Are Spirits the new Faeries?
Modern forum
Posted on Aug. 19, 2017, 6:57 p.m. by IlGuale
Hello everybody. As you probably guessed, my question for you tonight is: have Spirits (UW and Bant) taken Faeries' spot in the meta? They have a similar playstyle as both use little, cheap, evasive creature to flood the board and control it (namely Spell Queller and Spellstutter Sprite), but i see a rising number of spectral brews and always less Faeries. Are Spirits better than Faeries at what both do and are destined to replace them? Or is it just a temporary thing, due to this particular meta or to mode?
I apologize for any eventual error: it's late here and i'm not a natural english speaker.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #3
The decks are still slightly different imo. Sure, they're both draw-go creature decks, but spirits lacks anything similar to Bitterblossom and plays a lot more creatures.
Faeries has never been a super popular deck as far as I know. Mostly because it's extremely difficult to learn and very punishing if you misplay. It's also off the radar for people looking for a deck to build because so few people play it. So I wouldn't view spirits as replacing it, as they're really wasn't much to replace in the first place. Spirits might seem more popular because it's newer and exciting and uses current/recent standard cards.
Also fae doesn't play company because it plays cryptic command instead. Cryptic matches the deck's game plan much better.
August 20, 2017 12:46 a.m.
filthyc4sual says... #4
I guess, but I've always kind of wondered how fae would do with Company
August 20, 2017 2:05 a.m.
Thank you both. I have to agree with you, Toolmaster: Faeries has always been poorly played and merely considered a T3 deck.
August 20, 2017 8:39 a.m.
Oloro_Magic says... #6
Faeries is one of those decks that has been waiting for an upgrade for years when at one point it was one of the better decks. Unfortunately it has yet to receive that upgrade that makes it very competitive again. As ToolmasterOfBrainerd said however, a misplay in most decks can set you back a turn, a misplay in Fae costs you the game seeing how interactive the deck is.
August 20, 2017 9:52 a.m.
Dreweybaker01 says... #7
loved this question. these are things i enjoy reading thanks for all the replies
August 20, 2017 9:54 a.m.
Oooh, stop it, Dreweybaker01.
Oloro_Magic, Fatal Push is a small step in the right direction, but i too think that it's still not enough. Maybe, and i stress this "maybe", an hybrid build with Rogues (a creature type a lot of Faeries share) can be a solution. I am thinking to something like: http://modernnexus.com/grave-musings-bug-rogues-burg-shadow/. The deck shifts more towards an aggro style, while mantaining a minimum of tempo plays, becoming less punitive.
August 20, 2017 11:48 a.m.
Oloro_Magic says... #9
Guale, though I think the rogue build could work it may stray too far from what Fae tries to do, and that is control the board behind a Bitterblossom, I think Fae now has it's removal but it's lacking those one or two cards, whether in interaction, or a more relevant beater, that could elevate Fae to being a competitive deck again outside of the people who have played the deck for years and know every little interaction.
August 20, 2017 11:56 a.m.
Faeries doesn't need one or two pieces to become relevant again. It needs to not be so dependant on playing a specific card at the right moment in order to not suck. The difference between having and not having a Bitterblossom on the board on turn 2 is HUGE - you can take on most decks in the format if you land a BB on curve, but you'll feel like you're playing a shitty Standard control deck in a Modern match if you don't. And since Bitterblossom is an enchantment, you need to tap out on your turn to cast it - so, you won't have any mana open for counterspells/removal to interact with the opponent on the most crucial turn in the game. You just can't afford to do that in Modern, especially in such an aggro-oriented meta as the current one.
filthyc4sual says... #2
Spirits are better because Geist of Saint Traft is such a good finisher, especially when you can pump it with Drogskol Captain, and Fae doesn't play Collected Company. Don't ask me why.
August 19, 2017 8:11 p.m.