Mono-White Lens (Modern MTG Deck)

Mono-White Lens

Modern Competitive Jank Mono-White Primer Ramp Theme/Gimmick

Revedeka

Creature (18)

Artifact (8)

Land (25)

Enchantment (1)

1x Overwhelming Splendor

Planeswalker (4)

Instant (4)

4x Path to Exile

Sideboard

Instant (4)

Artifact (2)

2x Damping Sphere

Sorcery (2)

Creature (1)

1x Kor Firewalker

Enchantment (6)

Maybeboard

Creature (1)

1x Ethersworn Canonist

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Mono-White Lens

Playstyle & General Gameplan

This deck tries to create large amounts of mana, and then playing cards that can single handily win the game. This gameplan is very similar to that of Tron. However, instead of using the tron lands, this deck uses Extraplanar Lens . Extraplanar Lens essentially makes you have 6 mana turn 4 if you play it on turn 3, and 8 mana on turn 5, 10 mana on turn 6, etc. This alone is quite good, but perhaps a little slow, especially since Extraplanar Lens doesn't do anything the turn it enters the battlefield. This deck tries to create more value and tries to speed up by using cards like Knight of the White Orchid and Mind Stone . Knight of the White Orchid synergises especially well with card like Ghost Quarter , Path to Exile , and Extraplanar Lens , making it almost always have extra value.

The core of this deck are Extraplanar Lens , Mind Stone , and Knight of the White Orchid . by playing Mind Stone on turn 2, followed by Extraplanar Lens on turn 3, you will have 2 mana left in turn 3. To make this more clear, on turn 3 you tap the Mind Stone and 2 Snow-Covered Plains , leaving 1 Snow-Covered Plains from just making your land drops. This is just enough for Knight of the White Orchid , and since you exiled one of your tapped lands to Extraplanar Lens , you get to fetch an additional Snow-Covered Plains . On turn 4 you now have 7 mana without making a land drop, and 9 if you do, which is enough for Iona, Shield of Emeria .

The main ramp package this deck uses ( Knight of the White Orchid , Extraplanar Lens , and Mind Stone take up 12 spots in the deck. I've found that 25-26 lands is best for the deck, as it ensures that you make your land drops, and also allows for a mixture of Snow-Covered Plains and Ghost Quarter s. Furthermore, 13-14 payoff cards is where you want to be. I am currently running 13, which gives me a 93/95% chance (play/draw) to have at least one of them on turn 4, when you should be able to cast them, and a 70/75% for at least two payoff cards. This all adds up to 50 cards in the mainboard. The other 10 spots are currently filled with removal in 4 copies of Path to Exile , and 6 card draw cards that also serves as early game blockers against creature aggro in Wall of Omens and Thraben Inspector .

By clicking on the titels below you will acces the different portions of this primer. In "Individual card discussion" you can read about the reasoning behind why these cards made the deck, and I will talk about small combo's and synergies this decks utilizes. In "Sideboard" I will quickly note my reasoning for the sideboard. Keep in mind that this version of the deck uses a sideboard that is not specifically designed for any one meta, just the complete field in general. In "Other cards to consider" I will note some other card that just missed the cut, and might be valuable options for different metas. In "Modern Matchups" I will theorise the position of this deck in the current modern meta by comparing the matchups against some modern staples. This will also include a small sideboard guide. If you like what you've read in this primer, then feel free to check "Check out my other primers" to see some other deck I've made, that I think have some potential in modern.

Individual card discussion

Set-up/Ramp & other early plays

3x Thraben Inspector A one drop that allows you to draw a card later on in the game. Card draw is important for this deck, as no-action hands are possible when drawing no payoffs, or only payoffs with no ramp. With card draw the chance of running out of gas decreases. Thraben Inspector itself has a 1/2 body, which in certain cases is a decent blocker, it at least buys you some time against creature aggro decks. White does not have a lot of card draw, so you can't really be picky with what you play. The clue doesn't get exiled by Ugin, the Spirit Dragon , and can be cracked whenever you want, for example as early as turn two if you don't have a Mind Stone to play. This version currently runs 3 copies, with also 3 copies of Wall of Omens . Further testing should make clear whether this ratio is correct, or a 4-2 split one way or another is better. This deck currently doesn't have any other turn 1 plays except for Path to Exile , which you don't want to play on turn 1 very often, so have some other card there is nice.

