How to overcome 8-Rack
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on May 6, 2017, 1:37 a.m. by PanicButton
At my local shop the biggest threat I face is an 8-rack deck. Does anyone have any advice for defeating one?
PanicButton says... #3
I've got an array of decks. token; soldiers; dragons; and the cheapest infect deck money can buy. I have other decks in other formats to draw from and I tend to favor Blue despite the lack of a blue modern deck.
May 6, 2017 1:54 a.m.
Ratchet Bomb is a decent answer to their win conditions (Shrieking Affliction and The Rack both have the same casting cost) for the budget-aware magicplayer.
Leyline of Sanctity is, as mentioned, a very solid answer. Aegis of the Gods for deck with white can be a suitable budget-replacement.
May 6, 2017 4:02 a.m.
Leyline of Sanctity is a great card for decks that play white.
there's also things like Loxodon Smiter and Wilt-Leaf Liege. (technically you could put this in any color but it does get a bit worse)
red has Ignorant Bliss but that's not super amazing. Guerrilla Tactics is a fun addition.
black can run discard to grab their discard. or maybe some madness cards. i don't exactly know what the best option is.
May 6, 2017 4:02 a.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #6
I play 8-Rack and that's great to hear. As for stopping the deck, most of the suggestions above work well like Leyline of Sanctity and Ratchet Bomb. If you're looking for a deck to just screw 8-Rack over, then Making discard players cry since 2016 is perfect for that.
May 6, 2017 9:10 a.m.
is it one of those balls-deep 8 racks? or one of the budget ones? I run the budget one, and it makes a difference either one.
May 6, 2017 11:45 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #8
May 6, 2017 12:10 p.m.
PanicButton says... #9
These are all really good suggestions thanks a lot guys. I'm gonna start work on a aggro that covers discard.
Homura_Akemi I really like that deck you suggested but it's about 900 dollars out of my budget lol.
May 6, 2017 1:27 p.m.
I'm not sure Pithing Needle would help, because The Rack and Shrieking Affliction both only have triggered abilities.
May 7, 2017 8 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #12
Pithing Needle shuts down Liliana of the Veil and if they're mono black the options to remove it are very limited.
May 7, 2017 11:01 a.m.
One option is blowing up their Ensnaring Bridge and racing them, after all that card is the biggest asset of the deck.
However doing so is problematic since you need to draw into it, as bridge wont be on the field before turn 3 and they will try to strip the answers out of your hand.
To combat this tactic the best is to use artifact destruction that is useful when not in hand Ancient Grudge, Seal of Primordium, Qasali Pridemage, Torch Fiend are all good answers for it (in this order), while being good against other matchups that rely on artifacts.
Plan B is to just hate on the fact that many of their discard spells need a "target player" - otherwise the 8 racks would punish them just as much as you.
Here is the selesction of cards that offer this effect in modern: Leyline of Sanctity, Witchbane Orb, Ivory Mask, Imperial Mask, Orbs of Warding, Aegis of the Gods, True Believer, Sigarda, Heron's Grace
May 8, 2017 6:38 a.m.
PanicButton says... #14
UPDATE: Thank you everyone for all the advice. I built a Hatebears deck and crushed not only the 8-rack but an infect deck as well!
Matt_The_OGRE says... #2
Leyline of Sanctity works well against 8 rack.
What colors are you playing?
May 6, 2017 1:45 a.m.