far.
Lightning Bolt Region
#1 Burn Vs. Winner of #8 Death and Taxes/ #9 Blue Moon
Of the #1 seed's Burn probably got the best region as far as matchups go. The problem is a possible nightmare game against Ad Nauseum in the sweet 16. That's basically the equivalent of the basketball team that starts 4 guards vs the team with 3 seven footers inside. Interestingly, D&T is classified as a separate deck from Eldrazi and Taxes. Winner gets Ad Nauseam or Bushwhacker Zoo.
#4 Ad Nauseam Vs. #5 Bushwhacker Zoo
one of the most interesting first round matchups in my opinion. Bush-Zoo is fast and against a deck that does not interact well it can fill up the board quickly. Ad Nauseam however refuses to die with stupid cards like Angel's Grace and Phyrexian Unlife. As a burn player, i would sell my soul to help Zoo win this.
#3 Merfolk Vs. #6 Lantern Control
Definitely not happy to see an Ensnaring Bridge deck if you're Fish here, but look at it this way, all that Affinity hate you carry works in this match too!
#2 RG Valakut Vs. Winner of #7 RG Ponza/ #10 Taking Turns
Ok, this is my upset pick if I were filling this thing out. Land destruction is bad enough against Turns, which really needs mana to get going, against a Valakut deck it seams just brutal. Ponza is the South Carolina of this tourney. Winner tangles with the Merfolk/Lantern winner in the sweet 16.
Noble Hierarch Region
#1 Bant Eldrazi Vs. Winner of #8 Mono-Green Devotion/ #9 Bant Knightfall
Tooth and Nail vs putting all your lands in the yard is a pretty odd match, no idea how the decks stack up. Whoever wins has to face the ghost of winters past. Winner of that match faces Infect or Elves.
#4 Infect Vs. #5 Elves
If Dick Vitale knew what Magic was, Infect would be the blue blood he insists was insulted by the committee. Thankfully Dick has no clue about any of this and please keep it that way. Do all Elves creatures make attacking problematic for infect? I have no idea myself as I haven't piloted either deck.
#3 Grixis Delver Vs. # 6 Eldrazi and Taxes
Another one I'm not super knowledgeable about, but Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Thought-Knot Seer seem horrifying to play against with Delver. Can Fatal Push even the odds?
#2 Abzan Vs Winner of #7 Bring to Light Scapeshift/ #10 Skred
Of all the decks in this tournament no one got shafted by seeding like Scapeshift. A control deck built around Blood Moon is not what they want to see and a clever player can use Koth of the Hammer's +1 to make his opponents lands into all to killable creatures or just apply pressure. Skred would also pose a cool matchup against Abzan as it packs tons of removal and can get free wins off of any 3 color deck. Winner faces Grixis Delver or Eldrazi and Taxes.
What do you guys think? I would definitely travel to go see this tournament over a weekend. Would anyone else like to see an event like this every year, possibly from SCG now that Wizards is cutting us loose to go frolic in the Forgotten Cave with Legacy and Vintage?