4x Path to Exile One of the best removal spells in the modern format. For , you exile a creature, meaning those pesky Arclight Phoenix that are popular in modern right now won't be coming back. The downside on this is that you ramp your opponent, which thanks to Knight of the White Orchid is actually an upside sometimes for this deck.

4x Mind Stone A mana rock for 2 mana. This card adds to the possible explosiveness of the deck, by being on curve with Extraplanar Lens , and making a turn 4 Iona, Shield of Emeria possible in the best case scenario. Even in worst case scenarios, for example if you can't find any Extraplanar Lens es, Mind Stone can just act as a mana accelerator, making you play Elspeth, Sun's Champion or Wurmcoil Engine hopefully before you die. On top of this, Mind Stone van just cycle itself if you don't have any other useful plays, which is again useful if the only colour you play is , for it is a colour with little card draw.

3x Wall of Omens This card fulfills a very similar role in this deck as Thraben Inspector . Both are answers for creature aggro. Wall of Omens is obviously better in that role, and also cycles immediately instead of having to pay two mana to draw a card, like with tharben inspector. Card draw is pretty important in this deck, to ensure you find your finishers/ setups, especially since white is a colour with little card draw. However, it does obviously cost one mana more than Thraben Inspector , and it also is not that great on curve, since the preferred play on turn 2 is usually Mind Stone . However, since Mind Stone is the only preferred play, chances that this will hurt you ingame are relatively small. For these reasons, i'm currently running a 3/3 split, which might not be optimal. Further playtesting should make clear if a 4/2 split one way or the other is better, or if the 3/3 split is fine.

4x Knight of the White Orchid A cornerstone of this deck, Knight of the White Orchid is a very important accelerator for this deck. It costs , and is a 2/2 first strike creature. this already makes it a pretty decent attacker and blocker. However, you preferabbly don't want to cast this on turn 2, since that second effect is so important for this deck. By playing Path to Exile s, using Ghost Quarter s, and casting Extraplanar Lens es, you will be behind on lands, meaning that Knight of the White Orchid s ability will trigger when played around. Knight of the White Orchid give you an extra 2 mana on your next turn with an Extraplanar Lens out, which can in the best case scenario lead to a turn 4 Iona, Shield of Emeria . Even in worst case scenarios, it allows you to play 6 mana card on turn 4 with a Mind Stone out.

4x Extraplanar Lens The card this deck is essentially build around. Extraplanar Lens is a risky card, since it does exile a land you control, meaning that if your opponent destroys Extraplanar Lens , you're pretty likely to lose the game. However, if its survives, you get to play big game winning card the very next turn. Extraplanar Lens doesn't do anything the turn it comes into play, except if you have Mind Stone and Knight of the White Orchid , which is of course not that great, but still acceptable for a 3-drop.

Payoffs

3x Walking Ballista A very versatile mana sink. Kills a lot of problematic creatures, is a good draw in the early game if you have no other plays, and late game when you have lots of mana. Walking Ballista also has some build in protection against removal, since it will always still deal his power/toughness as damage to your opponent and/or his creatures when targeted with removal. Als, Walking Ballista is colorless, so it doesn't get exiled by Ugin, the Spirit Dragon .

4x Wurmcoil Engine A 6-drop, which is the minimum amount of mana you should have with Extraplanar Lens on turn 4. A massive 6/6 body that can make big comebacks happen thanks to the lifelink. Also has protection versus removal. One of the most powerfuk plays on turn 4 with extraplanar lens, since getting the full wombo-combo with turn 4 Iona, Shield of Emeria will not happen every game.

2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion Another very powerful 6-drop, which is the minimum amount of mana you should have with Extraplanar Lens on turn 4. Makes a lot of tokens quickly, which is great against both creature aggro decks and control decks alike. The second ability can also be relevant, since it doesn't hit any creature in this deck other than perhaps a Walking Ballista (which you can just ping your opponent with a bit to keep that from happening), Wurmcoil Engine which then still gives you 2 smaller wurms, and Iona, Shield of Emeria , but you should already have won if you have both those permanents on the battlefield. The ultimate is not especially powerful in this deck, but of course still fine with the tokens Elspeth, Sun's Champion makes herself.

