A Guide to Vizier Knightfall



Hi everyone,



Tzu Ching Kuo and I finished 12-3 at Grand Prix Kobe with Vizer Knightfall and I would like to share it with you guys. Grand Prix Kobe was two weeks after Pro Tour Amonkhet and I decided that I would just stick to my old Bant Knightfall deck as I had already tuned it.



More importantly, there was too little time to test or brew a new deck. I decided to take a spin with Bant Knightfall but ended up 2-3 in three consecutive Magic Online Leagues. I could blame my poor performance on jet lag and pretended that I went 3-2 in all of them, but that was still not impressive.



Tomoharu Saito had also been testing Bant Knightfall and we both agreed that Courser of Kruphix were horrible now that Reflector Mage is an all-star in Modern. If anyone is still playing Bant Knightfall, this is the deck list I would recommend.

Bant Knightfall (AKH) (Modern - Others) Gallery View Modern by Kelvin Chew Add All to Cart

Mainboard (60)



Botanical Sanctum

1 Breeding Pool

1 Flooded Strand

3 Forest

1 Gavony Township

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Horizon Canopy

1 Kessig Wolf Run

4 Misty Rainforest

1 Plains

1 Stomping Ground

1 Temple Garden

4 Windswept Heath

22 land



4 Birds of Paradise

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Noble Hierarch

2 Qasali Pridemage

4 Reflector Mage

3 Scavenging Ooze

4 Spell Queller

3 Voice of Resurgence

28 creature



22 land28 creature Collected Company

4 Path to Exile

2 Retreat to Coralhelm

10 other spells



10 other spells Sideboard (15)



1 Eldritch Evolution

2 Gideon of the Trials

2 Negate

3 Unified Will

1 Vendilion Clique

2 Izzet Staticaster

2 Kitchen Finks

2 Tireless Tracker

15 cards



15 cards







Why Vizier Knightfall Over Bant Knightfall?



With Counters Company getting popular, I wanted an edge against them and Vizier Knightfall does exactly what I wanted. It provides us with Reflector Mage and Izzet Staticaster, plus an additional combo which is easy to assemble.



The two drops, Voice of Resurgence and Scavenging Ooze in Bant Knightfall are not as impactful now because the metagame has changed, therefore it made way for Devoted Druid and Vizier of Remedies.







How did the deck come about?



After three copies of Abzan Counters Company finished in the Top 4 of SCG Modern Classic Louisville, I had an idea and decided to try and mash the combo into Bant Knightfall. It was not an easy task trying to fit everything into it and I knew a lot of work had to be done to develop it. After some trial and error, I came up with this first draft of Vizier Knightfall.

Vizier Knightfall 1.0 (Modern - Others) Gallery View Modern by Kelvin Chew Add All to Cart

Mainboard (60)



Botanical Sanctum

1 Breeding Pool

1 Flooded Strand

3 Forest

2 Gavony Township

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Horizon Canopy

1 Kessig Wolf Run

4 Misty Rainforest

1 Plains

1 Stomping Ground

1 Temple Garden

4 Windswept Heath

22 land



4 Birds of Paradise

4 Devoted Druid

2 Duskwatch Recruiter // Krallenhorde Howler

4 Knight of the Reliquary

2 Noble Hierarch

4 Reflector Mage

1 Rhonas the Indomitable

4 Spell Queller

4 Vizier of Remedies

29 creature



22 land29 creature Chord of Calling

4 Collected Company

2 Retreat to Coralhelm

9 other spells



9 other spells Sideboard (15)



2 Izzet Staticaster

4 Meddling Mage

1 Qasali Pridemage

2 Scavenging Ooze

2 Tireless Tracker

1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence

3 Path to Exile

15 cards



15 cards





I played it in a Magic Online League and went 5-0 in the very first try. I did not know if it was a fluke, so I decided to share with Team MTG Mint Card and Team MTG Bent Card for some advice.



Well, jokes aside, I took the deck for another League with the exact same list, with the exception of swapping out one Reflector Mage for an Eternal Witness and I went 5-0 again, defeating Eldrazi Tron, two Death's Shadow, Blue Tron and Affinity. If they do not have removal, you can easily set up the combo by turn four.



After two Leagues and some discussion with teammates, we discovered that some cards did not perform up to expectations.



Spell Queller felt like the weakest card in the deck compared to Bant Knightfall where it was the MVP. Vizier Knightfall is a more focused combo deck (with a backup beatdown plan) so delaying your opponent using Spell Queller is not as important because we are able to combo out more easily.

Eternal Witness felt better most of the time because taking back Collected Company is just more impactful. This play allows us to recast Collected Company to find missing combo pieces. When you have infinite mana, having Eternal Witness to pick up Chord of Calling is important because it can get you Walking Ballista to close the game right there.



After tuning the deck, this is what I played in the 3rd League and I went 4-1. I decided to register this deck for Grand Prix Kobe. I certainly felt sad not getting to play with my beloved Spell Queller but it was all for the best.

