Category Archives: Modern

Brewing with Ancestral Vision and Sword of the Meek

Ancestral Vision

Eye of Ugin was banned in Modern this week!

… Ancestral Vision and Sword of the Meek were un-banned!

The macro storyline here is this: The Eldrazi deck in Modern was too good. It was the best on a number of dimensions, but most folks looking in would identify a deck full of Sol Rings pumping out de facto undercosted threats. Something was going to give (and almost certainly from the mana front).

So the jig was going to be up one way or another. The only question was whether Eldrazi Temple was going to be banned, or the Eye.

Patrick makes a great case that Eye of Ugin was the “right” ban. While both Eldrazi Temple and our card at hand make for “Mox” mana draws for the Eldrazi, Eye of Ugin contributed to non-competitive games from both sides. The obvious one is any game where an Eldrazi player gets say three Eldrazi Mimics in his opening hand with Eye of Ugin… It’s just a ton of free mana on the first turn that can turn into an immediate kill.

… But what about from the other side?

It is also a Legendary Land. The power level of Eye of Ugin makes Eldrazi players want to play lots of copies of this card. So what happens when you only draw Eye of Ugins? Gross, right? Double-edged sword, sure… But if one of the two lands was going to get banned, Eye of Ugin is a good choice because it leads to bad play experiences for both Eldrazi decks’ opponents… And the Eldrazi players themselves (at least sometimes).

Plus: Eye of Ugin creates an Inevitable end game that is simply not desirable for a card that is also a Sol Ring.

The banning of Eye of Ugin did not happen in isolation.

In addition both Sword of the Meek and Ancestral Vision were un-banned. This podcast features lengthy discussions of both cards, their performance in older formats, and a ton of potential brewing ideas.

All this and a “read the card” moment that (hopefully) an official Top Level Podcast fact checker would have caught. Can you find it? Maybe you* can be the official Top Level Podcast fact checker!

All this and Lodestone Golem in “Why Eye of Ugin was Banned”

Direct Download

* Just kidding. This is not a real position.

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Reality Smasher Solutions!

Reality Smasher
Reality Smasher is a key threat in all versions of Modern Eldrazi Aggro

“Sometimes you smash reality. Sometimes reality smashes you.”
-Frank Lepore

What is the “core” of the Modern Eldrazi deck? Is it Eldrazi Mimic, Matter Reshaper, Thought-Knot Seer, and Reality Smasher?

Or is it, like Mike and Patrick agree… Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin?

What’s the best draw you can get with an Eldrazi Aggro deck?

Turn one: Eye of Ugin + three Eldrazi Mimics
Turn two: Eldrazi Temple, Simian Spirit Guide, and Reality Smasher… Swing for 20!

“The capabilities of each and every deck that exists, that has ever existed in any format, eminates from its mana base. The deck itself is a product of what the mana base can produce.”
-Mike, paraphrasing Mike Long

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Modern format has been turned on its ear by Oath of the Gatewatch. There is a new Tier One strategy and it is largely defined by the powerful threats from the newest set (with some mana base help from the last time we encountered the Eldrazi).

Patrick’s “buddy”, office-mate, and collaborator on Eternal Luis Scott-Vargas added yet another feather to his much-decorated hat with another Top 8:

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Endless One
4 Matter Reshaper
2 Ratchet Bomb
4 Reality Smasher
2 Spellskite
4 Thought-Knot Seer

4 Dismember

4 Simian Spirit Guide

4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Eye of Ugin
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Mutavault
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Wastes

sb:
3 Oblivion Sower
2 Pithing Needle
1 Ratchet Bomb
4 Relic of Progenitus
1 Spellskite
1 Warping Wail
2 Gut Shot

Mike like LSV’s take on Reality Smasher best… But it wasn’t even the most successful build!

