There comes a time in every life where decisions have to be made. These aren't necessarily the same as choosing to take a chance, or running a risk. Rather, these are choices, some of them having a life-long effect, that get made usually with great amounts of thought and reflection. Things like:

What to study in college?

Do I even want to go to college over, say, a trade school or military service?

Is this the person I want to marry and (theoretically) spend the rest of my life with?

Is it time to buy a house?

All of these are big decisions, and things we decide based on upbringing, familial and friendship influences, long term goals, and desires and interests. Note, though, that not all decisions carry the weight of these listed. These other choices we must eventually make, and to be honest, more than likely a significant portion of all decisions you make, will fall somewhere between the life altering kind and the "Where should I get burgers from tonight?" kind. There is a vast middle ground there, with each point along the way requiring differing levels of input.

Most of us are not on the Pro Tour. Our deck choice isn't going to win us tens of thousands of dollars on a regular basis. Given that so few of us are in a position to where a correct deck choice means money, fame, and accolades, many players would chalk that decision in importance somewhere between "Should I get the bean or the beef burrito from Taco Bell?" and "Are these leftovers still good? Let me taste it to see..." The reality is that a considerable number of players probably have that right. This is a game; this is a hobby enjoyed many, regardless of age or gender. It's something we do for fun...for entertainment. But what if it holds a higher place that just that for you?

I have goals. Perhaps more reasonably, I should call them dreams. Sure, I've had some moderate level of success here and there, making Top 8 of several PTQ's back in the real PTQ era, and performing well at various States events. But, things I haven't done? I've never made Day 2 of a GP...or of a Star City event since they've gone to the GP-esque format. I've come close, hitting 6-3 at numerous times, but I've never gotten over that hump. And honestly, I've had a couple horrid GP performances within the last year, mostly due to poor play and poor deck choices. For me, making a deck choice, if I hope to achieve what I want, jumps up a little in priority level. Somewhere in the "Should I do the dishes tonight, or wait until the morning to do them?" range. Obviously, significantly more important than my Taco Bell or leftover determination.

All that being said, I have made my decision. I am playing the deck I posted last week. As a reminder, here is that list:

This is it. The same 75 as last week. I have had a blast playing this deck the last week and getting some testing completed both in paper and online. While I fully admit to this not being the bees knees against every deck, I'm pleased enough with what I expect to be a majority of the matchups that I'm running this. Let's get to the matches and sideboarding.

Matchup and Sideboard Guide

This section is going to include the projected sideboard strategy I plan on employing against each deck, as well as a few words discussing the pairing and expected results.

Jund/Junk:

-2 Hurricane

+2 Mirran Crusader

Mirran Crusader is a decent hedge against decks that run big green dudes and have black based removal. While susceptible to both Red removal like Lightning Bolt and White removal like Path to Exile, it still does a decent job of handling their threats and getting around Abrupt Decay, Slaughter Pact, and Maelstrom Pulse. I leave in the full 8 anti-discard creatures, since the deck itself is so heavily based around cheap hand disruption that it is virtually impossible for them to get rid of it all post sideboard. Suppression Field serves as an efficient way to tie up mana and help prevent man-land activations and planeswalker uses. The added benefit is that these decks run significant fetch lands, which forces them to spend mana to fetch, and further constricts their resources. It is also not completely unreasonable to consider playing something like Rest in Peace out of the board, depending on how graveyard dependent an individual version is.

Twin:

-4 Wilt-Leaf Liege

+2 Gaddock Teeg

+2 Choke

This is the sort of matchup where Suppression Field really shines. Decks like mine, with creatures that play such a crucial role in stopping and interacting with my opponents are, in turn, susceptible to creature removal. It does no good to have a Qasali Pridemage ready to kill a Splinter Twin on my turn when, at the end of my turn, they can simply Electrolyze my cat, and go off free and clear on their own turn. Between Suppression Field, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Qasali Pridemage, and Path to Exile, I think I have an already favorable game one. Post board, Gaddock Teeg puts a hold on both Splinter Twin and Cryptic Command, and allows me to get rid of my clunky 4-drops in the match. It's not completely unreasonable to consider leaving two Wilt-Leaf Liege in post board, and remove the Hurricanes instead, given their non-bo status with the kithkin leader.

