TappedOut's Fifth Modern Moot

Features Tuition

ChiefBell

14 August 2016

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TappedOut's Fourth Modern Moot

The Fourth Modern Moot

Modern moot is an article series about modern decks, written to appeal both to those who enjoy playing Magic, and those who enjoy talking about the game. A moot is a word from old or middle English that refers to a meeting or discussion between people about a particular topic, and that is what this article series aims to recreate. Consider these write-ups as casual discussions about decks in the Modern format.

Last time I wrote a Modern Moot we discussed Eldritch Moon spoilers, which you can find here. For those of you interested in the predictions I made last time, go and give it a quick look – I feel pretty happy with it!

Today I wanted to talk about an overarching deck strategy rather than any one deck in particular. The archetype in question is Tempo, which I have chosen for a variety of reasons. Chief among these are that I happen to be working on a tempo deck at this time, and I feel that Tempo, as a strategy, is often misunderstood by players.

The Theme For Today: Tempo Decks

What Is A Tempo Deck?

Tempo decks are best described as hybrid aggro/control lists that mix a healthy selection of aggressive creatures, with an equally well-stocked mixture of disruptive spells. The overarching aim of the deck is to pressure the opponent's life total with creatures whilst also holding mana up at the same time to protect those creatures by clearing blockers with removal or countering killspells.

So it seems like they do everything, how is this possible?

Tempo decks are able to approach the game in both a controlling and aggressive way by managing their mana extremely carefully. It is common to see tempo decks focus on threats, removal, and counterspells that are exceedingly cheap and easy to cast such as Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Delver of Secrets  ^Flip, Lightning Bolt, Dispel, and Spell Snare. By utilising spells that cost little mana it means that only two lands are required to simultaneously improve the decks boardstate and disrupt plays the opponent makes. In fact, this focus on the speed of play, or "tempo", is what gives the archetype its name. It's all about setting a high speed of play for yourself whilst dictating the speed the opponent can play with disruptive cards.

Of course alongside these highly efficient choices it is not uncommon to see more rounded cards such as Mana Leak or Terminate, as these contain fewer targeting restrictions than the choices outlined above. Furthermore, other utility creatures may also be included alongside the cheap aggressors as again, more expensive offerings may have more rounded usage. Examples of these are Snapcaster Mage or Bedlam Reveler, which offer a bit more than just bodies on the field.

Historic Example Decklists

Probably the first Tempo deck was produced as early as 1997 with an offering that subsequently became the deck known as Miracle-Grow. This deck attempted to produce a huge Quirion Dryad by playing cheap cantrips like Brainstorm. In order to protect the creature it played counterspells such as Force of Will, Daze and Foil.

6x Island 4x Tropical Island 3x Gaea’s Skyfolk 4x Lord of Atlantis 4x Merfolk Looter 4x Quirion Dryad 4x Brainstorm 4x Curiosity 4x Daze 3x Foil 4x Force of Will 4x Gush 4x Land Grant 4x Sleight of Hand 4x Winter Orb

4x Tundra 4x Tropical Island 2x Flood Plains 1x Island 1x Savannah 4x Werebear 4x Quirion Dryad 2x Mystic Enforcer 2x Merfolk Looter 4x Meddling Mage 4x Sleight of Hand 4x Brainstorm 4x Daze 4x Force of Will 2x Foil 4x Land Grant 3x Winter Orb 4x Gush 3x Swords to Plowshares

As you can see these historic lists really set the precedent for what Tempo is all about:
The aggressive portion of the deck comes from choices such as Werebear, Quirion Dryad and Gaea's Skyfolk.
The controlling portion of the deck comes from Force of Will, Daze, Swords to Plowshares, and Foil.

What is worth noting here is the exceedingly high number of spells that have been included that essentially cost no mana to play. I can tap out on turn 2 for a Werebear and still easily play both a Force of Will and a Gush with absolutely no mana available, which is incredible. These decks are all about getting the absolute most out of any resources whilst challenging the opponent with multiple lines of attack and disruption. Modern Tempo decks continue with this strategy today.

