How good is infect?
Modern forum
Posted on Sept. 24, 2019, 1:33 p.m. by Will361405
How good is infect post ban? I am looking to purchase a new modern deck for around $500 and I saw infect fits that bill fairly well, and I know it is a skill intensive deck. How good is infect currently? Are there other decks you would recommend, as I do typically prefer grindy decks but I enjoy the explosivness infect has.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #3
It's also nice that Inkmoth Nexus is the only expensive card in infect that's infect-specific. Nobles and the manabase are the only expensive bits, and those are useful in lots of decks.
September 24, 2019 2:34 p.m.
Will361405 says... #4
That was my thoughts, another deck I was considering was gifts storm as it was my first modern deck but I have no clue how good it is atm, I do like the games against control and other grindy decks with it though, thanks a million man!
September 24, 2019 2:39 p.m.
SpiralWolfos says... #5
Infect got a lot more consistent due to the London Mulligan rule, and the bannings and unbannings didn't really hurt it at all. However with the amount of removal that's now being played due to the uptick in creature decks such as Jund and Stoneblade, as well as the continued use of Wrenn and Six in a bunch of different decks, it's going to be pretty difficult to keep your infect creature alive without using up your pump and protection spells. That being said Infect is still a solid Modern deck and you can definitely make it work if you put in the time.
September 24, 2019 2:43 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #6
Ita kinda a boring deck. But it has an excellent match up against tron and can usually snatch games from uw control. It's also an established deck that's been in the format awhile. My best advice would be to proxy and test before you drop that much money on a deck.
September 24, 2019 3:59 p.m.
I've been playing Sultai infect for a while now (converted over from simic), and I've been enjoying it a lot. More evasion with Plague Stinger is nice, and having Phyrexian Crusader in the sideboard is a welcome addition. You als get more removal with things like Abrupt Decay or Assassin's Trophy . It can be explosive, or it can be grindy depending on side and mainboard tech (I run a few extra creatures).
September 24, 2019 6:04 p.m.
Infect was my first Modern deck and I really enjoy the gameplay. But as others have said, it's not in a great place in the current meta.
Short story is when Walking Ballista (currently the #5 most-played maindeck card in Modern), Plague Engineer (#4 sideboard card), and Wrenn and Six (#28 mainboard) are good, Infect is going to have a hard time of it. The meta shifts (sometime a LOT) over time though, so please take those numbers as a snapshot rather than "absolute truth" .
Proxy cards for sure though and get in some games with friends or in pick-up games at your LGS for sure. I like MTGpress but there are a bunch of fine choices. There's just really no way to know if a deck is right for you without getting in some reps with it. You can also rent cards for MTGO (I like Cardhoarder) or play on one of the free services ... it's a great way to try out a bunch of different decks.
Good luck (and good skill) with whatever you select!
September 25, 2019 7:36 a.m.
Liliana9000x says... #9
with the london mulligan and Scale Up , you could win games on turn 2.
September 26, 2019 1:34 a.m.
Flooremoji says... #10
Liliana9000x: Well, you could already do that, but yhea, loads more consistent :)
September 26, 2019 4:16 p.m.
Infect tends to be as good as the pilot is, it's defo capable of winning events and generally being a kickass deck but you'll need to put in the practice, if you're unsure try proxying it or try on cockatrice or the like. If you're willing to put in the effort with learning it then it's a rewarding deck that'll be worth your time. If you're looking for something on the side to just go "lol I win" sometimes then infect is still good fun. Modern is super open so you're kinda just able to play whatever you want to, infect is absolutely a reasonable choice same with a ton of other decks. As always the rule of modern remains "Play what you enjoy".
October 2, 2019 6:23 a.m.
Let me put it to you like this;
You start the game with 10 life vs an infect deck.
This alone will keep it relevant in my opinion. Get little flyers and menace or shadow guys and go aggro. Win turn 4 easy if you draw well.
Can someone please explain what ban he is referring to? I was on hiatus for a while.
October 13, 2019 6:39 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #13
Probably the Gitaxian Probe banning if I had to guess
October 13, 2019 7:05 p.m.
Oh. Yeah it's still good. Honestly i think green/black might be better. There's little infect flyers. Just put Titanic Growth on them. Hogaak to me seems irrelevant to infect. Red looting also seems irrelevant
October 15, 2019 9:13 p.m.
Wuzibo,
FWIW, UG(w) Infect is still much better than BG (source: So far, 100x Infect decks have performed well at Competitive REL this year, including 20x in the post-Hogaak meta ... but only 3x of those have been BG decks, with none in the post-Hogaak era).
October 15, 2019 10:45 p.m.
@clayperce fair enough. I've played against both. both are good in my opinion. I think BG is a little easier to get into than UG and seemed faster, which is what I think you want, but winrates are winrates. Still, what i said about looting stands.
October 16, 2019 8:12 p.m.
Will361405 says... #18
The reason I asked is because jund is absolutely great, and with looting gone the meta is less unfair and more interactive, so less decks for infect to prey easy wins on
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #2
It's a fine deck, but not tier 1 by any means. Giver of Runes and Teferi, Time Raveler were really good upgrades for it. You'll lose to Jund most of the time. I have to imagine that Whirza is a good matchup. You prey on everything that beats Jund. It's a nice rock-paper-scissors of Jund beats you, you beat Tron, Tron beats Jund. But the big mana decks are pretty popular right now because Jund is good.
September 24, 2019 2:32 p.m.