My attempt at something new for Modern. It's unconventional but I feel it has tremendous promise.
It's a powerful spell! If the deck is built around Polymorph, it will put any creature directly into play for only four mana. It's seen competitive Standard play and was wrecking 1v1 EDH. The issue has been making in Modern-level competitive.
With the arrival of our newest removal friend, Fatal Push and the printing of the jack-of-all-trades Collective Brutality, I felt a / Polymorph strategy could now be competitive in Modern.
Polymorph is generally slow and doesn't end the game on resolution. However, it is a powerful effect and does put deadly creatures onto the battlefield for only 4CMC.
On top of it all, I just wanted to build something new that I could call my own. Enjoy!
Card Selection:
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2 Polymorph, the deck's name-sake. It's a powerful spell that sees very little play in Modern. I'm betting Polymorph will catch a great deal of players by surprise. Dealing with turn-four Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is nearly impossible for most Modern decks.
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1 Dryad Arbor is our rabbit and Plan A. It serves as our sacrificial lamb, therefore I consider it a creature more than I consider it a land. It can't be discarded by Thoughtseize-style effects and is impossible to counter. On top of that, it's easily fetched out with Misty Rainforest and Verdant Catacombs at instant speed. Once I stumbled across those facts and it's interaction with Polymorph, I knew I had something to work with and build upon.
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1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Our main kill switch. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn has everything going for it: Protection from most removal, a 15/15 body, can kill in one turn (usually), devastates your opponents board state on attack and shuffles itself back into the library, making it always available for a resolved Polymorph. It hits every angle our deck need!
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2 Bitterblossom is my Plan B. It is target generator for Polymorph, in our colors that doesn't hurt Polymorph after resolution and provides protection from early creature attacks.
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3 Mana Leaks and 2 Cryptic Commands. Mana Leak is primarily for creatures that are difficult to deal with once they hit the battlefield. Cryptic Command helps the late game.
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4 Serum Visions. Serum Visions digs for answers, lands and Polymorph.
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Our creature removal comes in the form of 4 Fatal Push. Fatal Push hits most of the creature threats in the format and it's revolt trigger is easily activated through our fetch land activations.
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4 Collective Brutality is our jack-of-all trades and has been the primary force making this deck possible. First, it gains life in , which is critical giving our fetching and shock lands and Bitterblossoms. If needed, that mode can kill an opponent if their life total falls low enough. Second, it disrupts the opponent's hand. Use it primarily to discard their removal for Dryad Arbor. On top of that it gains critical information allowing for future Polymorph resolutions. It can also remove small creatures when needed, especially against Burn. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it has the bonus of being an outlet for an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn stranded in our hand. Now I don't have to use garbage like See Beyond to deal with that case. It's a powerhouse and all-star in this deck.
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3 Inquisition of Kolizek. I run it to get information, disrupt their game plan and discard their removal for Dryad Arbor. Use it early and then discard it to Collective Brutality in the late game.
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2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor because why not! His Brainstorming is great for getting Emrakul, the Aeons Torn out of my hand.
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1 Liliana of the Veil She helps stabilize the board, remove threats and discards Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. She's a threat and draws off hate.
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1 Liliana, the Last Hope protects us from early creatures and can get Dryad Arbor out of the yard. It serves as a second, although rather slow win condition.
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2 Maelstrom Pulse catch-all removal.
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4 Spreading Seas I kept getting wrecked by Field of Ruin and Ghost Quarter. I decided to include this to help shore up that weakness. It cantrips and can punishes greedy manabases. It's also useful against Tron strategies. This card puts in work in the current meta!
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2 Search for Azcanta
. Critical for fixing my draws and digging for Polymorph and answers in the late game.
Landbase:
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4 Misty Rainforest Fetches out Dryad Arbor.
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4 Verdant Catacombs Fetches out Dryad Arbor.
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2 Drowned Catacomb
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2 Watery Grave. The deck needs mostly and mana. This is our first target for fetching.
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1 Breeding Pool. for Maelstrom Pulse and Abrupt Decay.
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3 Darkslick Shores rounds out the landbase, hitting our most important colors.
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3 Island Fetchable lands that don't hurt and prevents me from getting locked out by Blood Moon effects.
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1 Swamp Another fetchable target that doesn't hurt.
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1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All fights against counter magic, given I can't usually spend both 4 mana on Polymorph and another 2-4 on a counterspell.
