Splinter Twin down! Summer Bloom down! I can’t say I’m happy to see Splinter Twin go, but I get it. It’s a crutch in the format. If you own four Scalding Tarn and weren’t playing Twin, well you were likely not playing the correct deck in Modern. Bloom is dumb I get it, but I don’t really care that much, it was a small enough part of the meta and not exactly a deck you could just pick up and win with on your first try, so I really don’t care that much about its loss.
What does this mean for the meta now?
Modern is an innovator’s format right now. Twin made control decks nervous, and aggro decks often had trouble racing. Combo decks just didn’t have enough interaction to deal. All those decks get a leg up now. Imagine the meta before KTK—let me rephrase that. What did the meta look like before “Cruise Winter”?
Pod
Twin (UR, Grixis, RUG)
UWR Control
Tron (RG and U)
Affinity
Burn
Rock
Infect
Delver
ScapeShift
Ad Nauseam
Storm
Merfolk
Blue Moon
Of those decks we have still viable only a few of those archtypes.
UWR Control (largely absent)
Affinity (gaining ground)
Burn (always on the fringes waiting to pounce)
Rock (Still a deck, JUNK and JUND)
Infect (out there but not super present)
Delver (extinct as players moved to Twin after Cruise was banned)
Let’s add the new decks that are out there since Cruise was banned.
Eldrazi (flavor of the month)
Grixis Control (delve control)
Collect Company
Zoo (Naya Burn)
Lantern Control
Right, on so that’s a solid, if not totally complete look at the meta. What do I expect to come as the result of these bannings?
I’d wager that Twin players will move toward other blue decks that will pop up after the pro tour showcases something in that vein. There will be a spike in Affinity and the New Eldrazi Deck as well. Expect some Tempo decks like Delver to gain ground—banning Treasure Cruise didn’t kill the deck it just gave Twin move room to work.
For my money, at least until I see something more enticing I’m going to fall back to UWR Control. I’ll be on KIKI Control this week.
Kiki Control Pre Cruise
| Lands (25) 3 Arid Mesa 4 Celestial Colonnade 1 Clifftop Retreat 3 Flooded Strand 1 Hallowed Fountain 2 Island 1 Mountain 1 Plains 1 Sacred Foundry 3 Scalding Tarn 2 Steam Vents 2 Sulfur Falls 1 Tectonic Edge Creatures (12) 2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 4 Restoration Angel 3 Snapcaster Mage 3 Wall of Omens Spells (23) 3 Electrolyze 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 3 Mana Leak 4 Path to Exile 2 Remand 3 Spell Snare | Sideboard (15) 1 Aven Mindcensor 1 Counterflux 1 Dispel 2 Izzet Staticaster 2 Kitchen Finks 1 Negate 2 Sowing Salt 1 Spellskite 2 Stony Silence 2 Wear / Tear |
This seems like a good place to start. The deck hasn’t really seen play since the advent of Cruise. So let’s update it!
Kiki Control Post Cruise
| Lands (24) 4 Flooded Strand 3 Celestial Colonnade 2 Hallowed Fountain 3 Island 1 Mountain 1 Plains 1 Sacred Foundry 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Steam Vents 1 Desolate Lighthouse 1 Tectonic Edge 1 Ghost Quarter Creatures (12) 2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 4 Restoration Angel 3 Snapcaster Mage 2 Vendillion Clique 1 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy Spells (24) 4 Cyptic Command 2 Electrolyze 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Mana Leak 3 Path to Exile 4 Remand 3 Lightning Helix 1 Anger of the Gods 1 Supreme Veridct | Sideboard (15) 1 Aven Mindcensor 1 Counterflux 1 Dispel 2 Izzet Staticaster 2 Kitchen Finks 1 Negate 2 Crumble to Dust 1 Spellskite 2 Stony Silence 2 Wear / Tear |
The other idea I have is a pretty simple one. Just play Twin! Remove the Twins and add in Kiki Jiki, Mirror Breaker. It’s a turn slower sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this deck thriving in the new meta. People are going to remove their Rending Volleys from their sideboards, and Spellskite doesn’t affect this combo. So in the first weeks of the new modern meta you’ll have a nice hate free window to attack with infinite 1/4 and 2/1s.
Zac Clark
Zac Clark is the Founder of Hipsters of the Coast. An avid gamer since his early teens, Zac can often be found in Brooklyn either playing games or taking photos. When he’s not drawing extra cards, wrathing boards and countering spells, he’s taking pictures of other peoples good times and listening to 90’s Music.