Modern Decklists

Ok, ok. I hear you yelling! I know that Modern does not have access to Force of Will or Gush, but we do have some pretty nice alternatives! Let's take a look at some modern versions.

3x Island 4x Misty Rainforest 1x Mountain 4x Scalding Tarn 2x Steam Vents 1x Stomping Ground 3x Sulfur Falls 1x Wooded Foothills 3x Bedlam Reveler 4x Delver of Secrets 4x Monastery Swiftspear 2x Snapcaster Mage 3x Young Pyromancer 2x Burst Lightning 4x Gitaxian Probe 1x Izzet Charm 4x Lightning Bolt 1x Pillar of Flame 4x Serum Visions 2x Spell Pierce 4x Thought Scour 3x Vapor Snag

This is a very traditional Izzet Delver list with the newly released Bedlam Reveler included, presumably for the strong body and card draw available for 2 mana.

Note that, as with the historic examples above, we can see a large reliance on both very cheap threats (Delver of Secrets  ^Flip, Monastery Swiftspear) and low cost control (Vapor Snag, Lightning Bolt, Spell Pierce). One of the beautiful things about Tempo decks is that they aim to win the game usually within a reasonably quick timeframe. This means that cards like Vapor Snag are excellent as the deck can potentially win games before the opponent gets the chance to re-play the creature that was bounced back to hand. Vapor Snag itself is a 0-for-1 card. You are spending a resource and not taking any resources away from the opponent permanently. It is only a temporary fix. However if your plan is to win within the next turn or two then plays that result in card disadvantage matter less.

Let's have a look at a Grixis version:

2x Blood Crypt 4x Bloodstained Mire 4x Darkslick Shores 2x Island 1x Mountain 4x Polluted Delta 1x Swamp 1x Wandering Fumarole 1x Watery Grave 4x Delver of Secrets 1x Gurmag Angler 4x Snapcaster Mage 3x Tasigur, the Golden Fang 1x Vendilion Clique 1x Electrolyze 2x Kolaghan's Command 4x Lightning Bolt 4x Mana Leak 3x Remand 4x Serum Visions 2x Spell Snare 3x Terminate 4x Thought Scour

This deck is very interesting because it seems to straddle being a Tempo deck and a hard Control deck. Whilst it is certainly true that we see many Tempo giveaways such as Delver of Secrets  ^Flip, Lightning Bolt, and Spell Snare, there is also a greater reliance on spells that cost much more mana to cast, and that accrue card advantage such as Kolaghan's Command and Electrolyze.

Cards that generate card advantage by 2-for-1'ing the opponent are generally not seen in Tempo decks because they cost a lot of mana to cast. Examples include Cryptic Command and Kolaghan's Command. Remember the goal of a tempo deck is to play threats and disrupt the opponent at the same time, so high mana cost cards can be tricky because they mean committing all your mana to just one spell. Having said this, Grixis Delver decks have long played a style of Tempo that leans a little more heavily into the late game, given the incredible utility of Kolaghan's Command which can be used aggressively or reactively.

So that's Tempo in Modern. Lots of low to the ground spells and creatures and a list that is equally comfortable piling the pressure on the opponent's life total or mercilessly countering their spells and killing their creatures. The lovely thing about Tempo decks is that, more so than any other archetype, they simply do it all. If you're a control player you will find something to love about Grixis Delver lists, and if you're an aggressive player you will find a lot of familiarity with common lines of play in Izzet Delver lists. Tempo really does offer something for everyone, however given that these decks require mastery over two domains of play (proactivity and reactivity) they are not easy to play by any means.

Delving Into The Future

I'm going to be a bit cheeky now and talk about a list that I've been working on recently as something that could highlight the future of Tempo decks in Modern.

