Casual Johnny's Trip to Modern
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on April 20, 2020, 6:51 p.m. by ZendikariWol
Amulet Risen RUG
Modern*
SCORE: 1 | 54 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
So, hello. I am not new to Magic, but I am fairly new to competitive Magic. In fact, this is the closest I've gotten, and that is saying something.
Needless to say, help would be appreciated. Take a look at the deck's description and please don't point out flaws without proposing solutions.
lagotripha says... #3
Remember that there is competitive modern and 'competitive modern'. There are things you can do at local FNM which doesn't hold up in bigger competitions. You don't have to plan for the entire meta, just the decks you are likely to face.
As someone new to more competitive settings trying to play off-meta, I highly rate transformative sideboards. You can improve almost any matchup by sideboarding 15 cards (or fourteen with companion), and viewing your maindeck as a place to store sideboard cards (which can be swapped in bad matchups).
As a deck which 'relies' on risen reef combo, put thought in your backup gameplan. Your Jegantha choice offers a backup combo with something like Freed from the Real, while only taking up four slots. This is the right direction, however in specific it faces the same problems- a weakness to removal- as the maindeck. Testing alternatives, both main and side will be most of the process for this.
Don't feel the need to settle into one list- unpredictablity is a major asset for every list that isn't already highly-tuned. Your opponent will misidentify control or beatdown matchups, netting easy wins, especially with sideboard mixups.
For a time, Voice of Resurgence was the big reason to play midrange, and its still pretty solid. Value with Vesperlark/thunderkin is decent if you can avoid grave hate- sideboarding in a set of mana leak/spell pierce is legit if they don't have a fast clock.
I'd also give some serious consideration to elemental token producers. Seasoned Pyromancer and Young Pyromancer are spectacular with reef and strong without.
Primal Beyond is good, non-painful mana fixing.
Finally, look at Jeskai Ascendancy combo lists. Its fallen out of favour due to disruptability, but faces a lot of the same deckbuilding restrictions you are under. Similarly, Reveillark/Body Double was a deck that never really took off. Runaway Steam-Kin had a few combos theory crafted that never made it. I'm sure there are things in these lists you can adapt. I'm sure that between all of these you can find something that runs nicely. Playtest well, and have fun.
Xica says... #2
Nice deck!
(in the sense that its a cutthroat aggressive deck, that goes fast and wide enough to contest 5c snow piles)
You need to find a way to play around Plague Engineer, preferrably some "lord effect*", that is built on something other than a creature (thus avoids creature removal and board wipes that are going to be flung your way), or some brutal strong removal that makes it disappear and makes sure it doesn't come back from something like Unearth.
If you are worried about targeted discard, i would advise buying a playset of Leyline of Sanctity, as they are dirt cheap (at least compared to their usual price).
And beside Bxx targeted discard they are plenty useful against mill, burn, and non-gifts storm variants (as those tend to struggle to find unsummon effects in a timely manner).
Really any effect but ones dependant on the given creature is great (so no Lord of Atlantis-like effect) - as when the lord is getting blown up, the boost is gone with it.
Obelisk of Urd-esque effects should be prime consideration.
(of course even eaker stuff like Oran-Rief, the Vastwood may worth checking out)
April 21, 2020 9:14 a.m.