Jesse Robkin NRG Milwaukee Tournament Report
Hi friends! My name is Jesse Robkin (she/her), a Chicago-based writer, theatre artist, and – most noteworthy to you all – Magic player. This past weekend I was fortunate enough to Top 8 the NRGSeries Modern $5k in Milwaukee with my favorite deck in the format: UW Control!
Deck Selection: I agonized for about 2 weeks leading up to the event about which deck I should play. UW felt good-not-great in the November NRGSeries $5K, and I thought I might be better served with a more powerful deck. I tested a few alternatives: 4c Yorion Money Pile, Grixis Death’s Shadow, and even briefly considered Hammer. These three decks and Amulet Titan are what I consider to be the “Tier 1” of Modern, so I thought that picking one of them would maximize my chances of doing well in Milwaukee. But after trying them out, I just wasn’t finding myself performing any better than I had been with UW. All the decks are incredibly intricate and hard to play, and while they definitely felt strong, they didn’t seem to be head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Ultimately, I came to a conclusion that I still believe to be true now, after the 8-round tournament: there are no “broken” decks in Modern. Every deck has a weakness, every deck has a fail rate, and I would be better off sticking with what I know best.
Therefore, instead of changing to a different deck, I tuned the deck I already had to the metagame I expected: all 4 of the aforementioned decks (4c Yorion, Grixis DS, Hammer, and Titan), plus a smattering of Burn and Jund (this would be a paper Modern tournament after all). I also mostly ignored the UR Murktide deck, as my experience has led me to believe that matchup is the closest thing UW Control ever gets to a bye.
Deck Construction: The main deck I kept relatively stock. I’m a huge proponent of the 1-of Jace, the Mind Sculptor over a 3rd Memory Deluge or 3rd Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. The planeswalker is, of course, incredibly powerful and great in grindy matchups, and in my opinion the downside of its fragility is overstated. I also opted to play a 2nd Chalice of the Void main over the 2nd Shark Typhoon due to the uptick in GDS off the back of MTGO user SoulStrong’s impressive string of success. My sideboard, too, I constructed to prey on Hammer and GDS. I hoped to dodge Money Pile and Amulet Titan as much as possible, but I did have a plan for the latter: simply draw Dress Down. [Link to Will Krueger’s tweet: https://twitter.com/Will__Krueger/status/1471879098356150277?s=20]
With my deck selected and finalized, I showed up to the convention center well-rested and ready to battle!
Round 1: Boros Burn (2-0)
My first round opponent was my friend Zoe. A common face (and excellent player) at the NRGSeries Trials, I knew going into the match that she’d be on Burn. I don’t play any Burn hate in my sideboard because I prefer to rely on two key cards: Solitude and Teferi, Time Raveler. Solitude is pretty self-explanatory; lifelink against Burn is good. Teferi, though, is the underrated M.V.P. of the matchup. A resolved Teferi, Time Raveler means your opponent won’t be able to burn your face on your end step, which puts pressure on your counterspells. Plus, if you have Teferi in play, you can safely cast Solitude on your opponent’s Turn 5 end step and start cracking in for 3 lifelink damage every turn while protecting the creature with countermagic.
In my first game against Zoe, I put these two cards to great use, picking up a clean game 1.
Sideboarding in this matchup is tricky, specifically because of Chalice of the Void. I am a vocal student of the Wafo-Tapa school of “Board out Chalice versus Burn.” It may seem counter-intuitive, but there are several good reasons why he does this. First of all, Chalice is worse against Burn than you might think. The deck plays 8 1 mana burn spells that are actually 3 mana spells, and even the 1 drops that it does counter are fairly low-impact. Chalice is also very slow, often giving the Burn player time to empty the 1 drops from their hand before the card resolves. And lastly, Burn players run a full 4 copies of Smash to Smithereens in their sideboards. And because everyone knows UW Control is a Chalice deck in Post-MH2 Modern, they’re usually priced into boarding some number of Smash in. This means if they draw Smash and you don’t have Chalice in your deck, you’ve effectively Time Walked them.
In game 2, Zoe drew one of her Smashes, and with no targets in play, it was indeed a dead draw. I was able to stabilize at 1 life and go on to win the game.
