Modernism - The Post-Banning Brewer's Battles

Challenges and Articles forum

Posted on Jan. 23, 2015, 8:13 a.m. by Boza

Hello all, after the new ban list has been announced, it seems the meta is quite unknown at the present time.

So, this begs the question: how do we break it? The answer is with a challenge of course!

So, I have been thinking about making a new deck to waddle in these Modernistic seas, but I am unable to come up with a good idea. I have a couple of Modern decks I use, but I feel it is time for a change and some outsourcing. I want you guys to give me a submission that qualifies on the following conditions:

  1. Deck must be Modern legal - DUH!
  2. Deck must be no more than $200 - I am not Scrooge MCduck here, using TCG prices from this site. I know it is inaccurate but using other resources is tedious, since it has to be done card by card.
  3. Deck must not be one of the top archetypes! This will be too easy otherwise. I will list the archetypes below in the first post.
  4. Submissions close on 31st of January or when 16 decks are submitted.
  5. The decks will face off in a single elimination tournament.
  6. Decks will also be judged on their originality and quality of build.
  7. Anyone can volunteer to be a judge on those criteria.
  8. The final composite score will determine the winner, but for obvious reasons it should be performance over flavor - results in the tournament will matter more than the other two factors.

  9. The aggro that are banned: Delver decks (RUG, UR, UWR, all of the variations), Affinity, Merfolk, RDW, Burn, Aura hexproof.

  10. The midrange and combo decks that are banned: Soul sisters decks, BW tokens, Junk Midrange Scapeshift, jeskai Ascendancy, Twin, Bloom Titan, Living End (too easy), UR storm, Vengevine/Dredge decks.

  11. The control decks that are banned: UWR Flash, UW Control, Tezzeret control.

This arbitrary banlist was just thought up to exclude the commonly played decks - I would not like play a budget version of a top deck.

Prize pool:

1st place - the deck will get made IRL and played in FNMs and more. Plus feature tokens.

2nd place - a bit less feature tokens.

3rd place - a bit less tokens than 2nd place.

4th place and below - A Megaton of FUN!

That is all! Do not forget to have fun with this, collaboration is encouraged. Submit as a group of people even. If you want to help out with playing out the matches, please tell me.

Boza says... #2

Forgot to mention Sideboards:

  1. Sideboards can be included in the deck, however, include them as Maybeboard, so that the total price of the deck is not affected.
  2. The total price of the SB must not be above 50 bucks (again using the resources on this site).
  3. Sideboarding will be done according to the me if there is no SB guide.
  4. That is all.

And let the Post-Banning Brewers' Battle Bonanza-Extravaganza (PBBBBE) begin!

January 23, 2015 8:23 a.m.

klone13 says... #3

Boza I have a junk landfall type deck w/o an SB (i would have to make budget version btw). Does that fall under junk midrange or scapeshift. It is not done yet but: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/23-01-15-landfall/. Like i said i would have to make a budget version.

January 23, 2015 8:30 a.m.

Boza says... #4

No junk deck right now plays any of those. By Junk decks that are excluded, think Pod (without the Pod obviously).

Remember to include the deck as something visible for the rest:[ [ deck-large:23-01-15-landfall/] ] and remove the spaces:


Landfall Playtest

Modern* klone13

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 8 VIEWS

Knight of the reliquary is quite underrated right now, this is a good example of something that is perfect for this challenge.

January 23, 2015 8:34 a.m.

Countertop says... #5

this is a modernized version of the greatest standard deck (for a period of time)

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/23-01-15-rb-fun/

... that moment when only space for 2 bobs in the budget XD

January 23, 2015 8:41 a.m.

Boza says... #6

Boss sligh feat. Bobx2 is plenty unique enough, well done sir!


RB fun Playtest

Modern* Countertop

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 8 VIEWS

Let me remind of the wonderful opportunity to be a judge on this contest for originality and build - originality will measure the uniqueness of the brew, while build will focus on well you have streamlined your deck.

Remember, the submissions are not necessary to be finalized before the 31st, so you can make changes until then.