Jiachen Tao actually won the event with Izzet Eldrazi:

4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Endless One
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer

3 Dismember

4 Drowner of Hope
4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
2 Ruination Guide

3 Eldrazi Obligator
4 Vile Aggregate

3 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Eye of Ugin
1 Gemstone Caverns
2 Island
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Shivan Reef
2 Steam Vents

sb:
2 Chalice of the Void
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Spellskite
3 Hurkyl’s Recall
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Gut Shot
1 Tomb of the Spirit Dragon

“This is a deck that has lots of different ways to do great things. Its turn three is consistently glorious.”
-Patrick

“This is, I think, a deck where you should know what your cards do.”
-Mike

“This deck is going to require a lot more practice, no question.”
-Patrick

Rounding out the different Reality Smasher decks in the Top 8 is Frank Lepore (in his very first Pro Tour!)

Frank played a Sultai Processor Eldrazi Aggro:

4 Blight Herder
4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Reality Smasher
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Scrabbling Claws
4 Thought-Knot Seer

4 Wasteland Strangler

4 Drowner of Hope

1 World Breaker

4 Cavern of Souls
4 Corrupted Crossroads
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Eye of Ugin
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Island
1 Swamp
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

sb:
2 Ratchet Bomb
4 Spatial Contortion
2 Spellskite
3 Sun Droplet
2 Warping Wail
2 Surgical Extraction

4 Relic of Progenitus and 2 Scrabbling Claws main deck? Frank Lepore is prepared for Living End!

While it’s all fun to celebrate the Eldrazi bad guys, Emily Lense pinged us on our Facebook Page and asked a pretty compelling question:

Emily Lense

So how do you fight the Eldrazi in Modern?

Patrick has a hell of an answer that you’ll really want to hear. Find out what it is in “Reality Smasher Solutions!”

Direct Download

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Abbot of Keral Keep Better Than Snapcaster Mage?

Snapcaster Mage

We’ve called Abbot of Keral Keep the “red Snapcaster Mage” for months… But could it be better than Snapcaster Mage? Maybe in at least one Modern deck…

“It’s possible that playing Grixis with Abbot [of Keral Keep] is better, but I really liked pairing it with the green cards this weekend. People have been slow to adopt it, but I think Abbot will be ubiquitous before long. It’s better than Snapcaster Mage in my deck this weekend.”

-Patrick Chapin

Patrick is tearing it up at Grand Prix Oklahoma City!

At the time of this writing he’s 8-1… and with a brand new deck (that was hinted at in “Abbot of Keral Keep in Modern”).

So far he beat Temur Twin, Grixis Twin, Affinity, UB Faeries and others (losing only to discarding to hand size three times after keeping a one-lander against ‘Tron). We know that our listeners are eager to hear about this new deck, and didn’t want to wait until next Thursday… So here goes:

Temur Prowess, by Patrick Chapin

3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Abbot of Keral Keep
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Tarmogoyf

4 Mishra’s Bauble
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
4 Vapor Snag
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Seal of Fire
2 Rancor
2 Remand
2 Izzet Charm

4 Scalding Tarn
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Wooded Foothills
2 Steam Vents
1 Breeding Pool
1 Stomping Ground
1 Copperline Gorge
2 Island
1 Mountain

Sideboard
3 Dispel
2 Deprive
2 Feed the Clan
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Spellskite
1 Seal of Fire
1 Roast
1 Volcanic Fallout
1 Izzet Staticaster

Rancor + Abbot of Keral Keep?!? Rancor seems like just one of many sweet cards the Abbot can flip over that not only gives it greater cachet than the admittedly deserving Snapcaster Mage (in this deck)… And one that not only triggers Prowess but, via trample, makes triggering Prowess better than ever.

Sweet new deck, yes?

Follow Patrick’s exploits tomorrow at the mother ship.

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Abbot of Keral Keep in Modern

Abbot of Keral Keep

We’ve said it once: We’ve said it dozens of times probably.
Abbot of Keral Keep is like a red Snapcaster Mage

Abbot of Keral Keep is one of many cards from Magic Origins that is poised to make an impact in the Modern format.