2x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Another win card that gets utilized by almost every deck that can make big mana fast, like tron. for 8 mana, which can be turn 4 at best, but more reliably turn 5 for this deck, you can exile your opponents entire board unless they play eldrazi or artifacts, and you get a Lightning Bolt on a stick. the first ability of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon allows you to kill creatures, and already essentially gives you a win condition. The second ability allows for huge comebacks, this deck comes online at turn 4, so it might be a little slow compared to the rest of the field. If you're opponent builds up this huge board in the first 4 turns, you get to reset the game when resolving Ugin, the Spirit Dragon . And if you ever get to ultimate Ugin, the Spirit Dragon , you will also just essentially win the game, especially in this deck.

1x Overwhelming Splendor For 8 mana, which should be castable on turn 4 in the best case scenario, and turn 5 in regular scenarios. This card makes all your opponents creatures 1/1's without abilities, and because it is an enchantment, it is a little more difficult to remove. I've included this card since I tried to make the payoff cards cards that win the game when they ETB, and versus creature decks this is definitely a card that wins the game. Further playtesting should tell if this card should be replaced with another win card.

1x Iona, Shield of Emeria Perhaps the ultimate "win card". When Iona, Shield of Emeria resolves you get to lock your opponent out of casting spells for the rest of the game. Castable as early as turn 4 in the best case scenario, however you will get to cast this card more often on turn 5 or 6. 9 mana is a little awkward, since its not on the even number curve that Extraplanar Lens gives you, but a Mind Stone solves that problem. With a 7/7 body, this card will end the game within 4 turns by just swinging for 7, or 1 turn because your opponent scoops.

Lands

22x Snow-Covered Plains This deck asks a lot form its mana base, in worst case scenarios, you want to be able to reliably cast Knight of the White Orchid on turn 2, which requires 22 white sources. Furthermore, you want to make your land drops, and those land drops need to be Snow-Covered Plains . As such, this deck only uses Snow-Covered Plains , and Ghost Quarter s. I've tried some other lands that just didn't make the cut, check those out at "Other cards to consider".

3x Ghost Quarter An answer to a lot of problematic lands in modern right now, for example Celestial Colonnade and the tron lands ( Urza's Power Plant , Urza's Tower , and Urza's Mine ). What makes Ghost Quarter especially great in this deck, is that it often gives your opponent land advantage. You sacrifice Ghost Quarter , so you have -1 land, while your opponent stays even on lands, as they get to fetch a basic. This is of course great since it enables Knight of the White Orchid , and therefore adds to the potential explosiveness of this deck.

Sideboard

1x Blessed Alliance Great against aggro decks, and can be a nice draw in both the early and lat game. Against burn, the 4 life is great. Against decks that run a small amount of big creatures, the thirds ability is great. And in some very niche scenarios the second ability could come in handy, for example untapping a Wurmcoil Engine to kill an attacking creature or gain some life. This card can be brought in against the izzet phoenix deck as an answer to Crackling Drake , against burn to gain life and kill something like a Monastery Swiftspear , and also against death shadow variants, since they are relatively threat-light and can be targeted with the life gain for some cute plays.

1x Celestial Purge Pretty narrow, but obviously strong card. Celestial Purge usually shows up in the sideboard of control decks, but as this deck might be a little slow, I think it's fine to include it. Important is that Celestial Purge exiles, and not just kills something. Board this in against Izzet phoenix for Crackling Drake and Arclight Phoenix . Board it in against death shadow, against jund and maybe against burn or dredge. The instant speed on this card is a big strength, and allows you to have a more meaningful turn 2, where you can for example decide to leave up two mana to crack a clue from Thraben Inspector only to exile a permanent.

2x Damping Sphere I personally think Damping Sphere is a bit overrated as a sideboard card, but it does seem well positioned against a lot of decks in modern right now. Great versus Izzet phoenix, tron, and decks like storm. This deck is not favoured against storm and similar decks, hence why I did include 2 copies in the sideboard. For 2 mana, it is relatively nice on curve for this deck.

3x Rest in Peace When playing white, this is often a must have card in the sideboard. Some people like Relic of Progenitus or Surgical Extraction more since they cycle or are faster than Rest in Peace . However, in some matchups this card is simply game winning. Its meta-dependant whether you should run 2-4 copies of Rest in Peace , since this sideboard is not specifically made for any one meta, I am currently running 3.

1x Kor Firewalker Again a great answer against fast decks, and the casting cost is no problem for this deck. Pretty straightforward against which decks you board this in. Blocks every red creature, gets damage in versus every mono-red deck, and gains life for every red spell, essentially making all burn spells do one damage less, which means it takes about 5 more spells to win the game for burn.