Tron:

-2 Hurricane

-2 Wilt-Leaf Liege

+2 Gaddock Teeg

+2 Stony Silence

Game one is always simply a race. I need to get creatures online early, and hopefully be able to get in some disruption with Thalia and Suppression Field to slow them that handful of critical turns. Several games, an early Suppression Field was enough to shut down Karn Liberated the turn it hit the field, and gave me the opportunity to swing over for either lethal damage to my opponent, or to Karn. Sideboarded games play out a little different. With Gaddock Teeg to put a damper on Trons big play planeswalkers, and Stony Silence able to disable their Expedition Maps, Chromatic Stars, and Chromatic Spheres, in addition to disabling the reset button of Oblivion Stone that Tron decks rely on do dearly.

Burn:

-2 Hurricane

-1 Wilt-Leaf Liege

+3 Leyline of Sanctity

The Leyline of Sanctity is fairly obvious to bring in from the board. But, beyond that, I don't think this is a horrible match. Tough, for sure, as Burns is always apt to be, but definitely not unwinnable. If anything, I may be at an advantage in game one, simply because of Suppression Field. When up to 12 of their 20 lands are fetch lands, needing to pay to crack them and find a land is a huge burden on the red deck. Couple that with big creatures that require a 2-for-1 to remove, and Thalia making her presence felt, and this pairing looks good both on paper and in reality.

Zoo:

-2 Hurricane

+2 Mirran Crusader

Zoo always shows up, and there are a ton of differing versions available. All of them run a significant number of fetch lands, making the deck susceptible to Suppression Field as well. Overall, this is a creature battle. Many of my guys go over theirs, and I have the payment/mana advantage on my side in the first game. The Crusader joins the ranks from the board, and becomes a worthy, although fragile, member of the team, even if it will probably eat a Lightning Bolt or Lightning Helix. While this is my standard sideboarding strategy, I obviously will make changes depending on the exact flavor of Zoo I am facing. I can make a case to bring in several other cards from the board, should the need arise.

Affinity:

-3 Wilt-Leaf Liege

+3 Stony Silence

I get significantly stronger in games two and three, as Stony Silence is just a wrecking ball against Affinity. Game one, I am not completely destitute, though. The Suppression Field taxes their land activations, Arcbound Ravager usage, and even equip abilities. Big creatures pair well against smaller creatures, and I have decent removal between Path to Exile and Qasali Pridemage. Again, they can always get their unbeatable draw, and sometimes that's just going to happen. You will lose that game regardless of the hate you are packing. That being said, Affinity is probably the most fair "unfair" deck around.

Merfolk:

-2 Hurricane

+2 Choke

Merfolk. Fish. Blue guys. This little troupe has been making quite the name for itself lately, and has had multiple top finishes in both the GP circuit and the SCG scene. I have not tested nearly enough for this deck, but sometimes you are stuck with the hand you are dealt in the TPR. The game is dependent on getting an early Suppression Field to hinder their use of Aether Vial, and keep Path to Exile handy for those multiple lords that like to gather on the battlefield. My initial plan is to pull in Choke as a way to further inhibit their board development. It's a distinct prospect that Hurricane needs to stay in as a hedge against Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. This is a matchup where I have won less than 50% of the total games. Part of me kinda hopes I never run into it, which is a possibility given the diversity of the Modern format. It will be a difficult battle if I do play them.

Grixis:

-3 Wilt-Leaf Liege

-1 Hurricane

-1 Suppression Field

+2 Mirran Crusader

+3 Rest in Peace

This deck was one of the reasons I had to abandon my beloved Red/Green decks. I just continued to run into issues dealing with a turn two or three Tasigur, the Golden Fang or Gurmag Angler. The deck I'm running at least has a way to interfere with their mana resources, and make casting their non-creature spells more difficult. Bringing in the Protection from Black guy from the board to act as a permanent chump blocker, along with Rest in Peace to handle both Delve creatures and Snapcaster Mage enabled flashback seems like viable set of answers. I am making myself a touch weaker to their discard by removing the three Wilt-Leaf Liege from the main to bring in my answers, but it has worked out as a viable trade off so far.