What are some of the areas where Abbot of Keral Keep can be effective in Modern? How does it differ from Snapcaster Mage in some of the existing Modern shells?

Unlike Snapcaster Mage, Abbot of Keral keep does not combine well with permission spells. Not only does it not have flash, but flipping a permission spell with Abbot of Keral Keep will generally cause that card to brick.

BUT!

Abbot of Keral Keep has great potential synergy with proactive cards. Think about Abbot of Keral Keep flipping over, say… An Inquisition of Kozilek. The combination of cheap cards and card advantage — and cheap cards and prowess — are both synergistic and valuable.

How about a Naya Burn deck in Modern? Abbot of Keral Keep can hook up with the efficient burn spells available in Modern to give an aggressive deck some extra oomph.

Consider this Patrick Sullivan-inspired Modern Naya Burn deck:

Patrick-Patrick Naya Burn

4 Atarka’s Command
4 Boros Charm
3 Lightning Helix

4 Wild Nacatl

4 Abbot of Keral Keep
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Searing Blaze

4 Arid Mesa
2 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
3 Dragon’s Claw
1 Lightning Helix
2 Ancient Grudge
4 Molten Rain
1 Skullcrack
4 Path to Exile

Abbot of Keral Keep is just one of several new Magic Origins cards that Patrick and Michael discuss in this episode; there are quite a few possible additions to Modern from this hot new set. Find out what the intrepid Top Level Podcast duo is thinking in “Abbot of Keral Keep in Modern”:

Direct Download

Want to hear more from these guys?

Patrick’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Michael’s Magic: The Gathering Books

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Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros

Kytheon, Hero of Akros
This podcast is half about Kytheon, Hero of Akros

Going in, podcast un-listened-to… You probably figure this is a podcast half about Kytheon, Hero of Akros… and half about Gideon, Battle-Forged.

But you’d be wrong!

It’s half about one of the fastest new Planeswalkers from Magic Origins… But the other half is about Patrick’s performance with Grixis Control at Grand Prix Charlotte last weekend.

“Congratulations and condolences.”
-Mike

You see, Patrick tore through the tournament and finished with only two losses when the Swiss rounds finished… But “only” finished in ninth place! Oh no!

But “no condolences necessary” says our resident Pro Tour Champion. He had a great time and spends the first long stretch of “Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros” teaching a master class on Modern Grixis Control.

Patrick’s Ninth-Place deck:

3 Gurmag Angler
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

4 Cryptic Command
1 Dispel
2 Mana Leak
1 Remand
4 Serum Visions
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Spell Snare
4 Thought Scour

1 Electrolyze
2 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Shadow of Doubt
4 Terminate

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave

Sideboard
1 Batterskull
1 Spellskite
1 Damnation
1 Shriekmaw
1 Slay
2 Dispel
1 Flashfreeze
1 Countersquall
4 Fulminator Mage
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Keranos, God of Storms

“Grixis with four Cryptic Commands… It’s what I was born to do.”
-Patrick

“Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros” has a stack of lessons for the prospective Grixis player; here are just a few…

  • Patrick played against three Burn decks and went 6-2 against them in games… With no Sun Droplets or Dragon’s Claws! He eventually didn’t side in Batterskull or Spellskite, either. The trick is… “Every single Burn player is sitting there with a Destructive Revelry in hand. The problem is that every single Burn player expects you to have 3-4 Dragon’s Claws.” Because of this artifact sideboard cards like Batterskull, Spellskite (or more traditional ones) lose value.
  • A different paradigm is just to drop a 5/5 and defend it with “a bazillion Dispels”
  • Tarmogoyf and Siege Rhino define size in Modern at 4/5… Making the 5/5 Gurmag Angler king.

