Keenan Davidson: Beating Public Enemy #1
Banned &Restricted announcement:
Jace, the Mind Sculptor is Unbanned
Bloodbraid Elf is Unbanned
This is essentially what I woke up to that morning, which may also have been the case for many of you:
https://media.giphy.com/media/RkMuw6XZxPqNy/giphy.gif
While many people ignored the fact that Bloodbraid Elf was unbanned, everywhere I looked on social media, most people were in the camp that Jace was broken beyond belief and Wizards of the Coast just ruined modern. I am here today to tell you to relax. This is not legacy.
There is no Daze, Force of Will, Brainstorm, Ponder, True-Name Nemesis, or Stoneforge Mystic. This 4 mana Planeswalker that many will play incorrectly or at the wrong time will not be the boogeyman of your format. Will this card generate incremental advantages over time while in play, yes. Is this card a significant upgrade for blue decks, yes. Will there be 28 copies of it in the top 8 of any major tournament, no. What people tend to forget is that the last time Jace was legal in a format without Force of Will and Wasteland, it essentially was U/W Stoneblade in standard (Stoneforge, Preordain, Batterskull, Gitaxian Probe) and was easily the most powerful thing to be doing. Modern is a whole new playing field. While people will be jamming Jace’s, I am here to give you some of the alternatives to go about beating the new kid in town.
When breaking down what a control deck is going to look like with Jace you have two options of beating your opponent, go over the top or stay as low to the ground as possible. By going over the top your forcing these control decks and their answers to line up appropriately with what you are doing in modern which is not always easy with the card selection we currently have. One of the first options you can turn to is a favorite among many modern players, Tron:
Prior to the banning, seeing your opponent go Tron piece into Expedition Map sunk a lot of opponents into their seat as they knew going in that on turn three they were more than likely to stare down a Karn or a Wurmcoil Engine with the possibility of multiple Ulamogs to follow. While blue based control decks already fight Decks like Tron with answers such as Field of Ruins or Spreading Seas, these answers have to continuously line up with cards that Tron is presenting each turn. I am a big fan of the Mono Green Tron lists that have popped up more recently due to the nature of Field of Ruins because it allows the Tron player to continue to make land drops without the fear of those lands becoming Wastelands after the first to second copies are used.
If going big with Tron isn’t up to your liking you may be interested in one of my favorites. Let me show you the way to my good old friend Primeval Titan and his friend Scapeshift:
One of my pet decks on this list, Scapeshift presents Jace decks with the issue of not being able to interact soon enough with cards like Prismatic Omen and making natural land drops as well as Turn 4 Primeval Titans coming down presenting the issue of not being able to answer both spells and the natural damage coming from turn to turn land drops off of Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. The list above is missing a card that will become a staple against Jace decks and is also a card I never leave home without when I sleeve up this deck, Thrun, the Last Troll. As a 4/4 Hexproof creature that can also regenerate through Supreme Verdict, this card will present issues for the four mana walker alongside the threat of dying to land’s and 6/6’s.
But Keenan what about the little guys who don’t want to cast 6 and 7 mana threats!? Don’t you worry audience I have a something for those wanting to attack and not even worry about their opponents brainstorming friend. First up is a deck I que’d up immediately in the MTGO competitive leagues and road to a quick 5-0 thanks to playing a couple slow control decks. I hope I have you fired up now for a couple rounds of Burn:
I started off Thursday by taking Chris Dockrill’s 8th place list at GP Toronto, shaving the two Rest in Peace from the sideboard and added two Exquisite Firecraft. It’s like I knew to expect the masses to be jamming Jace’s the morning he became legal because I played 4 straight Jace decks (UW x2, Grixis, and something that looked like 4 color control, very spicy) and 2-0’d each pretty easily. Now I’m not saying this will always be the case but if your opponent wants to durdle and fumble with their mana while attempting to get their brainstorm on a stick in play, let them do that and proceed to give them non-stop bolts to the face. I am in no way shape or form a burn aficionado but I am pretty sure those guys will be salivating at the idea of tuning this deck to dominate these control decks in the future.
My last deck will not be the obvious choice as I am pretty sure no one wants to see Slippery Bogle and friends right now (Deck is a really good option though, just saying). No the deck I would like to give you as an option is one of complete luck and all about how your feeling that day. I heard you magic players love free spells, right. How about some free 4/4’s:
While your opponents are playing Serum Visions and Spreading Seas, your turn one potential with this deck can be as good as putting 12- 16 power on the board with the possibility of even more come turn two. Through Burning Inquiry and Goblin Lore, Hollow One and friends come down applying maximum pressure while also putting a strain on your opponent’s mana for answers to your threats. There are many games where you may only put one Hollow One into play turn one but you also may have changed the lines of play your opponents have access to due to the variance of a card like Burning Inquiry. This deck has proven to become a real thing from presenting itself as a contender at the pro tour to its success for players in the top 32 this past weekend in Toronto.
Hopefully what the decks I brought to the table enlighten you enough to continue your play through the modern format. Yes, you will at some point be staring across from a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. But it does not mean you have lost on the spot. Thanks for reading guys and hopefully you’ll be crushing it at your next modern event!
(Bonus Decklist)
Now what I just told you about not having to play a Jace deck is very true, I’m just giving you an idea as to what I’d be playing at my next modern event with my boy back from his unbanning.
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