Welcome back to The Modern Perspective! With another Modern Grand Prix behind us, it's time to look at some results and see where the meta will be heading next. Grand Prix Brisbane seems like a step in the right direction for Modern. While G/B/x is still the strongest deck core in the format, other deck types were making strong finishes as well. If we had larger Modern events more often, I think we would start to see a shifting meta-game develop much quicker than we do now. Until that wish comes true, we can study Brisbane and continue to explore the meta at the current pace.

This week I also made some major changes to the Modern Land Prices section. I've tried to get a feeling of what players want from a Modern article series. Going by viewing popularity, readers seem to enjoy when I go to the "deeper end of the pool" despite the cost. However, I don't want to exclude players who are new to the format or the budget minded either, so I tried to find a solid compromise. I expanded the view to encompass most of the lands needed for current competitive play so that the more hardcore Modern players could keep an eye on things. To make it less daunting for those just starting in Modern, I've broken the Lands into sections and provided a brief description of each so that you could quickly learn the landscape of the Format. Be sure to check it out and leave feedback in the Comments!

Part I. The Trial Winners and Day 1 Undefeated Decks

Part II. 9th-16th Place

Part III. The Top 8

Part IV. The Modern Land Prices

Part I. The Trial Winners and Day 1 Undefeated Decks

The Trial Winners

I don't often see anyone take the time to talk about Trial winning decks. They didn't have to endure as many rounds as the Top 16 did, but they were able to get through 5 rounds undefeated. New ideas with potential may often show up in these lists before they are "on the radar".

Break down of the 10 Trial Winning Decks:

3 UWR Control

3 Jund

1 (Mostly) MonoBlack

1 Mono-U Tron

1 Soul Sisters

1 Melira Pod

My personal favorite of the bunch was this one:



A mostly Mono-black deck is a pretty rare sight in Modern! Phyrexian Obliterator is a beast of a win con against an unprepared meta. Gatekeeper of Malakir was a card I tried in my U/B Delver deck a few weeks back, but it's much better here when all of your lands are producing Black mana. Messenger is also resilient, even though it can't block the turn it comes into play. The deck has a nice amount of card drawing and it has the best Planeswalker in the format as well.

I would love to know what the missing 2 cards are from this list, so if anybody finds out, please let me know!

The Day 1 Undefeated Decks

There were only three undefeated players at the end of Day 1. Only one of the decks was something expected; the other two were much more interesting.

The Undefeated Three were:

1 Glasscannon Reanimator

1 U/W Tron

1 B/G Rock

Sure, the Rock deck was expected, but nobody was really expecting Glasscannon to be up there. Since I've never really shown it before, we get a bonus Deck Spotlight:



Fragile yet powerful is exactly what this deck is. I'm so glad that Jin-Gitaxis was in here. That card is just nuts if they don't have an answer to it. Sadly, I'm sure that cards like Deathrite and Scavenging Ooze stopped this from making it to the Top16. Still, it makes you wonder if it's possible? Is an SB Pithing Needle or two all that stands between us and Fattie Doom?

Part II. 9th-16th Place

Once again, The "Back 8" was comprised of various colors and archtypes.

The break down of 9th-16th Place decks:

1 Naya Midrange (9th)

1 Mono-Red Burn Deck (10th)

1 Kiki-Pod (11th)

1 UWR Flash Control (12th)

1 GW Hatebears (13th)

1 Jund (14th)

2 Melira Pod (15th and 16th)

Yes, 9th-16th really had that much variety. Honestly, if the Top 8 looked like this for the last few events, I think that a lot more people would be interested in Modern. For a format that is still rather young, this is a good sign....but only if this becomes the norm and not the exception.

The deck spotlight in this section goes to the most straight forward deck in the room:



Usually Mono-Red decks don't penetrate this far into an event. It looks like Sam tried to aim right at the heart of the meta. Both Flames of the Blood Hand and Skullcrack main deck is great against the many life gaining cards in the format. A few copies of Volcanic Fallout provide an uncounterable sweeper against the many strong, yet small, creatures of the format. This deck was primed to fight off decks like Melira Pod. The Guerrilla Tactics in the SB is my favorite part. Liliana of the Veil is one of the best cards in the format; why not prepare for that?

Fun Fact: At the time of writing, this deck would cost you $113.82 on MTGOTraders.com. Remove the Fetches and it would be $23.81.