Sideboard:
My sideboard is constantly changing and improving. Like most side boards it's a bit of a mess and needs improvement. Nothing here is set in stone and I welcome suggestions in this area the most.
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3 Dispel Great for control match-ups.
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3 Nihil Spellbomb. Our graveyard hate. Cantips and it's easily cast.
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3 Pithing Needle stops Liliana of the Veil and Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruin, three of the strongest cards against this deck's game plan.
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1 Damnation shores up our matches against creature-based decks, such as Elves, Affinity, Goblins, etc.
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1 Progenitus serves as a replacement for Emrakul, the Aeons Torn if we face decks with Surgical Extraction.
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1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is for fighting Elves and Goblins.
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3 Abrupt Decay is a catch-all that can't be countered. It's main targets are Liliana of the Veil and Ensnaring Bridge but it's usefulness is not limited to just those two targets.
Strategy:
The basic premises is to use Polymorph to cheat Emrakul, the Aeons Torn onto the battlefield.
Polymorph's primary destroy target is Dryad Arbor. Remember: The "destroy creature" part Polymorph is on resolution not casting, so if it gets countered, we won't lose our Dryad Arbor along with Polymorph. Our secondary target for Polymorph are the tokens generated by Bitterblossom.
If Polymorph resolves, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn will get put directly into play. It's a two-card combo, one being a land that in my honest opinion is one of Modern's best combos not being used. Let's see if we can change that!!
Apart from that central goal, the deck is essentially reactive control. You systemically answer your opponents threats or disrupt their plan until it is possible to resolve Polymorph.
Use your planeswalkers to buy time and pressure your opponent. If Polymorph doesn't get there, Bitterblossom tokens can get in for the win. On top of that, Liliana, the Last Hope's emblem will produce enough tokens to overwhelm your opponents, despite being slow.
Weaknesses:
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The biggest problem with the deck is that our creature is how we both stabilize AND win the game. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is great at winning but can only block one creature at a time, so we're not stopping any alpha strikes. Most likely your opponent is not going to be deal with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn as it has protection and a 15/15 body.
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Our second issue is that we have no way to actually cast Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Therefore, you can't let anything happen to Polymorph. So, don't let them Surgical Extraction it away.
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Surgical Extraction and Ghost Quarter both end our gameplan. Beware of these cards!!
Final Thoughts/Card Considerations:
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Nature's Claim could help with removal of troublesome enchantments and artifacts. It's instant speed and 1CMC, so it has potential.
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I'm thinking the new Search for Azcanta
could be helpful in control match-ups. My yard gets large quickly and the flip side basically gets everything out of my deck. Plus, it's another land that produces once flipped.
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A fellow player suggested Batterskull. I had never given it consideration before the suggestion. Now that it's on the radar I'm leaning towards putting it in the sideboard. It's a token generator that won't interfere with a resolving Polymorph that also gains life. Sounds perfect to me!!
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I'm tossing around the idea that a Fog effect could be helpful. Darkness seems perfect in preventing an early aggressive start from wrecking us.
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Talisman of Dominance might be needed. Given the plethora of 1CMC spells we run in and , a two-turn Talisman of Dominance could be perfect for giving us a mana advantage turns 3-6 while not putting us back the turn it's played.
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Supreme Will could be a one-of in the mainboard. It gets anything we might need and can counter a potentially devastating spell. It's blue and instant speed.
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Infernal Tutor seems like it could be a spicy one-of.
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Cryptic Command seems good, wouldn't you agree? It helps control match ups as well as stopping alpha strikes from aggressive decks. It draws cards and helps deal with troublesome permanents. I believe it has a home in my build and might take the place of Logic Knot.
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Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver has potential. She(he?) put pressure on opponents despite neither immediately protecting herself(himself?) nor affecting the board. She(he?) also pumps out targets for Polymorph.
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Engineered Explosives could be helpful. Needs more testing.
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Opt could potentially replace Serum Visions. The biggest issue I'm having is the conflicting mechanics between fetchlands and Scying. Serum Visions digs deep but Opt is more flexible.
Feel free to make any reasonable and well-thought out comments! You guys know what you're talking about (usually! lol), so I want to hear from you.
Please feel free to run this deck in your local meta! If you do, tell me how it went.
I'm open to any ideas that would help improve my deck.
Cheers,
TheMadJester
