Getting LGS Tournament Ready
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on July 28, 2016, 9:12 p.m. by Dakotasayre
I normally play casual games at work with some friends, but this Saturday I'm entering the Modern Tournament my LGS is having, this will be my first one ever. I'm going to be running my main deck
Cool Name In Development
Modern
SCORE: 1 | 5 COMMENTS | 287 VIEWS
. So far it's ran good with my friends but if there's anything that could use tweeking or just any tips on doing well at the tournament, I will appreciate any input
I think Chief covered this pretty well.
Modern is a rough playground compared to Standard and kitchen table (casual) magic. Especially if you have an inkling of competitive tier meta in your local players. You have to go in prepared, even if that means being prepared to lose to decks that are far faster and many times more expensive than yours.
It's arguably the best format (I think so personally), with more diversity and reliability than any other format.
Chief, and anybody else with criticism is just trying to help. Not tear apart your hopes and dreams. Take it all with an open mind.
July 29, 2016 9:38 a.m.
I think Chief covered this pretty well.
Modern is a rough playground compared to Standard and kitchen table (casual) magic. Especially if you have an inkling of competitive tier meta in your local players. You have to go in prepared, even if that means being prepared to lose to decks that are far faster and many times more expensive than yours.
It's arguably the best format (I think so personally), with more diversity and reliability than any other format.
Chief, and anybody else with criticism is just trying to help. Not tear apart your hopes and dreams. Take it all with an open mind.
July 29, 2016 9:38 a.m.
Dakotasayre says... #5
ChiefBell I have known this deck needs alot and plan on working towards making it better, but as of right now, I'm working with a small card pool and I haven't had the extra money to get some stuff that I need to help. That's one of the main reasons I'm going Saturday is to help figure out what I need. Another reason is to help me learn alot more about playing besides from just the guys at work because I've only been playing since the beginning of may and this deck was the first one I have built that would actually run smoothly Everytime I played it. I'm not expecting much to happen Saturday, since I know it needs work and I'm fairly new, but one of the guys I work with plays in these tournaments alot and he said that with the way my deck sits now, I could probably win a few games. I'm not worried about winning, I'm going mainly to learn some more and have some fun playing. Thank you for all the suggestions. Once I start getting cards to help this decks yours will be the first I look into getting once I figure out what I'm going to want to do.
July 29, 2016 1:07 p.m.
well the most important thing is to have a fun time, enjoy yourself and don't forget to learn from you mistakes. take notes about what works and what doesn't. play a few matches and then use the performance of the deck as a springboard to make specific changes.
good luck, have fun.
July 29, 2016 1:14 p.m.
Dakotasayre says... #7
ChiefBell I managed to go (2-2) and placing 3rd overall. There were only 6 of is including the store owner so it wasnt a sanctioned event, and we played double elimination. I did make a few changes to my deck before we got started and ibposted all that on the deck page in the updates if you wanted to check it out
ChiefBell says... #2
This deck is not very suitable for tournament play, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, a lot of your answer cards cost 3 mana (Oblivion Ring, Banishing Light, Claustrophobia, Cancel, Deny Existence). These need to become 1 or 2 mana answers to remain relevant in modern. Lots of people will be playing 1 and 2 mana creatures. If your answer cards cost more than their threats then you will lose because they can play the game faster than you. For example, on turn 4 your opponent can play two creatures. On your turn 4 you only have enough mana to answer one creature. You are now behind in the game. This principle is a rough description of what we call "tempo". Some ideas of alternatives include Mana Leak, Remand, Spell Snare, Path to Exile, Azorius Charm, and more Journey to Nowhere.
Secondly, many of your answers are very narrow. Slayer of the Wicked is not going to do much in modern. Negate is going to miss A LOT of potent cards in modern. Suspension Field will also miss some key creatures such as Goblin Guide, that you really need to answer. As I said before look for more generic answers. Mana Leak counters any spell. Path to Exile exiles any creature. Likewise, so does Journey to Nowhere.
Thirdly, your creatures are underwhelming. You have a lot of 2/2s and 3/3s which won't really get the job done very fast, especially given that they lack evasion like flying or menace. This means they will be blocked easily and aren't doing huge amounts of damage when they hit. Furthermore none of your creatures have flash which means that every turn you need to decide whether you use your mana in your turn for a creature, or leave it open to play a counterspells in the opponents turn. Every wrong decision here could cost you the entire game. Look for evasive creatures or creatures with flash to make your life easier. Unfortunately humans is not a very good deck for this because none of them fulfil either criteria. Things like Aven Mindcensor and Deputy of Acquittals can help. As can Dimensional Infiltrator. Another really strong card is Eldrazi Skyspawner because it essentially only costs 2 mana to play given that you can sacrifice the token it makes for an extra mana.
Fourth. Your overall deck strategy seems confused. In modern, decks that mix creatures with counterspells have to be very careful about how they play, as I said earlier. If you play a creature on turn 2 and then the opponent plays Liliana of the Veil on their turn 3 - you just lost the game, simply because you didn't hold up mana for a Mana Leak when you should have done. This kind of decision making is HARD and it costs even the best of players games. To make these decisions easier these decks do one of two things. 1) They don't play any creatures at all, only control spells, until they have a guaranteed win and then play an unkillable creature like AEtherling. This is traditional control. 2) They play the cheapest creatures available like Delver of Secrets Flip or Monastery Swiftspear so that as early as turn 3 they can both play a 1 mana creature AND then hold mana up for a Mana Leak as well. This strategy of cheap creatures allows you to do a bit of everything without wasting all your mana on any single play. This is known as a tempo deck. Mixing high mana cost creatures with high mana cost control does not work. You need to strike a balance somewhere and this comes in either leaving the creatures aside until the later stages OR minimising the mana costs of every play you make to the greatest extent possible.
Fifth. Your mana base is a bit dodgy. You lack dual lands such as Glacial Fortress, Hallowed Fountain, Tranquil Cove and others. The key to any deck in modern is being able to play pretty consistently and behind consistency is a mana base that works. If you play Claustrophobia and Fiend Hunter you need to be able to play either of these cards on turn 3 every single game. This means out of 3 mana available you need
AND 
. In order to achieve this at least one or your lands has to tap for 
. Lands that come in untapped are a lot better than lands that come in tapped. Especially in a deck like yours. Glacial Fortress will probably serve you well.
Pro tips:
July 29, 2016 4:16 a.m.