Color pairings that are poorly defined& represented mechanically/thematically in Modern
Modern forum
Posted on Aug. 16, 2015, 8:45 p.m. by forestlore44
Everyone knows exactly what Izset and Golgari colours do and are about since they've dominated Modern decks from the beginning and will do so for the foreseeable fututure it seems. Others like Selesnya, Boros, Gruul and Azorious I can easily get beer stand and there are a few decks in those colors. But what of the other color pairings? Even despite RTR coming not too long ago, some of these other guilds felt somewhat lacking in respect to their overall mechanics/ flavour and likewise lack a competitive deck in these colors in a modern. Take for example Simic, other than +1/+1 counters what does that do exactly? The same could also be said for Rakdos, dimir, and orzhov....
The only modern deck in Dimir colors is faries, and even then it isn't even played. Why? Blue has VERY FEW good counter & draw spells despite those two things being what blue is supposed to do best. All the good cards get banned.
And black is supposed to be the best at creature removal but in modern the best creature removal is Path to Exile, which as you can see is white.
Those two colors so called "strengths" in modern are actually better if you look for them in other colors.
And as far as creatures go, blue has Delver of Secrets Flip and that's about it, and that card wants to be played in a blue/red tempo shell.
Blacks creatures are....Tasigur, the Golden Fang? And... Well, I can't think of any.
Unless blue gets a card like Counterspell and maybe even an instant speed Divination it won't be the "control" color it is supposed to be.
And black needs a 1cmc killspell that is somehow better than path to exile to keep up.
And sadly, neither of those things will happen. It's a sad time being a Dimir player if you're into modern.
Probably not actually relevant to the modern meta game but I'd love to see Psychatog get a reprint and become modern legal. I think he would be a good build around me finisher that can be fairly dealt with, but can also enable graveyard strategies with his instant discard effect. Possibly a Gifts Ungiven reanimator deck? Who knows right?
August 16, 2015 9:21 p.m.
Rakdos is best, and I mean at it's absolute best, when it's using lots of cards that are "unfun". Things like Manabarbs, Spellshock, Sulfuric Vortex etc. If you can punish an opponent from just playing the game, and make sure their life stays even just 1 or 2 points lower than yours you can win. WotC doesn't like to print "unfun" stuff at a competitively playable mana cost though so don't count on this happening, like ever.
Dimir is all about milling. Until you can mill faster than Splinter Twin can combo or mono 
can burn it just doesn't matter.
This is quintessential Orzhov: Teysa, Orzhov Scion - Not necessarily to slow, we have enough 1 and 2 drop 
creatures to play, but to vulnerable for modern.
Simic really does nothing special enough to right home about. Like Orzhov it's creature synergies are extremely flimsy. The good thing is it's the best color for getting infinite turns. The bad thing is it's asking to much to get to do this in modern vs all the removal options your opponents have.
August 16, 2015 9:40 p.m.
Um... Grixis delver says hello? Black excels at hand disruption. That's really what has become its go-to strength. Also, Dismember and Terminate are both pretty widely played, so it's not like Black has no removal. Blue/Black, unfortunately, has always been relegated to mill based strategies, which I find highly disappointing. I was hoping WoTC would come up with something new for Phenax, but alas, back to the same old tired routine. As long as that continues, U/B will pretty much always need a third color to be competitive.
August 16, 2015 9:41 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #7
UG is poison, duh. Obvious.jpg. That or Scapeshift.
Competitive players don't care much for flavor or color pie stuff.
There is a toxic amount of misinformation in this thread.
August 16, 2015 10:12 p.m. Edited.
Mm this is something I've had the hardest time accepting "Competitive players don't care much for flavor or color pie stuff." I know it's true and know why it's true and why they don't care. It just took me a long time to get there after first being most interested in cards that work well with other cards or create powerful effects when combined.
The players who most consistently win year after year at my shop just player whatever colors offer the best cards. More specifically, they play the best cards that don't require any other cards to work regardless of color. It's very rare for me to see people who consistently top 4 stop playing MTG because they don't like how boring it is to them or how much they'd rather play something more "fun".
August 16, 2015 10:29 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #9
Regaurding Path,
Granted none of these are on Path to Exile's level but Vendetta Darkblast Tragic Slip and the already mentioned Dismember do exist.
I kind of see Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek as 's 1CMC kill spells.
August 16, 2015 11:05 p.m.
PepsiAddicted says... #10
Orzhov had the precon token deck, lots of ppl started their modern career with that
August 17, 2015 3:44 a.m.
The 4 guilds not represented in the original post:
Dimir - UB faeries - I really like the deck and it has been getting some attention and top 8s at tournaments. Also, it is 100% on point with what both colors do when combined. Very cool to use IMO.
Orzhov - it does not do enough, partly because it features the two colors least used in modern and it lacks overlap. BW tokens is still pretty powerful, though not necessarily representative of the guild. BW hatebears is out there, I guess. Best used in combination with another color. Blood Baron of Vizkopa is a veritable beast though.
Simic - Eternal command is a very cool deck in those colors that deserves more love than it gets. It consists of the two most broken colors in modern right now and really needs a bit of a push over the edge to be broken in two.
Rakdos - see Orzhov above.
I have to echo Epoch's comment above. You will never extort on the Modern tables. It is incredibly hard to have a competitive deck that is focused on flavor, because that means the deck is not focused on being competitive. I am not trying to say that flavorful decks belong on the kitchen table only, but rather that you have a trade-off between flavor and competitiveness.
August 17, 2015 5:29 a.m.
Yggdrasil60 says... #12
Sure that Gurmag Angler, Dark Confidant, Vault Skirge, Griselbrand and Fulminator Mage aren't play in any competitive modern deck...
Path to Exile has an huge drawback, it's not the best removal in modern, just the best White decks can play (or at least, not decidedly the best). What about Terminate, Lightning Bolt, Dismember and Abrupt Decay ?
August 17, 2015 5:41 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #13
Orzhov is probably the closest you are going to get to seeing its archetype in competitive modern with tokens. Golgari could be seen as a close second with dredgevine, but that usually contains 1 or 2 other splashed colours as well. Selesnya as a weak third with hatebears just barely looking up to its theme in RTR. Azorious sees play in control, though most will go to American for that. Dimir faeries, as mentioned before, does see fringe play as well.
August 17, 2015 6:08 a.m.
canterlotguardian says... #14
GlistenerAgent I feel like the last part of your post needs a bit of clarifying. Were you referring to the actual thread topic itself, or were you referring to the people who had commented on it before you?
August 17, 2015 11:25 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #15
I like the days when straight 
reigned supreme. No need for the X.
August 17, 2015 12:06 p.m. Edited.
Femme_Fatale says... #16
Since the people providing information in this thread are the ones posting in comments, I presume he is referring to the commentators, canterlotguardian.
Epochalyptik says... #2
The competitive meta is based on what's good, especially in relation to what else is good. There's absolutely no guarantee—nor should there be—that every guild is represented in terms of color or theme (theme has no impact on what's playable competitively). The guilds are only one part of the game, and they're canonically relevant to only one plane. They don't represent the entirety of the potential of their colors, nor do they claim to.
The function of color pairs varies from block to block, and there are certain overarching functions. Not every color pair has equal representation at either the design level or the competitive play level.
August 16, 2015 9:11 p.m.