January 23, 2015 8:51 a.m.

Rocknj06 says... #7


The Army of Amsnad 2.0 Playtest

Modern* Rocknj06

SCORE: 3 | 2 COMMENTS | 162 VIEWS

I have to fix up some sideboard options. If for some reason this isn't legal in the challenge, I'll fix it up so that it is when I can get to a computer.

January 23, 2015 9:09 a.m.

nighthawk101 says... #8


Modernism: 8Rack Playtest

Modern nighthawk101

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 0 VIEWS

January 23, 2015 9:23 a.m.

EddCrawley says... #9

I would like to put forward my favourite Modern decks, all of which i have piloted at my LGS FNM, to varying degrees of success.


Tolnedran Legion Playtest

Modern EddCrawley

SCORE: 4 | 0 COMMENTS | 1048 VIEWS

Is a Boros Aggro beat-down


Mallorean gospels Playtest

Modern EddCrawley

SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 175 VIEWS

Is a Dimir Combo Mill deck.

January 23, 2015 9:25 a.m.

Caes says... #10

Behold!


Infinity ∞ze: Modernism Version Playtest

Modern* Caes

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 1 VIEWS

If you have any questions about it, just let me know and I'll be happy to answer.

January 23, 2015 9:39 a.m.

Boza says... #11

Ok, perfect we got a Knight/Human tribal deck and 8rack deck! Very cool additions! We are up to 3 decks!

EddCrawley, both those decks are a bit over the price (and by a bit I mean double the price limit). So they have to be budgetized to participate - the sideboard does not count towards the 200 dollar limit, but it has 50 dollars of limit on its own. So do not include the redenculuosly expensive Glimpse the Unthinkable in your deck.

January 23, 2015 9:40 a.m.

Boza says... #12

Ooze deck is technically a dredge deck, but I assume there will so few combo decks, that small similarities to (future) top meta decks can be omitted. Nice one!

Up to four contenders, keep them coming!

January 23, 2015 9:42 a.m.

Caes says... #13

Boza The dredge aspect was a very recent addition (as it was not possible up until a few days ago) to the deck and merely plays a supporting role. If you'd rather, there are modifications I can make to the deck in place of Golgari Grave-Troll to be rid of that aspect of the deck without hurting its playability. Darkblast is just really good removal so I plan to keep it.

January 23, 2015 9:47 a.m.

Boza says... #14

No, no, it is fine, rules are meant to broken or at least bent, especially by the one who set them out!

Anyways, Ooze's are always fun and a little dredge never hurt anyone! Plus, this is a challenge for brewing successful decks under constraints, not all top cards should be automatically excluded (for example, someone managed to fit 2 Dark confidant in a build).

Combo decks will be few and far between anyways, so this much deviation is fine for the health of the tourney.

January 23, 2015 9:51 a.m.

Scytec says... #15

I present my humble Rakdos Aggro deck. This deck has been majorly fun, and the only alteration I really want to make is adding Vexing Devil...but a playset is hard to pick up. Haha.


Rakdos' Sadistic Society Playtest

Modern Scytec

SCORE: 8 | 10 COMMENTS | 2257 VIEWS

Let me know what you think! SB is tuned to my local meta, not tournament ready, if you want to change that up feel free.

January 23, 2015 10:10 a.m.

Boza says... #16

Ok, Aggristocrats are up for the challenge! It will be great to have some midrange or control, just for representation's sake ;)

SCytec, you are at about half the budget, sideboard included, so feel free to pimp out the deck before the 31st.

January 23, 2015 10:23 a.m.

Scytec says... #17

In all honesty this is my deck in cardboard form, I'd like to see how it compares. As is I've outraced Infect, destroyed Gifts Ungiven control, and completely screwed a graveyard interactions deck. Haha. It may not be amazing, but it is consistently powerful. I'd like to see how it fairs.

January 23, 2015 10:27 a.m.