Elves:

-4 Suppression Field

+2 Mirran Crusader

+2 Gaddock Teeg

This is the deck that absolutely loves when I get the worthless double or triple Suppression Field draw. Nothing like me drawing my opponent a discard spell. It's a risk that I'm willing to take right now, given how strong the card is against so much of the field. Obviously, those come out when we hit the subsequent games. Mirran Crusader is pretty good against Mono-Green decks, and Gaddock Teeg does quite the number against Collected Company and Chord of Calling both. In a vacuum, my guys get bigger than theirs, which should be an advantage, and I always have the ability to Path to Exile an elf lord before it becomes problematic. I'm not sure this is a Hurricane matchup, but that's better than anything else I could bring in from the board

Living End:

-2 Hurricane

-1 Wilt-Leaf Liege

+3 Rest in Peace

Playing Thalia and Suppression Field causes quite the hindrance against Living End based decks. Cycling being an activated ability, it falls under the thumb of the little enchantment that could. Thalia forces them to wait that extra turn to go off and flip out my creatures. That being said, that extra turn against a deck that offers no resistance can often be the difference between winning and losing. Post board, Rest in Peace is a hammer against this deck much like Stony Silence is against Affinity. If Living End decks are forced to cast their guys against me, I like my chances.

Scapeshift

-3 Suppression Field

+3 Leyline of Sanctity

Scapeshift doesn't get nearly the amount of play it should get. It's a deck I've built online, and have the cards for to build in paper. Once I get a chance to do some pretty in-depth testing, I wouldn't mind giving it a whirl myself. This is not the time for it, though, so I need to figure out how to beat it. I'm somewhat of a dog in the first game. Without an early Suppression Field to stunt their use of Sakura-Tribe Elder and minor interactions with the few fetch lands and Thalia to tax their plentiful non-creatures spells, I'm not sure I can push through enough damage before they Scapeshift for the win. For boarding, I take out the more ineffectual Suppression Fields and bring in Leyline of Sanctity. While I know they have answers to the Leyline in multiple bounce effects, my hope is that I can at least delay their ability to kill me until they find one of their 4-5 bounce spells. If I think they are going to go the Obstinate Baloth route, it could also be useful to bring in Mirran Crusaders as well, over possibly the fourth Suppression Field and a Wilt-Leaf Liege.

U/W Control

-2 Wilt-Leaf Liege

-1 Suppression Field

-1 Path to Exile

+2 Choke

+2 Gaddock Teeg

It never fails. Life is good. I'm happy. I have a handle on the most common decks. Then, suddenly, some well-respected pro, like Yuuya Watanabe, unleashes a sweet U/W Control deck on the Modern field, and tons of people pick it up and run with it. Don't believe me? Check out the daily results. This list is out there, and in lots of places. The deck even won the SCG Modern 5K in New Jersey this past weekend, I'm not extremely confident in my pairing here. I think I can flood the board and try to aggro route, but against a deck running multiple Supreme Verdicts, that seems poor. I think my plan in the first game is to try to get in a critical mass of damage with Loxodon Smiter and Kitchen Finks, and take a chance on a turn by dropping a Wilt-Leaf Liege into play to double pump the team and swing. It may not be the best plan, but it's what I have right now. In the board, I bring in Choke, although that may actually have limited use in this matchup given that the stock list from Yuuya only runs five lands that would be on lock down, and my friendly kithkin Gaddock Teeg to fend off Supreme Verdict and Cryptic Command. If I go the route of leaving Choke in the board, I think I keep in the Path to Exile and one of the Wilt-Leaf Liege.

Infect

-2 Hurricane

+2 Mirran Crusader

This was a deck that I initially was very worried about. Worried to the point of wanting to run Melira, Sylvok Outcast in the sideboard to help. Once I thought about it more in-depth, and played it a couple times, I'm less concerned than I was previously. The deck runs 10 fetch lands, plus six others that activate for non-mana abilities. Suppression Field seems custom made to interact positively with that. Add in Thalia as a hindrance to casting spells in an already mana light deck, and the battle seems absolutely lopsided. In subsequent games, the Crusader does quite a number on blocking Glistener Elf. Path to Exile should be saved for handling the unblockable Blighted Agent, as that can quickly put an end to the game, even with my interactive spells. The same as with Affinity, sometimes this deck just draws the nuts, and you can't win regardless. It happens. I do think this deck is less consistent than its Affinity counterpart, though.

Bad Matchups

I admit that I'm rather bullish on this deck. That is not to say or imply that there are not decks I just feel I can never beat. There is nothing in Modern that is unbeatable. We don't have a Superman deck that just tanks the field and has better than 50% matchups against any opponent. My list is no exception. Several of these close or bad clashes have been documented above, but that is not a complete list of every possible deck, obviously.

