Decks of the Week - 4/12/16

So this week was SCG Baltimore, which had major events in Standard, Modern, and Legacy. Since it's a new rotation, most of the decks will focus on the quality and quantity of the decks played at the tournament over the brewtastic decks you find in your regular IQs.






Standard

1) Bant Company by Jim Davis - 1st Place SCG Open Baltimore
So this deck took the SCG Open and got plenty of airtime doing it. Overall not much difference in this deck from what deck was before rotation. It did get a few more cards in [mtg_card]Duskwatch Recruiter[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Tireless Tracker[/mtg_card], and [mtg_card]Archangel Avacyn[/mtg_card]. Duskwatch Recruiter was a powerhouse all day but most people admit the deck probably should have played more of Tireless Trackers.

2) UR Control by Todd Anderson - 4th Place SCG Open Baltimore
Todd Anderson came in with one of the most brewtastic decks in the whole event and came away with a top 8 finish. Something to be said about him, the deck, and the format in general. The deck got plenty of airtime, as I watched him one-shot fool with multiple [mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card]s or get [mtg_card]Fall of the Titans[/mtg_card] played with surge off of a [mtg_card]Pyromancer's Goggles[/mtg_card] to kill two creatures and smash his opponent for 2X paid to it. I don't know how much of a real thing this deck is, but man did it look fun to pilot.

3) WU Humans by Collin Stiles - 6th Place SCG Open Baltimore
WU Humans was easily the most popular deck at the event, and made up over 25 players still alive on day 2. The deck combine the aggressive power of humans with the evasion of a [mtg_card]Dragonlord Ojutai[/mtg_card] with vigilance and the protection of [mtg_card]Archangel Avacyn[/mtg_card]. But the key secret of the deck is [mtg_card]Declaration in Stone[/mtg_card]. This card is easily the best removal in standard since [mtg_card]Path to Exile[/mtg_card].

4) WB Eldrazi by Eric Hymel - 3rd Place SCG Open Baltimore
Bunch of people came into the even with this deck design and many made day 2. Great removal, good threats, and 4x [mtg_card]Archangel Avacyn[/mtg_card]. Sounds fun.

5) WR Weapons Trainer by Daniel Riley - 3rd Place SCG IQ Wilbraham
I had to put one brewtastic IQ deck up here. I was willing to bet [mtg_card]Captain's Claws[/mtg_card] was probably crazy in Standard if it ever found a home.




Modern

1) Scapeshift by Daryl Ayers - 1st Place SCG Classic Baltimore
A [mtg_card]Prismatic Omen[/mtg_card] version of Scapeshift is something I haven't seen in awhile. Very simple design. Little low on the counterspell count for my taste of Scapeshift decks.

2) Jund by Adonnys Medrano - 2nd Place SCG Classic Baltimore
On one hand, it's Jund. On the otherhand, singletons of [mtg_card]Huntmaster of the Fells[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Goblin Dark-Dwellers[/mtg_card], and [mtg_card]Tasigur, the Golden Fang[/mtg_card] make it a little more spicy than your typical Jund deck. I really like the Goblin Dark-Dwellers.

3) Grixis Control by Matthew Nester - 10th Place SCG Classic Baltimore
Played [mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card] maindeck at a major event. Well done.

4) WB Eldrazi by Elliot Smith - 1st Place SCG Super IQ Garden City
While everyone was looking for how Eldrazi could make a comeback into Modern, Mr. Smith was actually doing it. Plays like WB Hatebears, but abuses blink effect off [mtg_card]Eldrazi Displacer[/mtg_card] on [mtg_card]Tidehollow Sculler[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Thought-Knot Seer[/mtg_card] combined with [mtg_card]Wasteland Strangler[/mtg_card] to keep you on a terrible hand. Very well thought out deck. Props to you Mr. Smith. Actually, I just wanted to say Mr. Smith.

5) Bant Company by James Schlott - 24th Place SCG Classic Baltimore
Took me some time to realize this was not even close to the deck that I play in Modern. I have no idea what 4x [mtg_card]Retreat to Coralhelm[/mtg_card] does. I guess he just taps down his opponent's board for a finishing blow. Doesn't seem great to me, but got inside top 32 of the event, so who am I to ask. Oh, and [mtg_card]Sun Titan[/mtg_card] feels so out of place, but I totally understand it.




Legacy

1) Shardless Sultai by Tyler Bailey - 1st Place SCG Classic Baltimore
Typical [mtg_card]Shardless Agent[/mtg_card] deck took the tournament.

2) Death and Taxes by Travis Cowley - 4th Place SCG Classic Baltimore
Travis managed to squeeze in 2x [mtg_card]Magus of the Moon[/mtg_card]. Something I approve of in this deck.

3) Nic Fit by Sean Griffith - 6th Place SCG Classic Baltimore
The more I look at Nic Fit, the less I understand how they even work.

4) Eldrazi by Harlan Firer - 11th Place SCG Classic Baltimore
Seen this deck crop up ever since Eldrazi blew up Modern. This might be the highest I've seen it get.

5) UR Delver by Eli Kassis - 13th Place SCG Classic Baltimore
[mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card] in the maindeck. Here's you piece of candy for trying something new.

Comments

  1. That WB Eldrazi list looks really interesting. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but Eldrazi Displacer activated in response to Tidehollow Sculler's enter the battlefield means his leaves the battlefield triggers before his enter the battlefield allowing Mr. Smith to exile two cards from his opponents hand one of which is exiled permanently? That is dirty, and I approve.

    In the Bant company list, Retreat to Coralhelm is used with Knight of the Reliquary to infinitely sac his Forests and Plains leaving a +∞/+∞ (okay not really ∞ but close enough) Knight of the Reliquary and thinned deck.

    That WB Eldrazi deck though, I think I'll have to build that. I was wondering what to do with my Eldrazi Displacers.

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  2. With the Eldrazi Displacer combo, yes you can do that. You can blink Tidehollow Sculler while the exile trigger of Tidehollow is on the stack. This will cause the return trigger to be on top of exile trigger in the stack. This effectively permanently exiles the card since the return trigger will resolve before the exile trigger. It was an issue Wizards fixed with "exile until" effect in Theros. It's also a chain. You can keep doing this so long as you have mana. You could rip 2-3 cards from their hand by doing this.

    I totally forgot about the Retreat to Coralhelm + Knight of Reliquary combo. Good catch.

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