Sideboarding: -2 Chalice of the Void, -3 Supreme Verdict, -1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor -1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria; +2 Celestial Purge, +2 Dovin’s Veto, +1 Force of Negation, +2 Shark Typhoon
Overall Record: 1-0
Round 2: Jeskai Control (2-0)
In the 2nd round I played against another UW Control deck, except with a heavier red splash for Fire // Ice and Expressive Iteration. I think their variation on the archetype is pretty heavily favored in the matchup thanks to Iteration, perhaps one of the 5 best cards in Modern. Fortunately for me they flooded out game 1 while I was able to curve out. Game 2 was one of the most intense I played all day. At a certain point in the game, my opponent had me at 1 life with 2 Solitudes in play and 36 life of their own. I, meanwhile, had used all 4 of my Solitudes already and had boarded out my Supreme Verdicts. I also had to be careful not to die to a Fire // Ice to the face. Off the backs of Shark Typhoon, Spreading Seas, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and good ol’ Counterspell, I won the game.
Sideboarding: -3 Supreme Verdict, -2 Chalice of the Void; +2 Dovin’s Veto, +1 Force of Negation, +2 Shark Typhoon
Overall Record: 2-0
Round 3: Amulet Titan (0-2)
The 3rd round found me facing down Amulet Titan in the backup Feature Match. Historically a terrible matchup for UW, it got a bit better after MH2 thanks to Prismatic Ending, Counterspell, and most importantly Solitude. Unfortunately for me, it got a lot worse after Innistrad: Crimson Vow with the introduction of Cultivator Colossus, a card UW can never beat if it resolves. Between Primeval Titan, Colossus, and Karn, the Great Creator, my opponent overloaded my interaction in a close game 1 and absolutely wiped the floor with me in game 2.
Sideboarding: -1 Chalice of the Void, -2 Supreme Verdict, -1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor; +2 Dress Down, +2 Shark Typhoon
Overall Record: 2-1
Round 4: Amulet Titan (2-1)
I got my revenge on Amulet in the following round. We played a close 3-game match wherein I drew a lot of countermagic and cast a few Supreme Verdicts at instant speed.
Sideboarding: Same as Round 3
Overall Record: 3-1
Round 5: Golgari Yawgmoth (2-0)
I don’t think this is a great matchup, but there’s some play to it. The issue is a resolved Yawgmoth pretty much always nets the Golgari player 2-3+ extra cards, even if you have removal for it immediately. The deck has a lot of redundancy for both Yawgmoth and Grist (11-12 copies thanks to the tutors). Grist in particular is a nightmare, as tapping 3 mana to Prismatic Ending it on your turn is dangerous versus such a potent combo deck. Teferi, Time Raveler is great in this matchup as it makes Chord of Calling a much worse card. Post sideboard, Teferi also neutralizes Veil of Summer. I spent both games protecting my Teferi as long as possible. At the end of the match, my opponent revealed the two Veils he had stuck in hand, which I had already suspected based on how the game played out.
Sideboarding: -4 Spreading Seas, -1 Chalice of the Void, -1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor; +2 Celestial Purge, +2 Dress Down, +2 Rest in Peace
Overall Record: 4-1
Round 6: UW Control (2-0)
I went into this round feeling pretty good about being 4-1 after 4 bad matchups in a row. I was also feeling nervous, though, because this is often around the time of day when my quality of play takes a nosedive. I started all 5 of the previous solo NRG events in 2021 4-1 before promptly picking up my second loss in round 6, eliminating me from Top 8 contention.
My opponent was NRGSeries grinder Joe Bernal on UW Control. Great. A mirror against an expert in the archetype in the round that always eliminates me. I buckled down, shuffled up, and the match started.
Game 1 was one of the grindiest games I played all day. It started out as a typical control mirror. But about half way through the game, Joe made a land drop that completely changed the dynamic of the game: it turned out his build of UW was playing Hall of Heliod’s Generosity to rebuy Shark Typhoons. What had been a roughly even game so far quickly swung in his favor.
We spent the next few turns fighting over whether or not he’d be allowed to have the Hall or not. I’d Spreading Seas the Hall, he’d Prismatic Ending my Seas, rinse, repeat. On a turn late in the game, after he’d cleared the Spreading Seas from his Hall yet again, I flash backed my Memory Deluge on his end step. He thought for a minute, then let the spell resolve.
