Christopher Morris-Lent
6/1/2012 10:23:00 AM
The Ache of Modernism
Modern is currently an irrelevant format, and we are the poorer for it. Not poorer in money -
Magic shouldn't be about money - but poorer in depth, diversity, creativity, innovation, and all the buzzwords that make competitive constructed worth the expenditure.
Don't get me wrong: Standard is pretty good right now. I really don't mind it. The ceiling for that format, though, is below the floor for Modern. Modern is Legacy without $2,000 decks, without combos more underhanded than David Stern (who compels me to
Retract my previous assertion that Mitt Romney is the biggest corrupted, cheating exemplar of a rigged system in America). Modern is old Extended with an appropriate ban-list. Modern is Standard with spice. Modern is my favorite format, and, since I'm hellbent on playing UG Poison in Standard (
already covered admirably by Frank Lepore!), I'm going to take a week off from all that and talk about my new Modern deck.
Flash You
Rampant fan-service, hackneyed flavor, atrocious flavor text, and dull limited aside,
Avacyn Restored is an OK set. Somewhat importantly, it succeeded in diversifying Standard's PTQ season, for a few days. More importantly, it has cards for every format. For Legacy, there is
Griselbrand. For EDH, there is …
Griselbrand. For Modern, which card am I interested in? The same one as everyone else, of course...
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Just kidding!
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I approve of Wizards making this she-stud a Rare (as opposed to a Mythic), and then handing out
all the promos. I shudder to think of the price she would otherwise command, because she is the strongest, brawniest, and most beautiful woman not named Michelle Obama. She is faster than Dorothy Parker, and more hardcore than Serena Williams. She is my Sun and Stars, my Bunny Lebowski, and what my mind, um, flashes to, when I drop 'CHERUBIM' in Words with Friends.
Too much ink and blood has been spilt about Restoration Angel's interactions with Snapcaster et al.; these interactions are obvious, and they are lame; they typify Standard. With a much larger card pool, we can do better. I couldn't think of what shell to put the Angel in, until I remembered my friend Rob Van Leuven had piloted this build to a couple of decent PTQ finishes:
Duh: blink effects in a
Reveillark deck!
Rob's brew is a magnificent conception. It has five things I treasure: creatures, card advantage, synergy, resilience, and hosers for "unfair" decks. We can make it better, though. Here are some proposed cuts. Four Explosives is excessive, and suboptimal with the singleton
Trinket Mage.
Leonin Squire is jank.
Blade Splicer is not the greatest in a slower strategy. Clique is decent but underwhelming (as she often is). Rob told me: "Sun Titan sucks"; I agree.
Venser, the Sojourner, the engine of the deck, is too slow to do anything in half the matchups. The entire sideboard is half-baked (Marrow Shards?!). And so on.
Moreover, the build suffered from some metagame weaknesses. Beating a resolved
Tarmogoyf - which was all of them, since this deck says, to hell with counters - was tough. Stabilizing against Affinity was nearly impossible. Card draw and card quality were both present, but the deck needed more of both. It was too slow to take full advantage of the many awesome things it could do with its mana.
Card quality, fat, acceleration, better sideboarding options: to take ETB critter control to the next level, we wanted all of these things. And what better way to address these issues than adding … Green?
Sky of Blue, Sea of Green
Green is often said to be for noobs. "Green," as a metaphor, means inexperienced. A "greenhorn" is a tyro. A tyro is another word for a "neophyte," whose second root implies green. The list goes on. Mark Rosewater, the famous Izzet philistine, fingered Green as the easiest color for a beginner to learn. Since MaRo said Blue was the toughest, and White was in the middle, I guess it all balances out in this deck:
I dedicate this deck to my father, who loves Blue, but whines when he has no creatures, and those creatures don't produce some advantage for him. He loathes IPAs, advice columnists, and bicyclists. He is a hard man to please. Happy early Father's Day, Mike! I should also mention that, in addition to being the man who brought me into this world, Mike is my collaborator on the inchoate primer,
How to Beat Your Dad at Magic. Judging by my results against him in Cube draft, I could stand to read that book, once it is written.