Soul Sisters is a deck I have little game against. I'm not preventing life gain in any way, and Suppression Field only serves as a minor inconvenience to them using their Martyr of Sands. When they get their Serra Ascendant super-sized, I'm in trouble. Sure, I can swing with beaters and try to keep their life below the 30-point threshold, but I'm not liking my changes. In the board, Rest in Peace may be useful if they are on the Proclamation of Rebirth plan. On the other hand, if it is the Norin the Wary version, I have no interaction at all. It's pretty much just a loss. While this deck is well known, it has a lot of bad matchups across the field, and seems a small amount of play.

Bogles, AKA G/W Hexproof, is another deck that I don't match up well against. This is more of a mainstream deck, and given the recent Worlds event, where there were three copies in the field of 24, including a copy played by the eventual winner, Seth Manfield, I should expect to see perhaps more of this than usual at the Modern Open. It doesn't matter that Bogles may not be the best option in an open field overall. People like to play the deck played by the winner. It should be noted that Mansfield went 3-1 with the deck, losing to Martin Dang, who was on Living End, in the first Modern round before going on to beat Affinity, McClaren's unique U/R control deck, and Yuuya's U/W Control. The last two pairings seem extremely fortunate for Bogles, as I'm not sold on its capacity to get past an army of Liliana of the Veils. Regardless of fortunate pairings, the deck will see play, and it's unfortunate for me. Suppression Field does disrupt the fetch lands and can prevent Horizon Canopy from drawing cards, and Qasali Pridemage will occasionally be useful in the Naturalize sorta way, and Thalia does tax their Enchantments. Even with that interaction, I have only won about one in three game ones against this deck. In the other two games, I have been removing two Path to Exile for two Mirran Crusader, which seems reasonable until an enchantment that provides Trample hits. Overall, I'm way under 50% against this in testing. Maybe it's purely a case of drawing poorly, as on paper, it looks good. It just hasn't played out that way.

Seeing Into the Future

While I'm locked in on the posted list for the SCG Open, I'm not completely set in stone on not making minor modifications as the need arises, or to utilize other cards. There is a list of cards I like, and can see where they would be useful. Although I don't have a spot for these now, I can see making tweaks to get some of these added somewhere.

Dosan the Falling Leaf : This has long been a favorite of mine. Of course, I wish it was simply City of Solitude, rather than being a dude who dies. Aside from my natural inclination to like this card, and effect, it's probably the narrowest of my options and won't make the cut. But sometimes, you just have to give a shout out, right?

Trinisphere : I love a card with a unique ability, and this one has it. It's the only card that does what it does, and it has multiple uses, from hitting Suspend and Cascade spells, to just making life miserable for Phyrexian Mana spells and Burn decks. This one will probably be difficult to keep on the bench for Oklahoma City.

Fecundity : Did you know this was Modern legal? Without checking Gatherer to double check me and make sure I wasn't lying? It is. It's also a possibility for me to put in the sideboard. Given the lack of effect I have against the U/W Control deck, this may be an answer. At least it could take the sting out of losing my team to a Wrath of God effect.

Chalice of the Void : This is another card that falls into the same general category/answer as Trinisphere. While it doesn't quite do the same thing, it can come down a turn earlier and have a profound effect of some decks. Traditionally, I've only ever run one or the other of these two cards, and if I decide against sphere, this guy could easily make the cut.

Story Circle : I admit up front that this card, much like Dosan, won't make the cut. Rarely is simply damage prevention effects top tier in constructed. I stumbled across this when I was looking for answers to Merfolk, and thought I would include it. Of course, all of the Circle of Protection enchantments are also legal, but that doesn't make them good or playable.

Gaea's Blessing : If a mill based-deck suddenly becomes a thing in Modern outside of the guy who always plays mill in every format at FNM, then this card suddenly becomes viable. I'm not holding my breath, though.

I've put a lot of effort into this deck, between construction, testing, and theory crafting. For the next two weeks, at a minimum, this will be my weapon of choice. With luck, that decision will work out to be a good one, and I can avoid most of my godawful pairings.

As David Farragut is paraphrased, "Damn the torpedoes....full speed ahead!"

Peace,

Carl Wilt