Hi guys!

We’re back to talking about Modern. In the last year I lost something like 5 or 6 PTQ finals after a 10 PTQ top 8 streak… not exactly what they call “a good run”… I reached the finals two weeks ago just to lose to Jund in an awkward topdeck race. I played a RUG Delver list I built myself. I always liked this type of deck and I built along with Antonino De Rosa and Marco Cammilluzzi the version they led to the top 8 of GP Turin. I switched at the very last moment to Splinter Twin, but I made top 8 so I wouldn’t regret that choice that much… I like RUG Delver because in a wide open format it’s a deck that has a chance against everything and has a good matchup against combo. As an old Faeries and Twin player (and lover), I like the ability to switch its game approach from control to aggro in the blink of an eye.
This is the decklist I led to the finals at PTQ Ferrara (Italy):

Lands

6 Island

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Scalding Tarn

2 Steam Vents

2 Breeding Pool

1 Mountain

1 Stomping Ground

1 Forest

Creatures

4 Delver of Secrets

4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Tarmogoyf

3 Vendilion Clique

Spells

2 Flame Slash

4 Serum Visions

4 Lightning Bolt

1 Deprive

3 Mana Leak

2 Remand

2 Spell Snare

2 Cryptic Command

2 Electrolyze

2 Vedalken Shackles

Sideboard

2 Thrun, the Last Troll

3 Threads of Disloyalty

3 Negate

3 Blood Moon

2 Grim Lavamancer

2 Ancient Grudge

 

I ended the Swiss portion with an 8-1 record (I know, in Italy we usually have 180+ in a PTQ… you can imagine how hard it is to get a plane ticket to a Pro Tour!). I beat Melira Pod, Kiki Pod, Affinity, Junk, UWR Kiki and 3 Jund. My only loss was against another Melira Pod. In top 8 I beat Scapeshift and Goryo Reanimator before losing to Jund as I said earlier.
After the PTQ I realized that Jund and other midrange decks were very popular, and although with this list the matchup is close to even, I tried a more midrange version to improve the midrange matchup for PTQ Monza.
I played this list:

Lands

5 Island

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Scalding Tarn

1 Steam Vents

4 Breeding Pool

1 Mountain

1 Stomping Ground

1 Forest

Creatures

4 Noble Hierarch

3 Snapcaster Mage

4 Tarmogoyf

3 Vendilion Clique

3 Scavenging Ooze

Spells

2 Flame Slash

4 Serum Visions

4 Lightning Bolt

1 Simic Charm

3 Mana Leak

2 Spell Snare

2 Cryptic Command

1 Electrolyze

1 Swerve

2 Vedalken Shackles

Sideboard

2 Thrun, the Last Troll

3 Threads of Disloyalty

2 Negate

2 Blood Moon

2 Ancient Grudge

2 Counterflux

1 Combust

1 Batterskull

 

This time I failed to reach top 8. I went 7-1 but unfortunately wasn’t able to draw due to bad tie breakers and lost against Tribal Zoo. I beat Kiki Pod, Melira Pod, Jund, Affinity, Scapeshift, UR Delver, RUG Delver and my other loss was against another Affinity.
I liked the deck overall. As you can see it’s more of a RUG midrange deck than a Delver (or Delverless) tempo. The less common choices are Simic Charm and Swerve. I was looking for something to protect Vedalken Shackles from Abrupt Decay and I decided on this split although Simic Charm is more versatile. They of course did a good job in protecting creatures too. If I were to play it tomorrow, I’d cut a Blood Moon from the board to have a third Ancient Grudge because playing against Affinity is not a walk in the park. Playing just a lone Blood Moon isn’t bad because you don’t absolutely need it to win the matchup in which it is good but you can sometimes steal a win with it, especially when you’re on the play. For those of you who are interested in giving this deck a try, this is a sideboard guideline against the most common matchups.

JUND (on the play)
+1 Blood Moon
+3 Threads of Disloyalty
+2 Thrun, the Last Troll
+1 Batterskull
-2 Cryptic Command
-2 Vedalken Shackles
-1 Snapcaster Mage
-1 Vendilion Clique
-1 Electrolyze

JUND (on the draw)
+3 Threads of Disloyalty
+2 Thrun, the Last Troll
+1 Batterskull
-2 Cryptic Command
-1 Vedalken Shackles
-3 Mana Leak

POD
+1 Combust
+3 Threads of Disloyalty
+2 Ancient Grudge
-2 Spell Snare
-1 Swerve
-1 Simic Charm
-2 Cryptic Command

UWR Kiki/midrange
+1 Blood Moon
+2 Counterflux
+2 Thrun, the Last Troll
+1 Batterskull
+1 Combust
+2 Negate
-3 Scavenging Ooze
-1 Snapcaster Mage
-3 Mana Leak
-1 Swerve
-1 Simic Charm

SPLINTER TWIN pure combo
+1 Ancient Grudge
+2 Counterflux
+2 Thrun, the Last Troll
+1 Combust
-3 Mana Leak
-1 Swerve
-2 Cryptic Command

RUG TWIN (Tarmotwin, if you prefer)
+3 Threads of Disloyalty
+2 Counterflux
+2 Thrun, the Last Troll
+1 Combust
-3 Mana Leak
-1 Swerve
-2 Cryptic Command
-1 Vedalken Shackles
-1 Simic Charm

SCAPESHIFT
+2 Counterflux
+2 Thrun, the Last Troll
+2 Negate
+1 Blood Moon
-2 Flame Slash
-2 Vedalken Shackles
-1 Simic Charm
-2 Scavenging Ooze

AFFINITY
+3 Threads of Disloyalty
+3 Ancient Grudge
+1 Batterskull
-1 Swerve
-1 Vendilion Clique
-2 Cryptic Command
-3 Mana Leak

TRON
+1 Blood Moon
+3 Ancient Grudge
+2 Negate
+2 Counterflux
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Flame Slash
-2 Vedalken Shackles
-2 Scavenging Ooze

So, if you like green based midrange decks but you’re looking to avoid Jund mirror matches, if you’re looking for a challenging deck that can reward you for wise plays and punish you for awful ones, if you’re looking for a funny deck, give RUG Midrange a try. I think you won’t regret this.
I hope you liked the deck and my thoughts about it, and I hope to finally win a PTQ to write a report of it before planning my trip to the Hawaii
See you next time

Alessandro Portaro