2x Rebuff the Wicked Now this card is a little weird, nobody expects counters in mono-white, and to be frank it is a test card to some extend. The problem in some matchups is that Extraplanar Lens is relatively easily destroyed. I've tried some different ways of compensating for this, I've tried to use Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in a different shell of the deck for mana, I've tried Leonin Abunas , Indomitable Archangel , and even Sun Titan . All where not optimal, this current version doesn't really have enough devotion to white for Nykthos, and not enough artifacts for Indomitable Archangel . I personally think Sun Titan is great, but that would mean you got to untap with Extraplanar Lens once before, and if you are in a position to attack with Sun Titan , you are pretty likely to win the game. Leonin Abunas is a card I should try a little more, but it seems a little slow. Welding Jar might be another option, but also very narrow. Rebuff the Wicked protects both Extraplanar Lens and other permanents you control, for little mana, and is not a card your opponent will expect.

3x Stony Silence Another card that most decks containing white will have in their sideboard. A great answer against most artifact decks, and a card that can win the game single handedly against those decks.

1x Timely Reinforcements Answers go wide decks, whether it be elves or tokens or something else. Can also be boarded in when you just need some extra removal.

1x Wrath of God Another great answer for fast decks. This card can swing games in your favour, and buy you enough time to plat Extraplanar Lens and some payoff cards.

Other cards to consider

Resplendent Angel

This might seem like a weird possible card for this deck, but it has some real potential. Not only is it a pretty strong creature, a 3/3 flyer for 3 is not bad, but Resplendent Angel is a card that singlehandedly wins the game. The reason she has so much potential in this deck is that she is an early play, that can become a win condition in two turns. Play Resplendent Angel on 3, Extraplanar Lens on 4, and make angels from turn 5 onward. Resplendent Angel s ability costs 6 mana, which is exactly the amount of mana you get after untapping with an Extraplanar Lens on the field. Making one 4/4 flyer with vigilance per turn is okay, as Resplendent Angel gets in for 5 as well, but it of course gets a lot better in multiples. There are three main reasons that I didn't go for Resplendent Angel . The first reason I didn't go for Resplendent Angel is that she is pretty clunky with our curve. You always want to play Extraplanar Lens on 3, and you have better things to cast on turn 4 than Resplendent Angel , using that thought, she would only be good in cases where you fail to draw Extraplanar Lens in three turns. The second reason is that she win the game very slowly compared to other payoff cards. you win the game after 3 or 4 turns after being able to attack with Resplendent Angel , whereas cards like Iona, Shield of Emeria , Ugin, the Spirit Dragon , can essentially win the game faster. The third and biggest reason is that Resplendent Angel has 3 toughness. One of the most played cards in modern, Lightning Bolt , is all that is needed to kill Resplendent Angel . Resilience against removal has been important in selecting the payoff cards for this deck, for example Wurmcoil Engine , which needs to be exiled if you want to properly deal with it. There might be some build possible with Resplendent Angel , and its sure sounds as something fun for FNM's, but I don't really see it as competitively viable at this time.

Wayfarer's Bauble

I've tried this in a more "all-in" combo shell, where I've tried to ensure that I would have 4 plains when untapping with Extraplanar Lens . However, I personally think a card like Wayfarer's Bauble , which requires 3 mana to fetch one land, and then lets it enter tapped, is just not good enough in any deck that tries to be competitive.

Weathered Wayfarer

Earlier versions of this deck used to run 4 copies of Weathered Wayfarer , but the focus of the deck was different then than it is now. Currently its all about curve, while it used to be about cards that used to skill with the amount of mana you had, which often meant their casting cost inculded . This worked decently, but you need a lot of mana to make them as powerful as the cards that are currently in this deck, which is difficult to get in the current fast modern. Weathered Wayfarer is a pretty poor blocker, and only really thins the deck a little, but doesn't have that much value in this deck as it is in my opinion.

Quarantine Field

I like this card a lot. At worst its a 4 mana Oblivion Ring (without the flicker-tricks) and at best it exiles your opponents whole board. When untapping with Extraplanar Lens in the slowest way possible (while staying on curve), which means you have 6 mana, this card would exile two non-land permanents, which I consider to be already pretty good. But when you get to 8 or 10 mana, exiling 3 or 4 non-land permanents is straight up game-winning. However, since the floor of the card is pretty bad, I decided to cut it in favour of payoffs cards that would win the game more, instead of making you lose the game less.

