This past weekend Win Condition Games hosted our monthly Win Condition Cup Qualifier. This month’s format was Modern. Forty players came out to take their shot at qualifying for the Win Condition Cup later this year.
The question going into the event was how the format would adjust to the banning of Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis and Faithless Looting and the return of Stoneforge Mystic.
The decks for the event where more diverse than we have seen over the last several major events. Tron had the most decks followed by Red-Black Seasoned Pyromancer and Stoneforge Mystic decks. Burn was also an effective choice. Two of the three burn decks made it into the Top 8, but the winner of the day was Goblins piloted by David Price.
Goblin tribal has been a staple of Modern for many years, but with the addition of Arclight Phoenix and Hogaak decks it has not seen as much play recently.
Arclight Phoenix decks had remained a good presence in the format even with the arrival of Hogaak, but this weekend no one played a Phoenix deck. Apparently, the loss of Faithless Looting discouraged players from taking Arclight Phoenix out for a spin. I expect that it will find its way back into the format once an appropriate replacement for Faithless Looting is found.
Below are the Top 8 deck lists from Saturday’s event. This is the most variety we have seen since the arrival of Hogaak.
Goblins, David Price, 1st Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
Burn, Brandon Cook, 2nd Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
| Creatures (12) 4 Goblin Guide 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel Instants (16) 4 Boros Charm 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Searing Blaze Sorcery (13) 4 Lava Spike 3 Rift Bolt 4 Skewer the Critics 2 Skullcrack Land (19) 3 Mountain 1 Arid Mesa 2 Bloodstained Mire 3 Sacred Foundry 4 Scalding Tarn 4 Sunbaked Canyon 2 Wooded Foothills | Sideboard (15) 2 Deflecting Palm 2 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Grafdigger's Cage 3 Path to Exile 2 Rest in Peace 2 Skullcrack 3 Smash to Smithereens |
Mono-Green Tron, Damon Friend, 3rd Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
| Creatures (9) 1 Kozilek, the Great Distortion 2 Oblivion Sower 2 Walking Ballista 2 Wurmcoil Engine 2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger Artifacts (16) 3 Chromatic Sphere 3 Chromatic Star 4 Expedition Map 1 Mystic Forge 3 Oblivion Stone 2 Relic of Progenitus Sorcery (8) 4 Ancient Stirrings 4 Sylvan Scrying Planeswalker (8) 3 Karn Liberated 3 Ugin, the Ineffable 2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Land (20) 3 Forest 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Sanctum of Ugin 4 Urza’s Mine 4 Urza’s Power Plant 4 Urza’s Tower 3 Waterlogged Grove | Sideboard (15) 1 Crucible of Worlds 1 Grafdigger's Cage 3 Nature’s Claim 2 Ravenous Trap 1 Thran Temporal Gateway 1 Torpor Orb 1 Trinisphere 2 Thragtusk 2 Veil of Summer 1 Warping Wail |
Humans, Christopher Mahaffey, 4th Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
Red- Black Seasoned Pyromancer Midrange, Zach Fleisher, 5th Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
| Creatures (14) 4 Bloodghast 2 Dreadhorde Arcanist 4 Seasoned Pyromancer 2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang 2 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician Planeswalker (5) 1 Chandra, Acolyte of Flame 4 Liliana of the Veil Instant (8) 3 Fatal Push 2 Kolaghan's Command 3 Lightning Bolt Sorcery (10) 2 Collective Brutality 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Thoughtseize 2 Unearth Land (23) 1 Arid Mesa 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 3 Blood Crypt 4 Bloodstained Mire 3 Marsh Flats 1 Prismatic Vista 2 Silent Clearing 2 Snow Covered Mountain 2 Snow Covered Swamp 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth | Sideboard (15) 2 Ashiok, Dream Render 3 Blood Moon 2 Collective Brutality 3 Fulminator Mage 2 Plague Engineer 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Thoughtseize |
Hardened Scales, Vince Thompson, 6th Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
| Creatures (20) 4 Arcbound Ravager 4 Arcbound Worker 4 Hangarback Walker 1 Scrapyard Recombiner 3 Steel Overseer 4 Walking Ballista Artifact (12) 2 Animation Module 4 Mox Opal 2 Throne of Geth 4 Welding Jar Sorcery (4) 4 Ancient Stirrings Enchantment (5) 1 Evolutionary Leap 4 Hardened Scales Land (19) 1 Blinkmoth Nexus 4 Darksteel Citadel 7 Forest 4 Inkmoth Nexus 2 Nurturing Peatland 1 Pendelhaven | Sideboard (15) 3 Damping Sphere 3 Dismember 2 Grafdigger’s Cage 1 Karn, Scion of Urza 4 Nature's Claim 2 Spellskite |
Burn, William Francoleth, 7th Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
| Creatures (12) 4 Goblin Guide 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel Instants (16) 4 Boros Charm 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Searing Blaze Sorcery (12) 4 Lava Spike 4 Rift Bolt 4 Skewer the Critics Land (20) 1 Arid Mesa 4 Bloodstained Mire 1 Fiery Islet 3 Inspiring Vantage 3 Mountain 2 Sacred Foundry 4 Sunbaked Canyon 2 Wooded Foothills | Sideboard (15) 2 Dragon's Claw 2 Exquisite Firecraft 3 Path to Exile 3 Rest in Peace 2 Skullcrack 3 Smash to Smithereens |
Grixis Shadow, Camron Neighbours, 8th Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier
| Creatures (15) 4 Death’s Shadow 4 Gurmag Angler 3 Snapcaster Mage 4 Street Wraith Instant (17) 2 Dismember 3 Fatal Push 2 Kolaghan’s Command 1 Lightning Bolt 4 Stubborn Denial 1 Temur Battle Rage 4 Thought Scour Sorcery (10) 2 Inquisition of Kozilek 4 Serum Visions 4 Thoughtseize Land (18) 1 Island 1 Swamp 2 Blood Crypt 4 Bloodstained Mire 1 Fiery Islet 4 Polluted Delta 2 Scalding Tarn 1 Steam Vents 2 Watery Grave | Sideboard (15) 2 Abrade 2 Collective Brutality 3 Ceremonious Rejection 1 Disdainful Stroke 2 Force of Negation 1 Liliana of the Veil 1 Liliana, the Last Hope 2 Plague Engineer 1 Surgical Extraction |
Until next time. Good luck finding your win condition!