So! We get to play 30 creatures, 14 of which are distinctive. For the next section, I'm going to write a little blurb about each card choice, covering strengths, weaknesses, and synergies.
Engineered Explosives - It's not a creature, it doesn't have a come-into-play effect, and it can be slow (like our deck). But it's very powerful and even more necessary. Four Paths aren't enough removal if we're facing a swarm deck like Merfolk, Affinity, Zoo, or (Karona forbid!) a throng of 1/1 Goblin tokens. EE is versatile: it kills their cheap problem permanents dead (Cranial Plating,
Isochron Scepter,
Liliana of the Veil, etc.) Additionally, since our deck makes three colors and has a wee bit of acceleration, EE is far better here than it was in the original build.
Noble Hierarch - The best (and priciest) dork of all time. Most of our good draws have one, but not two, so tossing in any Birds would be excessive. Once I noticed all the hate for one-toughness creatures (Zealous Persecution,
Orzhov Pontiff, etc.) running around Modern, I wanted to make a deck that could benefit from dorks without being overly reliant on them.
Path to Exile - Still the best removal in the format.
Meddling Mage - This card is surprisingly strong in most matchups. Sure, it sucks against Zoo or Delver, but against Affinity you can name Plating or Champion, against Jund you can name Finks or Liliana or Bloodbraid, and against decks with one strategy you can just win the game. I give Rob all the credit for discovering how strong Pikula is against the meta. (Four were in the original build, but I prefer three, with two Images to double up if need be.)
Meddling Mage is much stronger if you play it optimally, which is largely a matter of being up on the meta, and largely a matter of variance. For example, I had a GW opponent drawing to a board-wipe, so I named Wrath; he played Day, and I vomited all over my keyboard. Remember that you can
Flicker the Mage with
Restoration Angel if you want a reset, but it won't do anything against spells still on the stack.
Wall of Omens - Originally this was a three-of. It's not that it doesn't do anything; it's that it does nothing. It blocks a
Memnite here and a
Kird Ape there, but not a Delver or a double-pumped Lynx. In spite of this, cycling is important, the interaction with
Restoration Angel is strong, and having as diverse a mix of creatures as possible for Image is best. I like it as a singleton.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - Why would you not play this card in a deck that runs 30 creatures? She's the absolute nuts against combo (not Melira), a house against the odd control deck, and decent against aggressive decks that are threat-light. I'd like to fit three in (four copies, which Zoo and Boros should run, are unnecessary), but I'm not sure what to cut.
Phantasmal Image - A two-mana
Clone effect that persists with Finks and Archmage and gets returned by
Reveillark. Your best creature, or theirs.
Eternal Witness - Much stronger than Snapcaster in this kind of build, Witness is a big reason to go green. Unfortunately, two more of those reasons are also 3-drops, relegating her to a one-of. Since she does everything in the mid- to late-game, I'd like to run more, but I'm again unsure of what to cut. I have yet to live the dream by returning her with
Reveillark and returning
Reveillark with her, but the time will come.
Kitchen Finks - This creature is insane, and, since it's played in everything Green
or White, everyone already knows why. Only Melira Pod uses her better than we do.
Knight of the Reliquary - The beefiest of beefcakes and most utile of utilitarians, Knight's most important function is allowing us to beat Goyf decks. Her other applications include fetching up our suite of four do-something lands, fixing and accelerating mana, and beating people's faces in.
Trinket Mage - Your third (and fourth!) copies of
Engineered Explosives, or whatever else you want after sideboarding.