Board the Weatherlight

Now this is a very, very interesting card that I have considered, adjusted my deck towards, and tested for a longer duration. And I am not really sure if cutting this was the right option. With some clever deckbuilding, it is easy to have Board the Weatherlight have a 90% hit succesrate in this deck. Being able to find Extraplanar Lens is absolutely massive, and on top of this, since most finishers are either artifacts or legendary creatures/planeswalkers, it could also fetch payoff cards. However, having such a card selection card at two mana is a very big drawback. It might be semi-fine if it were instant speed, but alas, Board the Weatherlight is also a sorcery. Maybe I am underestimating this card in this deck, I did like it when I played it, but I think a 2 mana card selection card is just too slow for modern. Perhaps I will try to further test it a little more, but for now I cut the card entirely.

Scrying Sheets

In a build which used Weathered Wayfarer , I used to play a single Scrying Sheets . Drawing extra lands felt pretty nice, but often times you are just spending two mana on nothing, and sometimes you just wished this card was an extra Snow-Covered Plains . I eventually cut it after cutting Weathered Wayfarer , and after just wanting more copies of Snow-Covered Plains .

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Another card that got cut with the removal of Weathered Wayfarer , Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx used to be the fallback plan of this deck. There are games where you won't find Extraplanar Lens , and having a second way to get a lot of mana made this deck more reliable. However, it did take the slot of Snow-Covered Plains and it took some deckbuilding choices to get enough devotion to use it consistently, which often meant sub-optimal cards. In the current version of this deck, I do not have enough devotion to Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx , and thus its cut.

Runed Halo

A great and versatile card. Against decks like storm, naming a Grapeshot could make things difficult for them. The double white was also great for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx , and the two were in the same version of the deck. However, it acts like a removal spell for all cards that directly damage you, which I think is not the best card for this deck at the moment, though I like Runed Halo very much.

Divine Deflection

This card used to be in my sideboard for a long time, but has been cut recently. I think it's just too cute a trick, and not actually a great sideboard card. It requires you to have a lot of mana, in which case you should be winning. This card is decent versus decks like storm, where you can surprise them when they combo off and perhaps turn the game around. However, since this card costs so much I don't think it will ever be super useful.

Austere Command

This card used to be played in the mainboard, before being put in the sideboard, after which it was cut entirely. The idea behind this card was that you could clean up to board once you got an Extraplanar Lens on the battlefield. Also, Austere Command is very versatile. 6 mana is the one of the powerspikes for this deck, but other payoff cards are in my mind better than Austere Command .

Entreat the Angels

Super sweet payoff card. I've played this a long time in the previous version of this deck, and there have been a lot of times were it won me the game. However, if you are not casting this for its miracle cost, it gets pretty bad. Only in very late game scenario's, where you have a large amount of mana you can win the game with this. For 6 mana, you'd get 1 angel, for 8 mana 2 angels, and for 10 mana 3 angels, thats just not good enough. Of course if you cast it for its miracle cost, for 6 mana you get 4 angels, which is awesome. I personally found Secure the Wastes to be better than Entreat the Angels , because it has value at every point in the game, and Secure the Wastes is an instant, which is a big upside. So I would rather have Secure the Wastes than Entreat the Angels and I don't even think Secure the Wastes is good enough to run at the moment.

Gift of Estates

I've run this card as a one-off with a playset of Weathered Wayfarer before, since it thins the deck nicely, and makes sure you make your landdrops, which is very important for this deck. However, it doesn't do anything else but getting 3 lands, and only if you're behind on lands, and all that for 2 mana on a sorcery.

Gideon of the Trials

Another card for the 3-drop slot. Usually you want to always play Extraplanar Lens on turn 3, however you can prepare for scenarios where you won't draw Extraplanar Lens . Gideon of the Trials is an excellent card to stall a game out and buy you time to find Extraplanar Lens . Unfair decks have to deal with Gideon of the Trials , otherwise you can't lose the game, and decks that are light on threats won't even be able to damage you. On top of this, Gideon of the Trials can act like a big threat himself. In my opinion a great card, but I couldn't find the space for it in this deck at the moment.

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Top Ranked	Achieved #22 position overall 5 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 3 Mythic Rares 11 - 4 Rares 10 - 8 Uncommons 3 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	3.14
Tokens	Clue, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Soldier 1/1 W, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink
Folders	Favourite Modern
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