A few weeks ago I published an article in which I highlighted Spell Queller as a card to watch. To me, Spell Queller is a perfect Tempo card. As Tempo is trying to simultaneously dismantle the opponent's plans and commit attackers to the board counterspells bolted onto creatures are attractive propositions. I can spend 3 mana and one card achieving multiple goals that would otherwise take two cards and perhaps more mana to reach. On the other hand, Spell Queller is undeniably fragile, and gives the opponent their spell back when dead, which is problematic. With only three toughness it basically dies to everything in modern: most creatures when blocking, a lot of burn spells, and all the traditional removal spells too.

There is a way around Spell Quellers shortcomings. Two ways in fact. The first is the traditional Tempo fallback of protecting your threats with counterspells. Delver of Secrets  ^Flip has been played for years and has less toughness, and whilst it might not give the opponent a spell to cast for free when it dies, Spell Queller having the option of countering a spell, even if it is recast on death, is no doubt better than not having the option at all. Spell Queller costs more mana but does also have flash and the bolted on counterspell ability, so this seems natural. It might be more of a tempo loss when it does die, but also presents more of a tempo gain when played given that it does so much for so little cost. All things considered the low toughness and fragility does not seem to be a problem that is specific to Spell Queller and one that Tempo decks haven't wrestled with for years in their other win conditions. If you can play a Spell Snare or Spell Pierce to protect a Delver of Secrets  ^Flip, then you can do it for a Spell Queller too. Fragility is a problem Tempo is equipped to deal with through its very nature of mixing disruption in with their win conditions

Perhaps you're still not convinced. Perhaps the tempo loss once Spell Queller dies to a Lightning Bolt is just too much to risk. That's where the second strategy comes into play. Wasteland Strangler. What this beautiful card does is take the card exiled by Spell Queller, it throws it into the opponent's graveyard, and in doing so eats an opposing creature for another delicious 2-for-1 play. Not only is this fantastic in-and-of itself, it also secures your investment in Spell Queller by ensuring that if it dies, their spell cannot be cast for free. Don't believe me? You see Spell Queller says "the exiled card's owner may cast that card without paying its mana cost". After playing Wasteland Strangler there is no exiled card anymore. It's gone to the graveyard. And in doing so it becomes ineligible for free casting if Spell Queller leaves the battlefield. And that, my friends, is value. So by cleverly combining these two stellar card choices you're given another solid buffer to prevent Spell Queller turning into a disaster and ensuring that you get a counterspell at the very least.

We have already discussed that Tempo decks need to manage their mana exceedingly well, because they need to make sure that at any given time they can be both proactive and reactive. Whilst Spell Queller and Wasteland Strangler fulfil this brief through the fact that they are essentially control spells on legs (or on… tentacles and…. air?) they still cost three mana, which makes them a little difficult to cast effectively. In order to get around this problem cards like Aether Vial can be utilised to ensure that creatures can be cast whilst also leaving mana up for other actions. This greatly accelerates your game, and in some ways doubles the amount of mana you have available at any given time, at the expense of occasionally resulting in terrible top-deck draws (no one wants to see a turn 6 top deck Aether Vial!). Using Aether Vial means that any resulting deck would have to be relatively creature heavy in order to take full advantage of its ability, but nevertheless the card allows us to build a solid Tempo deck with options that may cost a little more mana than other Tempo decks would be willing to spend. I present you with this:

1x Adarkar Wastes 4x AEther Vial 1x Caves of Koilos 4x Dark Confidant 1x Delay 2x Eldrazi Displacer 4x Flooded Strand 1x Godless Shrine 2x Hallowed Fountain 2x Island 3x Mana Leak 2x Marsh Flats 1x Mystic Gate 4x Path to Exile 1x Plains 2x Polluted Delta 2x Reflector Mage 3x Snapcaster Mage 1x Spell Pierce 4x Spell Queller 3x Spell Snare 1x Sunken Ruins 1x Swamp 4x Tidehollow Sculler 1x Underground River 4x Wasteland Strangler 1x Watery Grave