Restoration Angel - I cut
Venser, the Sojourner for her. A five-mana 'walker that doesn't attack or block just wasn't cutting it, so now
Restoration Angel is the engine. Everyone knows she can be a three-for-one by countering a piece of spot removal and triggering a CIP ability, or a two-for-one by surprising a Lilliputian creature in combat, but she's also fine on an empty board against the sort of deck that wants to make you miserable. It's worth noting that
Remand is by far the most common counter in the format, so you won't lose her if they "counter" her at EOT. Then you can play her again, and there's absolutely nothing they can do.
Glen Elendra Archmage - Another awesome innovation by Rob, this
Eventide Faerie is even better than she was at the beginning of 2012, thanks to the rise of Delver (she trades and counters a spell). She's a little slow, but very hard to beat if we can untap with her. I want to run three, but I cut one to make room for …
Mystic Snake - … this old-school
Apocalypse favorite. He has a nice interaction with
Restoration Angel, and is a little faster than
Glen Elendra Archmage. Live the dream by flickering a
Reveillark, returning a Snake, and countering their spell.
Mulldrifter - The classic
Reveillark target is a one-of in here: we don't need more draw, though the elemental fish is often fine as
Divination. For extra fun, evoke him, draw two cards,
Flicker him in response to the sacrifice trigger, draw two more, and have a 3/4 and 2/2 flier. Easy game!
Reveillark - Though this is the namesake of the deck, I'm kind of torn about it. Sometimes it's incredible. Most of the time, though, I don't even end up casting it, having won or lost by the time I'd get to five. I think two is right, because it wins grindier games upon resolution (i.e. Jund and Martyr). But I wouldn't be too surprised if the right decision was to cut one.
The Mana-Base - Since most of our spells aren't color-intensive and we have the fixing of Hierarch, we can afford to run two Tectonic Edges, along with only six fetches and three shocks for a minimum of pain.
Academy Ruins is a possibility, but I'm not sure it's well-suited for this meta.
How Many Boards Would the Mongols Hoard, if the Mongol Hordes Got Bored?
Here's the sideboard:
Gaddock Teeg - He stops
Birthing Pod,
Chord of Calling, Wrath effects,
Unburial Rites,
Gifts Ungiven, and a number of other flagitious spells.
Pithing Needle - This is part one of the
Trinket Mage package. Name
Cranial Plating,
Karn Liberated,
Liliana of the Veil, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror-Breaker, or whatever else the situation calls for. In most cases, this card is easier to play than
Meddling Mage, since it's powerful even when it's reactive.
Qasali Pridemage - The Cat Wizard is still as golden as the day he was printed. Bonus points for recurring him.
Relic of Progenitus - This is part two of the
Trinket Mage package, and, like the rest of the sideboard, is "soft" hate that is nevertheless very versatile and value-oriented.
Stony Silence - A non-bo with EE, but nevertheless very strong against Tron (shuts off mana rocks and Mindslaver) and Affinity (they can't equip Cranial Plating).
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - Another in the board to make extra-sure I never lose to combo.
Meddling Mage - See above.
Timely Reinforcements - All-in aggro can be problematic if we draw exclusively "soft" cards (i.e. not
Kitchen Finks, or Knight).
Trinket Mage - Another in the board to find the hosing artifact.
Venser, Shaper Savant - Another
Counterspell versus Combo, or a repeatable bounce effect against problem permanents.
Venser, the Sojourner - The other namesake of the original deck, Venser is either completely useless or extremely strong. Repeatable blink effects ticking up to the ultimate give us tremendous inevitability in longer games where they don't go over the top. Don't forget he has a -1 ability, too!
Here are some cards that didn't make the cut:
Aven Mindcensor,
Grafdigger's Cage,
Angel of Jubilation,
Sakura-Tribe Elder,
Sower of Temptation,
Spreading Seas,
Acidic Slime,
Surgical Extraction.