Vizier Knightfall 2.0 (Grand Prix Kobe 2017 - Top 32) Gallery View Modern by Kelvin Chew Add All to Cart

Mainboard (60)



Breeding Pool

3 Forest

1 Gavony Township

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Horizon Canopy

1 Kessig Wolf Run

4 Misty Rainforest

1 Plains

1 Stomping Ground

1 Temple Garden

4 Windswept Heath

1 Wooded Foothills

20 land



4 Birds of Paradise

4 Devoted Druid

2 Duskwatch Recruiter // Krallenhorde Howler

4 Eternal Witness

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Noble Hierarch

4 Reflector Mage

4 Vizier of Remedies

1 Walking Ballista

31 creature



20 land31 creature Chord of Calling

4 Collected Company

2 Retreat to Coralhelm

9 other spells



9 other spells Sideboard (15)



1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

3 Izzet Staticaster

2 Meddling Mage

1 Qasali Pridemage

2 Scavenging Ooze

3 Path to Exile

3 Unified Will

15 cards



15 cards



After playing with this deck, I would suggest taking out 2 Meddling Mage for 2 Nissa, Steward of Elements.



At Kobe, I had expected Living End and Ad Nauseam to be popular, which makes Meddling Mage a great card. However, Death's Shadow tends to be more popular these days which is why I prefer Nissa, Steward of Elements, to present a threat that is difficult for them to deal with.



Now, allow me to explain some of the card choices.



Eternal Witness is one of the key components in Vizier knightfall. It allows you to find your combo pieces by chaining Collected Company while also taking back creatures that were discarded by Inquisiton of Kozilek or Thoughtsieze, or killed.



Eternal Witness also allow us to play lesser lands because we can always take back fetchlands with it. Against Death's Shadow, you really want to always have it or hit it with Collected Company.



I can only say that Reflector Mage is busted in Modern. It is so underplayed and most people don't realise how good it is. Here are some of the cards which Reflector Mage are good against and take note that these cards are in so many decks!



As you can see, Modern is dominated by creatures! Bouncing and delaying them makes a difference between a win and a loss. A turn four Devoted Druid or Dark Confidant is way less dangerous than it is on turn two, which is why Reflector Mage is so crucial in these matchups.





Devoted Druid is a creature that must be killed on sight. Allowing your opponent to untap with it is extremely devastating because it enables a turn three Collected Company. If they get Vizier of Remedies, it is infinite mana immediately. I lost Round 15 of Grand Prix Kobe because I did not draw a solution to a second-turn Devoted Druid. It is that dangerous!

This was a last minute swap over Rhonas the Indomitable. Let's compare the pros and cons.

Walking Ballista

Rhonas the Indomitable



For now, Walking Ballista is my win condition of choice because Counter Company is a significant part of the metagame now and having an edge is important.



Triple Izzet Staticaster was a metagaming move in anticipation of the rise of Counters Company. Splashing red is worth it because it gives you the edge in the Collected Company mirrors.



I wanted something that was able to grind out long games against White-Blue Control, Death's Shadow and so on. Nissa, Steward of Elements seemed to be a perfect fit. It can help you find combo pieces while providing card advantage.

Sideboard Guide



Against Grixis / Jund Death's Shadow

+2 Scavenging Ooze

+2 Nissa, Steward of Elements

+3 Path to Exile

-1 Vizier of Remedies

-2 Birds of Paradise

-2 Chord of Calling

-2 Retreat to Coralhelm



Against Eldrazi Tron

+2 Nissa, Steward of Elements

+3 Path to Exile

+1 Qasali Pridemage

+3 Unified Will

-4 Birds of Paradise

-1 Vizier of Remedies

-2 Eternal Witness

-2 Retreat to Coralhelm



Against Counters Company

+3 Izzet Staticaster

+3 Path to Exile

+2 Scavenging Ooze

-4 Vizier of Remedies

-1 Duskwatch Recruiter

-2 Devoted Druid

-1 Eternal Witness



Against Affinity

+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

+3 Izzet Staticaster

+3 Path to Exile

+1 Qasali Pridemage

-4 Knight of the Reliquary

-2 Retreat to Coralhelm

-2 Eternal Witness



Against Boros Burn

+3 Path to Exile

+1 Qasali Pridemage

+2 Scavenging Ooze

+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

-2 Retreat to Coralhelm

-2 Reflector Mage

-2 Eternal Witness

-1 Duskwatch Recruiter



Against Blue-Red Storm

+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

+2 Scavenging Ooze

+3 Unified Will

-4 Eternal Witness

-1 Duskwatch Recruiter

-1 Vizier of Remedies



Against Dredge

+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

+3 Izzet Staticaster

+2 Scavenging Ooze

-2 Retreat to Coralhelm

-1 Vizier of Remedies

-1 Duskwatch Recruiter

-2 Eternal Witness



Red-Green Valakut

+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

+3 Path to Exile

+3 Unified Will

-4 Reflector Mage

-3 Eternal Witness



White-Blue Control

+2 Nissa, Steward of Elements

+1 Qasali Pridemage

+2 Scavenging Ooze

+3 Unified Will

-4 Birds of Paradise

-4 Reflector Mage



Against Jund / Abzan Midrange

+2 Nissa, Steward of Elements

+3 Path to Exile

+2 Scavenging Ooze

-4 Birds of Paradise

-2 Retreat to Coralhelm

-1 Vizier of Remedies



Against Living End

+2 Scavenging Ooze

+3 Unified Will

-3 Reflector Mage

-2 Retreat to Coralhelm



That's all I have on Vizier Knightfall for now and I recommend giving it a try. If you've got any questions regarding the deck, feel free to post them in the comment section and I will be glad to answer them. Good luck if you're playing in Grand Prix Las Vegas this weekend!

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