Jeskai Copycat (with some value sprinkled in)

Modern olag

SCORE: 7 | 12 COMMENTS | 1274 VIEWS | IN 3 FOLDERS

Modern Competitive League #2 (4-1) —April 9, 2017

I ran the decklist with the changes shown in the previous update. I did not record this time.

Game 1 I was able to T2 Spreading Seas into T3 Saheeli Rai into T4 combo. They have very little interaction game 1, but it is definitely hand-dependent. I was also on the play, which helps. Game 2 they didn't assemble Tron due to Spreading Seas, but they had a Pithing Needle naming Saheeli Rai from pretty early on, forcing me to grind instead of combo and a Chalice of the Void on 1 kept me from removing their big threats with Path to Exile and I ended up losing the topdeck game/grind. Game 3 my hand was slow, but so was opponent's. I kept a hand with the combo assembled, but only 3 lands. T3 I slam Saheeli Rai and scry a land to the top, they go T3 Thought-Knot Seer revealing 3 Felidar Guardian. They proceed to curse me out and concede.

Game 1 my opponent had a T1 Arcbound Ravager on the play. Only removal in hand I had was a Lightning Bolt and I didn't have enough time to assemble the combo as my opponent beat me down. Game 2 I had to mull to 5 due to flood in 7-card hand and 0 land in 6-card hand. I kept a hand with 1 land and Stony Silence and never saw the 2nd land until T4.

Game 1 I don't remember much aside from getting my hand picked apart and getting beat down by Tarmogoyf, although I kept a rather slow hand that didn't have much interaction besides a Remand and a Spreading Seas. Game 2 was very grindy, but I was able to draw Relic of Progenitus the turn after my opponent Inquisition of Kozilek'd me, and then proceeded to grind the game out. Jace, Architect of Thought held back 8 Lingering Souls tokens for about 6 turns until I decided to ultimate, getting a Supreme Verdict from my deck and a Liliana of the Veil from my opponent's deck, and then they conceded. Game 3 my opener was incredibly redundant (combination of Wall of Omens, Serum Visions, and lands). My opponent led with 3 hand disruption spells the first few turns, but I was able to land a Saheeli Rai into a Jace, Architect of Thought while keeping up Path to Exile, and then exiled my opponent's GY with Relic of Progenitus. Opponent conceded early, but they had 1-2 cards in hand at the time and no board.

Game 1 I was able to remove all of their threats (including a Liliana, the Last Hope) and combo'd out. Game 2 I was able to remove all of their threats and beat them down with a Celestial Colonnade the last few turns. Relic of Progenitus, once again, was a lifesaver.

Game 1 was a very grindy affair, including an odd mainboard card from my opponent in the form of Fiery Justice along with Nahiri, the Harbinger (a little less odd). I disrupted my opponent's Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker combo late in the game after fighting over a Nahiri, the Harbinger constantly hovering around 6-8 counters and then combo'd off when my opponent had no interaction. Game 2 my opponent had a pretty good start, including a Sin Collector to take away some of my interaction along with a Fiery Justice to answer my Saheeli Rai. I ended up drawing poorly and my opponent ran over me with Restoration Angel and Eternal Witness. Game 3 was also a grindy affair once more, but from what I recall, I was able to combo off pretty quick around T7 with EOT Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir protection.

Thoughts: Deck performed better than I expected and there will always be some variance in historically good matchups (Affinity). If the deck performs that well for me in some future tournaments, I'd be more than happy. I expected a slight uptick in control due to the Unified Modern results, but still no control matchup. Wondering if the Cavern of Souls and Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is worth it, but I really enjoy that angle of attack on control decks which we tend to struggle against G1.