“Once you have a Zombie Fish on your side, all bets are off!”
-Patrick

Patrick finished in 9th place… But all props to his fellow Pro Tour Champion, fellow Hall of Famer, and fellow member of Team Ultra PRO Paul Rietzl who came in 10th place with a Naya Collected Company build:

Paul’s 10th Place Deck:

4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Qasali Pridemage

1 Birds of Paradise
3 Collected Company
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Path to Exile

4 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath

Sideboard
1 Choke
1 Blood Moon
1 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Grim Lavamancer
2 Magus of the Moon
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
3 Kor Firewalker
2 Stony Silence
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

If you are in the market for a fair deck in Modern… This is probably the deck!

Paul’s Naya has a good clock, tons of hateful creatures to generate discrete advantages, and can punish ostensibly more powerful decks with Collected Company.

Finally, Mike and Patrick highlight Zac Elsik’s Lantern Control Prison:

Lantern Control, by Zac Elsik

4 Codex Shredder
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Ghoulcaller’s Bell
4 Lantern Of Insight
3 Mox Opal
3 Pithing Needle
2 Pyrite Spellbomb
3 Spellskite

2 Duress
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Surgical Extraction

3 Gitaxian Probe

2 Abrupt Decay

4 Ancient Stirrings

2 Academy Ruins
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Glimmervoid
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Tendo Ice Bridge

Sideboard
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
4 Sun Droplet
2 Welding Jar
1 Bow of Nylea
3 Nature’s Claim
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Pyroclasm

Elsik’s deck is one of the coolest, most elegant, decks we’ve seen in years!

Patrick in particular loves it because it’s so rare we see Prison decks any more. This is a deck that locks down the opponent’s draw steps with Lantern of Insight combined with either Codex Shredder or Ghoulcaller’s Bell. Zac can see the opponent’s top card (generally letting him draw a land) while getting rid of any actually relevant spells… While actually killing the opponent! (if slowly).

The low casting costs in Elsik’s deck combine with Ensnaring Bridge to cut off the attack phase as the elegant elements start coming together.

It’s the SECOND half of this podcast that is about Kytheon, Hero of Akros (and his opposite number, Gideon, Battle-Forged). Michael and Patrick detail the fast rate on the front side and spitball ways you can flip Kytheon on or ahead of schedule.

“Kytheon is sweet /
“Grixis is sweet /
“Team Ultra PRO is taking all the sugar in the world and pouring it into one single cup of coffee.”
-Mike

Give “Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros” a listen now!

Direct Download

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Become Immense and Gurmag Angler

Become Immense
“If you’re going to play Infect, it is indefensible to not play four Become Immense.”

Patrick Chapin and Michael J Flores originally intended to talk about the various decks fielded by Patrick’s team — and the greatest team on Earth — the Pantheon at Pro Tour Fate Reforged.

But…

They end up recording some not-originally-intended-for-public-consumption chatter about Mike’s struggles in some recent PPTQs, disillusion with the Abzan clan, and general inability to win that results in a spontaneous brewer’s delight!

In a kind of prequel to the main episode, you can listen as Patrick and Michael assemble a B/U Control deck for Standard designed to combat a format of largely Abzan decks, and how two of Magic’s most decorated deck designers approach metagaming, card selection, and sideboarding… While the microphones are “supposed” to be off.

The result?

B/U Control by Top Level Podcast

2 Perilous Vault
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

1 Thoughtseize
4 Bile Blight
2 Crux of Fate
4 Hero’s Downfall
2 Murderous Cut

4 Dig Through Time
2 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
2 Divination
3 Jace’s Ingenuity
1 Pearl Lake Ancient

4 Dismal Backwater
3 Opulent Palace
4 Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Radiant Fountain
3 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard
3 Drown in Sorrow
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Thoughtseize
2 Aetherspouts
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Treasure Cruise
2 Silumgar, the Drifting Death

Some notes from our hosts:

  • You don’t need more finishers – Ugin finishes everybody
  • You can side in Tasigur against “all opponents”
  • Some cool ways to gain percentage in how you pick your lands
  • Why you play Drown in Sorrow when it isn’t really the best in very many situations
  • How Silumgar, the Drifting Death beats up Elspeth, Sun’s Champion and Abzan in general
  • “Boring is fine as long as you’re winning”

Patrick and Michael move on to Modern and talk about some of the successful decks of the Pantheon. Hall of Famer Jelger Wiegersma cracked Top 8 with a “stock” U/R Splinter Twin deck, and Jon Finkel finished out of the Top 8 on tiebreakers. Lots of in-depth discussion of these Modern archetypes — plus how to play with Amulet of Vigor — in the Modern middle section!

