Hi everybody!

It’s been a while since I wrote my last article, so let’s restart with talking about modern the format of the last GP Detroit where in top 16 there were 6 Jund and 4 BG Rock decks, here are two lists for exemple:

Jund By Reid Duke

Creatures

4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
4 Deathrite Shaman
2 Scavenging Ooze

Spells

2 Terminate
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Blightning
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Liliana of the Veil

Lands

1 Forest
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
2 Blood Crypt
2 Raging Ravine
2 Swamp
3 Marsh Flats
3 Treetop Village
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Verdant Catacombs

Sideboard

2 Ancient Grudge
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Obstinate Baloth
2 Olivia Voldaren
2 Shatterstorm
1 Sowing Salt
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Thoughtseize

 

 

BG Rock by Willy Edel

Creatures

4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Scavenging Ooze
2 Desecration Demon

Spells

2 Abrupt Decay
3 Dismember
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Batterskull
3 Liliana of the Veil

Lands

1 Encroaching Wastes
1 Forest
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Swamp
4 Treetop Village
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Twilight Mire
4 Marsh Flats
4 Tectonic Edge

Sideboard

1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Eradicate
2 Disfigure
4 Fulminator Mage
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Infest
1 Kitchen Finks
2 Thrun, the Last Troll

 

 

As you can see these two decks share a lot of cards and that’s why 10/16 of the top was filled by it, from this we can easily understand that cards like Tarmogoyf, Deathrite Shaman, Dark Confidant and Liliana of the Veil are among the strongest in modern and together make BGx a Tier 1 deck. Personally if I had to choose between Jund or BG I would always choose Jund because I played it a lot and I have a lot of experience with it, I even won a PTQ for S. Diego this year with Jund, after the ban of Bloodbraid Elf by replacing it with 2 Olivia Voldaren and 2 Thrun, the Last Troll without losing a match.

In fact if there was a modern tournament tomorrow I think I would play the list of Duke with some changes:

Jund By Emanuele Giusti

Creatures

4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Scavenging Ooze
1 Thrun, the Last Troll

Spells

2 Terminate
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Liliana of the Veil

Lands

1 Forest
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
2 Blood Crypt
2 Raging Ravine
2 Swamp
3 Marsh Flats
3 Treetop Village
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Verdant Catacombs

Sideboard

2 Ancient Grudge
2 Sowing Salt
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Olivia Voldaren
2 Shatterstorm
2 Slaughter Games
1 Thoughtseize

 

 

I removed from the main Blightning and one Inquisition of Kozilek putting in Thrun, The Last Troll (that helps against decks with blue and it’s also good in the mirror) and I added the third Scavenging Ooze. Then I changed the Pillar of Flame with Abrupt Decay because I prefer to have instant removal instead of sorcery but above all Abrupt Decay is more versatile than Pillar of Flame
In the side in a format where there are combo decks I want to play cards like Slaughter Games so I cut Fulminator Mage (I prefer Sowing Salt as a side for Tron) for it.

So what are you waiting for? go to your local tournament and play Modern !

I hope that these considerations on the last Grand Prix will be useful, but before wrapping up I want to make a short report of a legacy tournament I’ve played lately.
The tournament was held on September 28 and is one of the biggest legacy events in Italy, infact we were almost 300 players.
Since I have no legacy cards my friend borrowed me this deck:
ANT by Emanuele Giusti

Spells

1 Ad Nauseam
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
1 Chrome Mox
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony
3 Burning Wish
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Duress
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Lion’s Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal

Lands

4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Badlands
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Volcanic Island
1 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea

Sideboard

3 Chain of Vapor
2 Empty the Warrens
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Ill-Gotten Gains
1 Massacre
1 Pyroclasm
1 Cabal Therapy
2 Defense Grid
1 Reverent Silence
1 Rhystic Tutor

 

 

There were 9 swiss rounds, my score was 7-2, I lost to Ant without Burning Wish, and to Monobrown Stax (worst match up ever), I ended up 21st and I won 4 Flusterstorm
It was a good torunament and the deck I played was good but if I had tested I would have cut 1 Burning Wish for 1 Preordain, and in the sideboard the Rhystic Tutor should be Grim Tutor and cut 1 Chain of Vapor for Sadistic Sacrament (to win the mirror match if he didn’t have Burning Wish

That’s all, hope you enjoyed it.

Emanuele