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Eldrazi tentacles powered by Tron lands. Not especially new or original, and difficult to alter the established decklist without making it strictly worse. Full sets of Matter Reshaper, Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher provide the main muscle while Walking Ballistas do their thing. I'd like to swap said constructs for something more flavourful but Endless One is embarrassingly poor. Lurking at the higher end of the creature spectrum are some named Eldrazi under 11CMC. Aside from these four and a single copy each of Karn Liberated and All is Dust I've tried to avoid letting the CMC creep too high though: multiple Wurmcoil Engines and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon are for Green Tron. Instead, we roll our playset of Expedition Maps primarily to find utility lands and let the opponent worry about Tron. Though a bit meta-dependant I'm a firm believer in the power of Chalice of the Void, which can simply be an "I win game one" button on occasion and if nothing else is a primary target for hate cards instead of our creatures. Dismember and Spatial Contortion are actually decent removal for most of the relevant creatures in Modern, and in a pinch you can Contort a Smasher to get in extra damage too. Basilisk Collar is worth having just because of what it can do with a Ballista against any creature-based deck, but the lifegain can also be backbreaking for Burn or Blitz. Single All is Dust because it's a one-sided board wipe, possibly could have a second to board in but often the games where it would be most effective it's simply too slow. In the flex slot at the moment sits Ugin, the Ineffable as I like the versatility he offers. Sixteen lands are non-negotiable for Tron and the interaction offered by Blast Zone is too strong to pass up, so I've found myself swapping out two of the original four Ghost Quarters for these. As mana bases have become more efficient and Control runs Field of Ruin effects people have also been playing more basics so I find myself using them to their full potential less nowadays anyway. On the subject I am running two Wastes myself, which I have found sufficient get enough value out of most post-board land destruction spells opponents bring in. Sea Gate Wreckage is map-fetchable late game draw which can be invaluable if games go long. I did go against the grain a tiny bit though by substituting Gargoyle Castle until I got hold of a Cavern of Souls (with the thinking being that the token made for a credible flying offence/defense which got maximum value out of Spatial Contortion) but the truth is that if you want to play this deck against a blue mage, you need that Cavern. Sad face goes with empty wallet.

...oh, you wanted tactics? Surprise, it's a Tron deck! Ideally utilize Expedition Map to quickly build silly mana, then pump it all into a Ballista equipped with Basilisk Collar. Or a turn three Karn. Or a turn four titan. People looove seeing that. However, the "small" Eldrazi in this deck are such good value that even without Urza's help they reward being played on curve or a turn early with Eldrazi Temple. Having a viable non-Tron game plan also makes for a less disruptable deck than those which need the combo to reliably cast most of their pieces, and therefore can work around Blood Moon, land destruction or other "Tron killers" with a little more wiggle room. Everyone who can seems to bring in Cleansing Wildfire but it just isn't enough: I never keep hands that would only work with Tron mana and all they've done is spent their second or third turn not advancing their board state or dealing with any of my actual threats. The real difficulty, even with the Chalices locking out the efficient 1 and 2 CMCs of Modern, is in the lack of non-creature interaction the deck offers. With only Thought-Knot Seer as hand disruption and limited removal options for walkers and enchantments every one needs to count. Where the deck does shine is in its tenacity: few others can keep up with the sheer number of threats it pumps out. Being largely immune to Fatal Push is a nice bonus too. Play the long game, and eventually something will resolve. Probably something big...

Alongside all the familiar sideboard picks for modern, Warping Wail is a reasonable toolbox card able to ramp, counter sorcery-based combos, prevent something bigger falling prey to Liliana of the Veil/Kaya's Guile or even remove small utility creatures in a pinch. My meta doesn't make it worth the main but I like to have the versatility on demand just in case Scapeshift or whatever turns up one night. I do worry that I'm using Surgical Extraction poorly in a deck with no discard but baiting out a Path before removing the rest and getting to see their hand makes me feel far more confident playing more creatures. Plus sometimes you get to exile all their win cons, so there is that. Skysovereign, Consul Flagship comes in when I need the extra damage for small creatures, a faster clock or just some flying. I've also become convinced swapping Pithing Needle out for Sorcerous Spyglass has made an appreciable difference as not only do you get that vital hand information to help you plan for counters, but it also won't compete with Expedition Map for a first turn play OR be countered by your own Chalice that you shoved out to shut down Path/Opt. Because when that happens and then you can't stop them activating their Jace, the Wallet Rapist, it feels bad man.

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Well, War of the Spark dropped a couple of potentially exciting bombs in Blast Zone and Ugin, the Ineffable. The former is like a Ratchet Bomb that - while it regrettably can't hit tokens - does offer some very welcome interaction that is Map fetchable. Ugin is a little more difficult to quantify: he'd probably be taking the spot currently occupied by Everflowing Chalice, which might skew my CMC a little further towards the top end than I'd want. However the potential value he offers is undeniable, with card advantage being something the deck sorely misses as well as emergency removal. The static ability can set up stuff like free Chalices or Ballistas plus playing him on turn three with Tron would leave enough for a Matter Reshaper. It also makes our Contortions and Wails look a LOT better because we can tap out and still play them!

Comments

Casual

98% Competitive

Date added 7 years
Last updated 1 month
Exclude colors B
Legality

This deck is Modern legal.

Rarity (main - side)

10 - 1 Mythic Rares

32 - 10 Rares

16 - 2 Uncommons

0 - 2 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 3.33
Tokens Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C, Spirit 2/2 C
Folders Modern, FNM, Game-a-palooza
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