Including this observation:
“If you’re going to play Infect, it is indefensible to not play four Become Immense.”

Finally, Patrick didn’t do well in the Modern portion of Pro Tour Fate Reforged himself… But he still loves his deck.

“I’ve never gone 0-5 and been super happy with a deck before.”

Have you seen his Modern deck?

Just try to listen to “Become Immense and Gurmag Angler” without falling in love with it!

Esper Delve by Patrick Chapin

4 Mishra’s Bauble

4 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
4 Gurmag Angler
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Thoughtseize

4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
4 Stubborn Denial
4 Thoughtscour

2 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile

4 Darkslick Shores
2 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Marsh Flats
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave

Sideboard
3 Fulminator Mage
3 Engineered Explosives
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Kataki War’s Wage
1 Deathmark
1 Lingering Souls
1 Plains
1 Spellskite
1 Meddling Mage

All this and more in “Become Immense and Gurmag Angler”

Direct Download

Patrick’s book Next Level Deckbuilding will be out in paperback by Friday this week. Do yourself a favor and check out Next Level Deckbuilding at Star City Games!

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Why Birthing Pod Was Banned

According to Patrick, “the real reason” Birthing Pod was banned can be traced back to a single, solitary event.

Wanna know what that event was? Listen to the podcast of course!

Birthing Pod
Birthing Pod Banned!

Earlier this week our lords and masters in Renton, WA dropped the ban hammer on formats various. Chapin and Flores discuss bans in Vintage, Legacy, and Modern.

VINTAGE

How is Gifts Ungiven powered in Vintage, relative to Fact or Fiction?

LEGACY

“Legacy is this format where there is this illusion that somehow it is a reasonable format despite the fact that Brainstorm is legal.”

Treasure Cruise was restricted and / or banned in three different formats. What does the banning of Treasure Cruise in Legacy (but the not-affecting of Dig Through Time) mean for Wasteland? For Burn decks?

Wanna feel really icky gooey gross inside? Come listen to Patrick’s rules explanation of Woldgorger Dragon in Constructed tournament play… Legacy or not.

Patrick’s prediction for Legacy: B/G decks will be back with a vengeance!

MODERN

Lots of players have opinions about the Modern bannings… Patrick actually has to prepare for a Modern Pro Tour in the next couple of weeks! He shares some of his team’s preparation procedure for Pro Tours.

Some people are “passionately” and “aggressively” … pretending they are quitting Magic over the bans. Thoughts?

“Every single Modern Pro Tour is going to involve bans. THEY ALWAYS HAVE.”

What are the implications of these Bannings on key decks in the Modern format?

Will Splinter Twin return to dominance with a predicted de-emphasis on U/R Delver (thanks to the banning of Treasure Cruise?

Will U/R Storm challenge Splinter Twin as the U/R combo deck of choice [for the same reasons]?

What is the context in which you would actually want to play a Burn deck (in Modern or otherwise)?

What will be the fates of Wild Nacatl, Vengevine, or the returning Golgari Grave-Troll in the new-look Modern?

All this and more is answered in:

“Why Birthing Pod Was Banned”

Direct Download

Love Top Level Podcast? Try these books by Patrick and Michael…

Patrick’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Michael’s Magic: The Gathering Books

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Tasigur, the Golden Fang (and more)

Patrick Chapin and Michael J Flores discuss the criteria for banning cards in Modern + the Tasigur, the Golden Fang and the best cards from Fate Reforged.

Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
“Tasigur, the Golden Fang (and more)” discusses…

  • Speculation on the upcoming Banned List (kinda like everyone else) (but our dynamic duo resolve NOT to talk about the Banned List for an hour)
  • What it means for a card to be broken
  • How Treasure Cruise is better than “half the cards on the [present] Modern Banned List”
  • Criteria for banning a card
  • More of the modes on Abzan Charm!
  • All the great features on Tasigur, the Golden Fang
  • The first reason to “not be embarrassed” to play R/G or Temur?
  • Khans or Dragons?
    (which dragons)
  • If Manifest can make Trail of Mystery or Secret Plans happen (when Morph, alone, couldn’t)
  • And More!

Your Hosts:

Patrick Chapin – @thepchapin
Michael J Flores – @fivewithflores

If you like this podcast, why not try some of our hosts’ books?

Patrick’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Michael’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Direct Download

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Treasure Cruise and the Definitively Best Deck in Modern

treasure-cruise
Two-time World Championship Finalist Patrick Chapin joins Michael Flores to talk about Treasure Cruise and his utterly dominant Izzet deck from the Modern portion of this year’s World Championship.

“I guess everybody loses to Shahar in the finals of Worlds these days.”
-Patrick Chapin

The most popular question our listeners have been asking us has not been why we didn’t include Gnarled Mass in last week’s discussion of 3/3 for thre mana creatures or to devote all future episodes to Mono-Black Control…

… But to get the RSS feed live!

If you have been desperate for a Top Level Podcast RSS feed, or to set up Top Level Podcast on iTunes, we’ve got you covered.

Patrick and Michael discuss some old cards like Brainstorm and Serra Avenger that didn’t see a lot of Standard play but are played in larger formats today.

A real-life Next Level Deckbuilding fight between our hosts… Team Mike Donais v. Team Alan Comer… Who is the granddaddy of Aggro-Control?

“Bizarrely,” the best deck in Legacy is legal in Modern!

Our own Patrick Chapin “only” finished second in the 2014 World Championship, but he had an absolutely dominating outing in the Modern portion.

This episode of Top Level Podcast focuses on the amazing card Treasure Cruise across multiple formats — Legacy, now Standard, but most importantly Modern. Patrick played the only undefeated deck in this year’s Modern portion.

This is definitively the best deck in Modern right now:

Patrick Chapin’s Izzet Delver

4 Delver of Secrets
4 Gitaxian Probe
1 Mana Leak
1 Remand
4 Serum Visions
1 Snapcaster Mage
2 Spell Snare
3 Thought Scour
4 Treasure Cruise
2 Vapor Snag

1 Izzet Charm
1 Electrolyze

2 Forked Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Young Pyromancer

1 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls

sideboard:
2 Dispel
1 Negate
2 Spell Pierce
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Blood Moon
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Electrickery
1 Harvest Pyre
1 Magma Spray
2 Smash to Smithereens

Treasure Cruise itself was absolutely dominant for Patrick, but he would make some changes to his deck if he played it again. What was his weakest card? His strongest cantrip?

Learn the sweet way you can turn Vapor Snag into “real” removal and against which opponents you should sideboard out Gitaxian Probe.

Patrick and Michael spend most of the podcast on Izzet Delver in Modern but also touch on Gareth Aye’s Standard deck from the Top 8 of Grand Prix San Antonio.

Izzet Aggro by Gareth Aye

3 Treasure Cruise

4 Fated Conflagration
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
4 Monastery Swiftspear
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
4 Stoke the Flames

4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Island
6 Mountain
1 Polluted Delta
4 Shivan Reef
1 Swiftwater Cliffs
4 Temple of Epiphany
1 Wooded Foothills

sideboard:
3 Disdainful Stroke
3 Negate
2 Keranos, God of Storms
3 Anger of the Gods
3 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Swiftwater Cliffs

Love Top Level Podcast? Check out the books by our hosts!

Patrick’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Michael’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Direct Download

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