9th-16th Place Cards of Note

Woolly Thoctar (Naya Mid-Range - Main Deck - 9th Place) The Thoctar took up the slot often held by Knight of the Reliquary. Why use a creature that can be shrunken by Deathrite Shaman or other graveyard removing cards when you can just put down a beefy 5/4 and swing away? While the Thoctar has no other abilities at all, a 5/4 on T2 can tear down many an opponent.

Molten-Tail Masticore (Kiki-Pod - Main Deck - 11th Place) This is the first time I have ever seen any Pod list run the Masticore. I'm surprised that this was the Masticore chosen to make the cut. Pod does help put creatures in the yard where the Masticore can fling them at opponents for the magic number of 4 damage. On the other hand, once they are in the yard, they become ammunition for Deathrite Shaman or Scavenging Ooze. It's a deadly game with fire; how often did they get burned?

Baneslayer Angel (GW Hatebears - Main Deck - 13th Place) The "Wallet Slayer" of days past, the Angel is still a very strong collection of abilities on a 5/5 body. I do wonder if four of them was a good idea? 5 mana can be a lot in this format and the while the 5 mana spells don't always have to immediately win the game, the Angel is right on the edge of "fragile enough" that tapping out for a creature that doesn't always make an immediate impact seems unimpressive. Also, if Jund and Rock are the deck to beat in the format, wouldn't maindeck Sigarda, Host of Herons just seem better? Baneslayer is better against all aggro decks, but maybe a combination of Baneslayer and Sigarda?

Part III. The Top 8

And our winner was (in case you really didn't know yet...):



Affinity breaks through the pile of Mid-Range and Combo decks to take the crown! Arguably the deck with more focused hate against it than any other deck in the format (seriously, some of the cards that were reprinted just to hate on Affinity are hard to miss once you notice), the raw speed of the deck can still win out in the end. The change to the Legend Rule after M14 helps reduce some of the drawback to Mox Opal making it an auto 4-of in current builds. More Moxen = More Speed! Etched Champion combined with Cranial Plating or the underestimated ability of Arcbound Ravager can destroy an opponent in one unblockable swing. Thanks to Glimmervoid and the Opal, the SB of Affinity is also a grab bag of tricks in all the colors of the rainbow. Even Spellskite becomes much more dangerous!

The breakdown of the Top 8:

Affinity 2 (1st and 8th)

B/G Rock 2 (2nd and 6th)

Jund 1 (3rd)

Kiki-Pod 1 (4th)

G/r Tron 2 (5th and 7th)



B/G and Jund held onto a nice chunk of the Top 8. Kiki traded off with Melira this time around, but couldn't take home the gold the way Melira can. Affinity made another appearance besides 1st place, showing that the Robot Aggro squad continues to stomp down on the weak fleshy ones. The diehard Tron fans were finally awarded with two Top 8 spots. Pyroclasm might be the only Red cards in the MD, but it helps carry Tron through several other bad matchups.

Top 8 Cards of Note

Fracturing Gust (GB Rock - Sideboard - 2nd Place) If you can survive to 5 mana, the Gust is the great equalizer against Affinity. Gaining back all the life while obliterating their board is "Game Over". Of course, that's saying you can live to 5 mana and draw the 1 copy.

Fiend Hunter - (Kiki-Pod - Main Deck - 4th Place) As a tutor target, Fiend Hunter can deal with a lot of problematic cards, such as Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Wurmcoil Engine. Throw a Phantasmal Image into the mix and you have the ability to keep the board clear long enough to assemble the combo and win.

Defense Grid (R/g Tron - Sideboard - 7th Place) Artifacts that can make life extremely difficult for counterspell slinging control players are always great for a deck like Tron. Almost every card in Tron is Sorcery speed, so this card is about as one sided as a "symmetrical effect" can be. Of course, once there are no more counterspell decks left in the winners bracket, it's mostly a dead card...so pay attention to your meta when choosing to pack some Grids.

Afterthoughts

There is a lot that could be said about these results, but I'll leave you with these last two statements:

There were 9 different deck types in the Top 16. The large Legacy tournament that same weekend had 12. A wider meta is possible.

The decks with proven, agreed upon builds and the least amount of flex spots are doing the best. Both Pod builds, G/B Rock, Jund, Affinity and R/g Tron have very few flex spots to experiment with. Melira Pod, Affinity and Jund both have about 2-3 cards that might change between lists. Most UWR lists are still vastly different from each other. No UWR list has become the "Proven" list. The Proven part matters though. Bogle and Merfolk both have very few flex spots, but can't quite prove themselves yet. The format isn't solved, but some lists are much further along than others.