Servo_Token says... #18


Much Budget: Do Maze Playtest

Modern* ThatJunkMage

SCORE: 7 | 20 COMMENTS | 538 VIEWS

Maze's End, because Bloom titan isn't allowed.

January 23, 2015 10:33 a.m.

Boza says... #19

Ok, we got a combo-control deck into the mix! Superb, we are up to 6 contenders! Woot woot!

January 23, 2015 10:37 a.m.

lemmingllama says... #20

I hope that my deck is acceptable. I've been running it since Khans, and I recently changed it up to survive Dig Through Time being banned. I use a different sideboard in person, but I left the sideboard for the challenge in the maybeboard. Mainboard is $177 and sideboard is $44.

I'm just hoping that I can race other people fast enough. I have a feeling that this will fold really badly to the 8rack deck posted above.


Heartless Myrs of the Brood Playtest

Modern lemmingllama

SCORE: 39 | 0 COMMENTS | 3132 VIEWS

January 23, 2015 11:01 a.m.

Boza says... #21

That is a combo without a heart - unacceptable! Jokes, aside a great submission, bringing us to a total of 7 decks!

January 23, 2015 11:13 a.m.

xcn says... #22


Poison Sumac Playtest

Modern* xcn

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 29 VIEWS

Here have some infect.

January 23, 2015 11:42 a.m.

UrbanAnathema says... #23

I'll submit


The Source Wall Playtest

Modern UrbanAnathema

SCORE: 303 | 46 COMMENTS | 39430 VIEWS

January 23, 2015 11:42 a.m.

Hjaltrohir says... #24

I have one!!!


Sorors de Souls Playtest

Modern awesomeguy37

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 0 VIEWS

January 23, 2015 12:25 p.m.

addaff says... #25

I saw "rules are meant to be broken or at least bent". So here is my U/R/W storm deck @ the 275 price range (or so it says)


Stitching together a perfect Storm Playtest

Modern addaff

SCORE: 1 | 3 COMMENTS | 146 VIEWS

January 23, 2015 12:40 p.m.

The_Raven says... #26

All I wanna say is....

DORAN FOR THE LULZ!



January 23, 2015 12:50 p.m.

I'll submit


Modernism: Balls Out Combo Playtest

Modern Programmer_112

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 0 VIEWS

.

January 23, 2015 12:56 p.m.

I'd like to volunteer my Death's Shadow combo deck as tribute!! :D


Красивая Смерть Playtest

Modern TehCAnnable

SCORE: 26 | 13 COMMENTS | 2484 VIEWS

Potential T3 combo win, with an upside of potential self-kill T1!! :D

January 23, 2015 1:47 p.m.

Havok.Bane says... #29

So I don't know how everyone else is posting theirs but here's mine: It's an aggri Vamp deck. Things That Go Bump In The Night

January 23, 2015 2:02 p.m.

klone13 says... #30


Landfall Budget Playtest

Modern* klone13

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 0 VIEWS

There is the budget version

January 23, 2015 2:03 p.m.

nighthawk101 says... #31

@Havok.Bane: Use [ [ deck-large:your-slug-here ] ] without spaces. Also, use the slug in the url (the part after mtg-decks). For example, your slug would be 19-11-14-things-that-go-bump-in-the-night.


Things that go Bump in the Night Playtest

Modern Havok.Bane

SCORE: 8 | 11 COMMENTS | 1343 VIEWS

January 23, 2015 2:11 p.m.

Boza says... #32

Jeez that is a lot of submissions - I am utterly dismayed at this daft display of daring creativity. Will check all the latest submissions and come back to you.

January 23, 2015 2:55 p.m.

SpartanCEL says... #33


Mock under 200$ Playtest

Modern SpartanCEL

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 7 VIEWS

I may change up the lands a little not sure how many man lands are good but I don't have to. Deck is 195$ Sb is 40$

January 23, 2015 3:28 p.m.

SpartanCEL says... #34

16 decks already lol oh well

January 23, 2015 3:29 p.m.

UrbanAnathema says... #35

Mine might be too expensive seeing as how its posting a whopping $600 price tag...(I know I didn't pay that much for it...At least I hope I didn't...lol) so you might be fine SpartanCEL

January 23, 2015 4:28 p.m.