Although the Modern metagame is huge, fluid, and ill-defined, and although sideboards should be dynamic, I think a sampler might be helpful:
Delver (RUW, RUG)
In: 2
Timely Reinforcements
Out: 2
Meddling Mage
Melira Pod
In: 1
Trinket Mage, 1
Meddling Mage, 1
Relic of Progenitus, 2
Gaddock Teeg, 1
Pithing Needle, 1
Venser, Shaper Savant
Out: 2
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, 1
Wall of Omens, 1
Mulldrifter, 2
Kitchen Finks, 1
Knight of the Reliquary
Affinity
In: 1
Stony Silence, 1
Trinket Mage, 1
Pithing Needle, 2
Timely Reinforcements, 2
Qasali Pridemage
Out: 2
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, 2
Glen Elendra Archmage, 1
Mulldrifter, 2
Reveillark
Storm
In: 1
Meddling Mage, 1
Relic of Progenitus, 1
Trinket Mage, 1
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, 1
Venser, Shaper Savant
Out: 4
Path to Exile, 1
Wall of Omens
Twin
In: 1
Meddling Mage, 2
Gaddock Teeg, 1
Pithing Needle, 1
Venser, Shaper Savant
Out: 2
Phantasmal Image, 1
Kitchen Finks, 1
Eternal Witness, 1
Wall of Omens
Jund
In: Nothing. Pre-boarded, baby!
Out: Nothing
Tron (GR, UW)
In: 1
Stony Silence, 2
Gaddock Teeg, 1
Pithing Needle, 1
Trinket Mage
Out: 2
Reveillark, 1
Wall of Omens, 1
Mulldrifter, 2
Engineered Explosives
Red Aggro (Naya, Boros, RDW)
In: 2
Timely Reinforcements
Out: 2
Meddling Mage
Caw-Blade (including UW and Esper Control)
In: 2
Venser, the Sojourner, 1
Venser, Shaper Savant, 2
Qasali Pridemage
Out: 1
Mystic Snake, 2
Path to Exile, 1
Kitchen Finks, 1
Meddling Mage
Sample Matches
vs. RWU Delver
Game one: On the play, I lead with a Hierarch, and he summons a Delver. I summon a Knight, and we both do the land-go thing. At the end of his turn, I attempt to pump the Knight. He Paths it in response, I
Flicker it with
Restoration Angel in response to that, he Paths the Knight again in response to that. I attack for four and play
Glen Elendra Archmage, trading with his Delver and persisting. I get in for four again, and at the end of turn he tries to Helix the Archmage, but I have another Angel to
Flicker it and he scoops.
Game two: He leads off with
Grim Lavamancer, a real problem card for us (and all the more reason to run 2 Explosives!) My first play is a
Kitchen Finks, which gets Remanded; when I play it again, stuck on three, he Paths it. Meanwhile, I'm taking a vicious beating from Lavamancer, a flipped Delver, and burn. I draw a fourth land and attempt to flash in an Angel on his declare attackers step, but he has Snapcaster /
Remand and I'm unable to stabilize.
Game three: He mulls to 6 and I have a decent 7:
Wall of Omens, Explosives,
Mulldrifter, Path. He flips his Delver on his t2, but I Explosives for zero and blow it up. He passes without a play, and is in trouble. I too pass, planning to flash in an Angel; it gets remanded. My next play of
Mulldrifter gets Remanded. My Angel on his turn gets Snapcaster / Remanded, but, though he has a full grip of cards, he's not applying any pressure. I replay the Angel on my own turn, and he paths
Wall of Omens in response. I think I've locked up the game with a Finks, but he plays
Isochron Scepter, imprinting
Lightning Helix. No matter! I've accumulated enough mana to go
Eternal Witness, Explosives for two, activate. His board is wiped and he quits a few seconds later.
vs. Hive Mind
Game one: On the play, I lay a Thalia and do nothing relevant for awhile, reckoning his cantrip-light start to be Twin. At any point, I could win the game by playing
Glen Elendra Archmage, but I don't (playing around Exarch and Pestermite), and by the time I figure out what's going on he's hit seven and played
Seething Song into
Hive Mind into
Pact of the Titan. Oops!