Immediately I knew my win probability had skyrocketed. Since the printing of Memory Deluge, I have never lost a game after resolving the flashback mode of the card on an opponent’s end step. I untapped with 9 cards in my hand and was ready to force a Teferi, Time Raveler through Joe’s countermagic. From that point on, I had firm control over the game. I drew mostly gas and had answers to everything Joe did. After about 27 minutes, I was up a game.
Game 2 was much less interesting, as Joe got heavily mana screwed. In the end, I was able to pull out the win against an incredibly tough opponent.
Sideboarding: Same as Round 2
Overall Record: 5-1
Round 7: Grixis Death’s Shadow (2-0)
I sat down for Round 7 opposite another friend of mine, Ethan. I knew he was on Grixis Shadow, one of the two decks I showed up trying to beat. Yet after 7 hours of Magic, this was my first time playing against either of them. That’s Modern for you.
This matchup is pretty good for UW, but it’s highly skill-testing. Efficient threats + discard spells are a great strategy for getting under a Control deck, and Expressive Iteration is an excellent way to reload. Postboard, Tourach is obviously a house. The key to this matchup from the UW side is to lean into the grindy, 1-for-1 nature of the matchup. Don’t spew resources, prioritize hitting your land drops, and don’t let the Grixis player get you off balance. I want to see exactly one Supreme Verdict in a given game, and I absolutely do not want to evoke Solitude if I can at all avoid it. The player who plans out their turns further in advance is the player who will win.
Sideboarding: -4 Spreading Seas, -3 Counterspell; +1 Chalice of the Void, +2 Celestial Purge, +2 Rest in Peace, +2 Shark Typhoon
Overall Record: 6-1
Round 8: Hammer Time (ID)
Round 8 I was paired against NRGSeries G.O.A.T. Will Krueger. We did the math and decided to Intentionally Draw to have a good chance for us both to make Top 8. We were sweating some breakers, but the odds seemed greater than 50% that we’d both make the cut. And ultimately, even if I like the Hammer matchup for UW, I decided rather take my chances with tiebreakers than risk blowing my shot in a match against the best player in the room.
Sideboarding (if I’d done it): -1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor, -4 Counterspell; +2 Dress Down, +1 Fracturing Gust, +2 Shark Typhoon
Overall Record: 6-1-1
Quarterfinals: 4c Yorion “Money Pile” (0-2)
I had done it! My first ever NRGSeries Top 8! After missing the cutoff all season long, tournament after tournament, I was honestly just ecstatic to be one of the last 8 standing. I surveyed my potential matchups and I felt good about all of them except for one: the dreaded 4 color Yorion–Omnath Midrange Deck, or what I like to think of as “2-for-1 Tribal”. The deck simply has too many value cards for my deck of 1-for-1s and big splashy card advantage engines to keep up with. We received our pairings, and my heart sunk: the 4 color Yorion deck was my Quarterfinals adversary.
We played a great match with two close games, but both times my opponent was able to outvalue me in the long run. In retrospect, I think I spent too much time fighting over the little things, particularly Eternal Witness and early Expressive Iterations. The Omnath deck is going to get their 2-for-1s, so trying to fight these more minor 2-for-1s with countermagic is a fruitless endeavor. Instead I was supposed to focus on resolving one of my planeswalkers, keeping the board as clear as possible, and saving my countermagic for the big whammies like Omnath, Fury, and Teferi, Time Raveler.
I did have a pretty sick top deck of the untapped land I needed to activate Hall of Storm Giants and kill a 7-loyalty Wrenn and Six in game 2, but apart from that I was defeated by my opponent’s stellar play and his 80 card pile of value.
Sideboarding: -1 Prismatic Ending, -4 Spreading Seas -2 Chalice of the Void; +2 Celestial Purge +2 Dovin’s Veto +1 Force of Negation +2 Shark Typhoon.
Conclusion: Modern is an incredibly fun and diverse format, and I had an absolute blast at NRGSeries Milwaukee. I feel satisfied with my deck choice, and am a huge proponent of UW Control going forward, especially if you put in the time and work to learn how the deck operates against the known quantities of the format. All in all, I’m thrilled to have been fortunate enough to Top 8 this event, and I absolutely cannot wait to get back out there and compete in the 2022 Series Season 1.
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