The_Raven says... #36

Lol, mine is 2 dollars too much.... Jeeze....

January 23, 2015 4:34 p.m.

SpartanCEL says... #37

UrbanAnathema well see lol. NorthernRaven he said 200 for the deck, and 50 for the sb in a comment so unless your sb is less than 2$ you're good!

January 23, 2015 10:42 p.m.

Boza says... #38

Jesus, all those combo decks! You guys will straight up Ok, lets go one by one:

SpartanCEL and his Mock - nice and innovative, I like it a lot. Up to 8 since I last counted.

klone13 and Landfall Budget - glad to finally get the submission of the first person to comment here :) 9 decks!

Havok.Bane and Things that go Bump in the Night - admirations for the name alone! Nice take on an under-the-radar tribe! 10 decks!

Красивая Смерть from TehCAnnable - I really hope this deck is not YOUR beautiful death. 11 decks!

Modernism: Balls Out Combo from Programmer_112 - can the lack of pod hinder Melira? Stay tuned to this challenge to find out! 12 decks!

You know what to do with that big fat butt! aka Beats by Dr.NorthernRaven - I really love this tribal deck and have thought about making it myself, well done sir. Just work on your SB, I do not think those 3 Black Lotus should be there :) 13 decks!

awesomeguy37 is going in with Soul Sisters - James Brown-style decks rock! We are off on the Night Train! 14 decks!

addaff made U/R/W Young Storm Ascendancy - an ambitious merging that is planning to melt my brain more than anything else. However, while I did "bend the rules" a little bit earlier, it was to allow a fairly different take on Dredge deck but the budget part is a bit too much. As stated, I am trying to limit my Magic spending a bit, so please work on the budget if possible. 14.5 decks!

For now, there is still room for at least one more deck and you have several more days to submit it. Gogo power brewers (nananana)!!

January 27, 2015 4:53 a.m.

I'm not much of a modern player, but I love brewing! Here's my submission:


No Nonbasics Allowed Playtest

Modern Gorgosaurusrex

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 0 VIEWS

The deck costs $209 but the sideboard is only $15 so I figured that would be okay.

January 27, 2015 11:50 a.m.

Boza says... #40

Hate red is the 15th deck, technically. Still waiting on addaff to find out if we will get the 16th deck. Keep submitting, anything can happen :)

I will be doing some groups in the beginning of February, doing a round of matches per group per week. Each win for the deck earns a single point, so a maximum of six points can be earned. So, you will get 4 matches of this per week if I am able to keep on the schedule.

After 3 rounds, 2 decks will qualify for the quarterfinals (allowing 1 week for tiebreakers) with 1st place qualifiers facing off against 2nd place, so group standing is key.

January 27, 2015 2:07 p.m.

addaff says... #41


ascending on a budget Playtest

Modern addaff

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 0 VIEWS

Lowered it $216, but it might lose its consistency.

January 27, 2015 2:53 p.m.

Boza says... #42

addaff, thanks very much for that!

And with that, we have our 16th deck! WOOHOO! This way faster than I imagined.

As said above, I will start next week with the battles and direct everyone to the new thread where they will occur.

January 28, 2015 2:18 a.m.

Hjaltrohir says... #43

Which decks are in?

January 28, 2015 12:05 p.m.

Caes says... #44

So how goes the challenge?

February 12, 2015 5:40 p.m.

Boza says... #45

Yeah, real life has impeded my progress a bit, the first round is bound to come after this weekend.

February 13, 2015 2:27 a.m.

lemmingllama says... #46

Mind if I ask how this is progressing? I'm unsure if I should still leave the sideboard for this challenge on my deck or if I should remove it.

March 6, 2015 10:35 a.m.

Boza says... #47

PLease do leave it there, I am under a lot of real life pressure, so I have not had the time for this challenge, which makes me sad, I should though this week.

March 9, 2015 2:06 a.m.

This discussion has been closed