(Aside: I really hate losing to decks like this. Every time someone opens with
Scalding Tarn or
Steam Vents, I imagine David Stern behind my opponent's screen. If I win, that's great: I've dismembered the Arnold Rothstein of the 21st century. If I lose, Stern was involved, so, like the NBA lottery or relocation process, it must have been rigged.)
Game two: Again on the play, I start with Hierarch into
Meddling Mage (naming Pyroclasm) into
Qasali Pridemage and
Meddling Mage (naming Hive Mind). He can't do anything. Hooray!
Game three: On the draw this time, I watch him cantrip and have the pretty good start Hierarch into
Meddling Mage, which gets Remanded, into
Meddling Mage, which resolves, along with a Cat Wizard. I figure I can't win anyway if he has a sweeper, so I name
Hive Mind. He doesn't have a sweeper! I draw
Eternal Witness and attack with both for four. With four lands in play, he casts
Pact of the Titan and blocks
Meddling Mage. His fate is sealed!
Eternal Witness brings back the Pikula, and I have just enough to cast it and name
Seething Song. After tapping his lands impotently, the death trigger resolves, and he is hoist by his own petard.
vs. Esper Control
Game one: I'm on the play, but I have no turn-two spell, and he manages to counter everything with
Mana Leak,
Mana Leak, Snapcaster-Mana Leak. The Snapcaster picks up a
Sword of Feast and Famine, and, with my hand shredded, his counters live, and my life total dropping precipitously, I'm not long for this game.
Game two: I keep a slow but powerful 7 with
Restoration Angel,
Mulldrifter,
Glen Elendra Archmage, and four lands. It goes land-go, land-go, land-go,
Thoughtseize you (taking Eternal Witness). My turn 3 play involves evoking a
Mulldrifter, drawing into more land. He
Thoughtseizes the Archmage, plays
Nihil Spellbomb, and passes. I make the very questionable play of playing
Tectonic Edge and
Noble Hierarch, leaving 3 mana open. He Snapcasts
Thoughtseize. I pass again. On his turn, he counters
Restoration Angel. I draw another and play Thalia. He attempts to Path it, but the Angel saves it from that fate. Suddenly I have a board, and he doesn't.
Cryptic Command doesn't prevent a double-exalted
Treetop Village attack, and, with his life total vitiated by the three
Thoughtseizes and my wimpy initiative, he quits.
Game three: On the draw this time, I start with a Hierarch into Finks. He doesn't counter it! This could be a good game. A Path on my Finks enables me to accelerate into a t3
Glen Elendra Archmage, leaving blue mana open. He can't beat that card, and when the Faerie sticks, counters something, and
Flickers back at full strength, he decides to call it a match.
Conclusion
Though The 'Lark Ascending is a creature deck, it is a true control deck, replete with answers to everything in the format. It has overwhelmingly positive matchups against "fair" decks, and a smorgasbord of ways to interact with the "unfair" decks. Sadly, it isn't a meta-breaker: it has some trouble with decks that go straight over the top. The games against G/R Tron and G/W Trap are unpleasant, so if you have any suggestions about how to combat them, please tell me. (Spreading Seas? Reprint
Wasteland, one time?)
In addition to being creature control, The 'Lark Ascending is a mid-range deck. Some friends of mine have asked me to define what exactly that is, so I'll try here. A mid-range deck accelerates into a glut of moderately costed threats and answers. It thrives on tutoring, card quality, and card advantage. It is often White and more often Green. It is my favorite archetype. It is where I got my start deck-building - with Standard Naya Shaman [links to
Fauna Shaman,
Squadron Hawk, and
Vengevine ] during the days of Caw-Blade. In the last year and few months, I have searched for a deck that was similarly entertaining, full of difficulty and decision, and competitively viable. I think I may have gotten there: only time, travail, and practice will tell.
Thank you for reading!
CML
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