Part IV. The Modern Land Prices

All prices are from MTGOtrader.com. The version linked was the cheapest when the land was added, but be sure to check for the best available price!

The Zendikar Fetch Lands

The Fetch Lands are the lynchpin of most mana bases in Modern. Being able to fix your colors by finding a Ravnica Shock Land is critical to the various top tier multi-color decks. The Fetchlands also have great synergy with the best one drop creature in the format, Deathrite Shaman. The price of Fetchlands is often considered the defining cost barrier of Modern, however, on MTGO, they are usually cheaper than many high demand Mythics.

The price for all of the Fetch Lands has dropped across this first week. Some of the drops, such as Tarn, have been dramatic. Did people finally realize that the next Modern PTQ season isn't until the summer? If you are looking to acquire Fetches, this seems like as good a time as any!

The Ravnica Shock Lands

The Shock Lands, with their dual basic land types, are very important pillars of the Modern format. The nickname is derived from the 2 life paid to put the land into play untapped compared to the 2 damage from the card Shock. After being reprinted in the Return to Ravnica block, the prices dropped dramatically and it is now much easier for players to acquire these lands with a modest budget.

The Fetches were stable again this week. Other than Godless Shrine climbing back over $5, there were no huge drops or gains.

The Scars of Mirrodin Fast Lands

The Fast Lands are a great way to ensure two colors of mana in the first few turns of the game. Only available in allied color pairings, they see the most use for colors that have strong aggressive themes that are not affected by the drawback. The Fast Lands have a relatively low price threshold and are an inexpensive way to add mana consistency to a deck.

This week the Fast lands took a tumble. The big drop on Copperline Gorge was the most interesting; usually they don't lose that much so quickly?

The Worldwake Man-Lands

The ability to produce two colors and provide a creature with an ability makes these lands rather attractive. More useful in mid-range and control oriented decks that don't mind the drawback as much. Currently only one of these lands appears as a '4-of' in a deck; so while they have a moderate price threshold, keep in mind that you usually only need about 1-2 copies of each per a deck.

Again, the sudden price drop is startling. In the few months I've been watching the land prices, Celestial Colonnade has never been this low. Raging Ravine is settling down after the gains it had over the last few weeks. Wildwood came down a little after several weeks at the same price point.

The Core Set/Innistrad Check Lands

While they do not provide mana on the first turn of the game, the Check Lands still have enough potential to see use in Modern. When combined with the Ravnica Shock Lands, the Checks are an inexpensive way to create reliable 2 color mana bases. Now that the Check Lands have rotated out of Standard, their prices are extremely low. Newer players to Modern, as well as those with very tight budgets, may want to start with these extremely cheap lands.

Now that Theros has been released on MTGO, the Check Lands have truly gone to pasture. Budget players everywhere should be rejoicing in the streets. .08 is crazy low! Even Woodland Cemetery is sub .50 with Sulfur Falls just a teensy bit higher. Dipping a toe into Modern isn't expensive at all anymore.

The Utility and Deck Specific Lands

This section covers Utility Lands, off cycle mana fixers and Deck specific lands that you might need if you want to build a Modern deck. Whether it's the Urza Tron Cycle, Affinity or you just want to know how much the most used lands that blow up other lands cost, this should give you some idea of what you are working with.

So I apologize that there isn't an actual price comparison for most of these lands. While I had been keeping an eye on Grove and Canopy (they were originally grouped in with the Fetches as "Other Pricey Lands"), I really hadn't made up my mind on how to display the rest. Once I started dividing the lands into small tables, I decided to go all out and list them all. Tune in next week for the first true comparison.

Conclusion

That brings us to the end of another article! There were lots of things that could be said about the GP and I wound up cutting decklists, cards spotlights and more so that I had time to work on the changes to the Land Prices. It's amazing how quickly time slips by when you are scouring decklists and creating 20 new hyperlinks...

I hope you enjoyed this look at the Grand Prix. I'm optimistic that the meta will continue to open up and become an ever changing mass of decks. Speaking of being optimistic about the future of Modern, next week I might have some very important questions to ask everyone. If I can't get that to work, well, then I'll probably discuss something more hateful.

Until then,

- Gio

The Modern Perspective Archive