My initial brief when building the deck was to pursue controlling lines of play with creatures so that the deck did not have to sacrifice board presence in playing reactively. As you can see, many of the creatures here disrupt the opponent in some way and therefore follow the aim. The discussed Spell Queller and Wasteland Strangler synergy is included, and Tidehollow Sculler is also present as Wasteland Strangler interacts with the card he exiles in a similar way. Reflector Mage is the key to getting damage in effectively when presented with stalled board states given that he bounces creatures for extended periods of time, and finally Eldrazi Displacer is used to flicker the creatures to repeat ETB effects. Dark Confidant and Snapcaster Mage are both used to increase our access to resources, be that cards in hand or spells in our graveyard.

On the other side of the deck there's a healthy counterspell package of 3 Mana Leak and 1 Delay taking the spots of wide spectrum counters that deal with most threats. Note that Wasteland Strangler turns Delay into a Counterspell-esque card. Alongside these wide options are narrower one mana choices in 1 Spell Pierce and 3 Spell Snare which help to keep nasty cards like Lightning Bolt, Terminate, Tarmogoyf and Liliana of the Veil at bay. As for removal, the standard package of 4 Path to Exile is included as it answers any creature for just one mana and is therefore easy to play at the same time as creatures which might cost two to three mana. Finally, 4 Aether Vial is included to decrease the pressure on our manabase when we look to play both counterspells and creatures in the same turn. Note that Aether Vial allows us to play our creature at instant speed. (You should see an instant speed Reflector Mage bouncing an opposing Elvish Archdruid to successfully block an Ezuri, Renegade Leader. It brings tears to the eyes).

The beautiful thing about this deck revolves around card advantage and top decking ability. Normal Tempo decks might struggle due to their half and half nature, in that one portion of the deck is controlling, and the other portion is aggressive. Draws are smoothed out by Serum Visions and Gitaxian Probe but bad draws do happen, to anyone. By including creatures in my deck that fulfil both controlling and aggressive roles some of this pressure is alleviated. My aggressors are my counterspells or my removal spells, so any single draw can fulfil two functions, and this builds consistency. So above and beyond normal removal and counterspell choices there's a flexible element that's useful in a variety of situations; whether I find myself ahead in the game or behind. On the subject of card advantage it is also clear that a creature that acts as a counterspell like Spell Queller can impact the game and the resources the opponent has access to in a much larger way than a Mana Leak ever could. The simplest example would be a simple two-for-one situation in which the opponent casts a Lightning Bolt at me during combat, and in response I cast Spell Queller to counter the Lightning Bolt and block an attacking Goblin Guide. That's a clear two-for-one exchange in which one of my cards has removed two of the opponents resources. But more than this, it is also clear that any Spell Queller can then go on to win the game for me, so unlike a simple Mana Leak it is not merely a defensive play but also one that can block and attack multiple times to accrue long game advantages.

Tempo decks carefully manage their resources in order to simultaneously control the board and commit creatures to it. They typically have to include cheap cards that are aggressive like Delver of Secrets  ^Flip and cheap cards that are reactive like Spell Pierce so that both aspects of the plan can be fulfilled in one single turn. I argue that cards like Spell Queller and Wasteland Strangler fulfil these functions in neat packages, and may represent the next turning point for Tempo in Modern given their inherent value. Having said this, their hefty mana costs present a challenge for existing decks and therefore new shells will be required to benefit from them fully.

Outro

I hope you enjoyed this article about Tempo and I hope that it can stimulate some discussion. Perhaps you even want to go out and test these decks yourself. If you do I would love to know your thoughts!

As always I welcome any comments and criticisms you may have. I'd especially love to see any game replays you record with a Tempo deck so we can see any in action! Feel free to let me know what you enjoyed here and what you didn't like as well. Maybe you have a request for next time? Maybe you have a question? Let me know below!

ChiefBell