Last weekend featured two MagicFests in Bilbao and Tampa, with Modern taking center stage. In addition to the two main events, MF Bilbao also hosted two Modern MCQs. Four different decks won these events—two with Ancient Stirrings and two with Faithless Looting. Let’s look a little deeper.
Modern MCQs in Bilbao
The first MCQ of the weekend saw five archetypes represented in the Top 8, with three Izzet Phoenix and two Tron decks alongside single copies of Titanshift, Dredge, and Hardened Scales. Roald Smet won the event with Mono-Green Tron.
Mono-Green Tron, by Roald Smet
World Breaker is a nice addition that does a lot against the top decks in the metagame. The exile ability comes up at lot, and the 5/7 body with reach blocks basically everything, phoenixes included. Tron does well against Dredge, so it makes sense to shore up the Izzet Phoenix matchup. Expect to see more World Breaker in Tron over the coming months.
Wurmcoil Engine should make a big resurgence too in this aggressive metagame. People have stopped playing Path to Exile. Will that change?
The second MCQ had six different decks in the Top 8. (Yes, Phoenix got two.) Alvaro Fernandez took the top prize piloting Hardened Scales Affinity.
Hardened Affinity, by Alvaro Fernandez
| Creatures (21) 4 Arcbound Ravager 4 Arcbound Worker 4 Hangarback Walker 4 Walking Ballista 4 Steel Overseer 1 Spellskite Spells (19) 4 Animation Module 4 Mox Opal 3 Welding Jar 4 Ancient Stirrings 4 Hardened Scales | Lands (16) 5 Forest 1 Blinkmoth Nexus 2 Horizon Canopy 4 Inkmoth Nexus 2 Llanowar Reborn 1 Pendelhaven 1 Phyrexia’s Core Sideboard (14) 3 Damping Sphere 1 Evolutionary Leap 3 Grafdigger’s Cage 2 Dismember 1 Pithing Needle 4 Nature’s Claim |
Hardened Affinity is one of the best Ancient Stirrings decks, but it takes heavy practice to play well. Seasoned pilots can achieve success with such an intricate deck. It’s important to remember that if a deck is under-represented, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s terrible. We’re beginning to see the Affinity archetype on the rise once again, with Frenzied Affinity also making waves. Modern is all about explosiveness, so expect the Affinity trend to continue.
MF Main Events
Roughly 1600 players came to Bilbao, Spain to battle Modern in the main event. The day two metagame was full of Izzet Phoenix, with more than 20% of day two decks on that archetype. The next most represented decks were Tron, Burn, Humans, Dredge, and Golgari Midrange.
Two of the Phoenix pilots landed in the Top 8. They were joined by three copies of Dregde plus RG Valakut, Death’s Shadow Zoo, and Whir Prison. In the end, Guillaume Matignon claimed the trophy, flying his phoenixes past Louis-Samuel Deltour’s Whir Prison in the finals.
Izzet Phoenix, by Guillaume Matignon
| Creatures (10) 4 Arclight Phoenix 2 Crackling Drake 4 Thing in the Ice Spells (32) 4 Faithless Looting 1 Gut Shot 1 Izzet Charm 1 Lightning Axe 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Manamorphose 2 Pyromancer Ascension 4 Serum Visions 2 Surgical Extraction 4 Thought Scour 4 Opt 1 Echoing Truth | Lands (18) 2 Polluted Delta 4 Scalding Tarn 4 Spirebluff Canal 2 Steam Vents 1 Sulfur Falls 3 Island 2 Mountain Sideboard (15) 1 Abrade 1 Anger of the Gods 2 Blood Moon 1 Ceremonious Rejection 2 Dispel 2 Dragon's Claw 1 Flame Slash 1 Hurkyl's Recall 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Ravenous Trap 1 Shatterstorm 1 Spell Pierce |
Another thousand players sleeved up for the Modern main event at MagicFest Tampa. Just like in Bilbao, Izzet Phoenix was by far the most represented deck in day two, with just under 20%. Similarly, the four other decks with more than 5% of the day two field were Burn, Tron, Humans, and Dredge.
Humans have made a bit of a comeback in these events, thanks in large part to Anafenza, the Foremost. She does a number on graveyard strategies that rely on creatures, since she exiles them from hitting the bin. With the help of Aether Vial, you can drop her at any time.
The Top 8 in Tampa starred four phoenix decks, but Rosen Eapan won it all with Grixis Death’s Shadow.
Grixis Death's Shadow, by Rosen Eapan
Grixis Death’s Shadow offers a quick, disruptive deck with solid matchups across the metagame. It can be difficult to learn and play because of the counter-intuitive use of your life as a resource, but the deck rewards practice.
Note that Sleight of Hand is becoming popular in the deck. Like Faithless Looting, Sleight of Hand lets you select a key card from the top of your deck. Modern demands that you dig for and play a cheap threat on the same turn. Serum Visions can be too slow.
Overall, we’re continuing to see Izzet Phoenix become the lynchpin of Modern. Cards such as Chalice of the Void and Anafenza the Foremost have been cropping up to fight phoenixes—both are good cards against the metagame in general. Despite Izzet Phoenix’s success, the rest of the metagame looks diverse and fun.
Emma is a writer and Modern enthusiast based in Suffolk, England. She has been involved in Magic since Khans of Tarkir’s release back in 2014, but won’t shy away from Cube and MTG Arena. Follow her on Twitter @emmmzyne to join in on the conversation!