Affinity for Days (Modern MTG Deck)

Just to put it out there my set of 4x Vault Skirge are the Gateway Promos and the Inkmoth Nexus are the Worod Magic Cup Promos but they don't exist in this sites database so I marked them as altered foil to signify that they are promo versions. I know it isn't really important to the running of the deck but I am trying to foil the deck and put in all of the promo visions I can.

The Maybe Board are cards that I have that could be in either the main deck or the Sideboard but didn't make the cut when I was tooling the deck but are still viable options.

"There are a lot of 1-ofs in my sideboard. This may seem weird, but I have several strategic reasons for this choice. The gist is that I like seeing one in my hand but often not two. But let me break it down in a bit more detail.

First, there are diminishing returns. I'll explain with an example. Suppose that, for the sake of the argument, you have two free sideboard slots and you can either go with 2 Rule of Law, 2 Torpor Orb, or 1 Rule of Law and 1 Torpor Orb. Moreover, for this example, suppose that Rule of Law only comes in against Storm (7% of the metagame) and Torpor Orb only comes in against Abzan Company (8% of the metagame). These numbers are not meant to reflect the actual metagame but are here to provide a concrete example. If you have a hate card in the top 10 cards of your library, you gain a certain bonus B to win in those matchups, but—and this is where diminishing returns come in—a second one brings no further bonus. The probability of drawing at least one hate card in your top 10 is 16.7% when it's a 1-of and 30.8% when it's a 2-of. So the expected bonus in an arbitrary matchup is as follows:

2 Torpor Orb: 8% * 30.8% * B = 0.0246B

2 Rule of Law: 7% * 30.8% * B = 0.0216B

1 Torpor Orb, 1 Rule of Law: 8% * 16.7 * B + 7% * 16.7 * B = 0.0250B

For this reason, conceptually at least, I like to go for the two 1-ofs. Of course, if one card or deck is much better than the other, then this may change, but I wanted to illustrate the general thought process.

Secondly, especially for a deck like Affinity, every sideboard card you add requires you to cut an engine card, which cuts into the deck's power and explosiveness. In the previous example, I focused on added benefits of sideboard cards, but I didn't incorporate the reduction in artifact synergies. This is an increasing, convex function of the number of cards you remove. In other words, removing 1 Memnite or Signal Pest is not a big deal, but the more of these cards you cut, the worse Mox Opal and Springleaf Drum get. Oversideboarding is dangerous, and it's another reason why I'd rather board in 1 card in two matchups than 2 cards in one matchup. Having more 1-ofs allows me to do so.

Thirdly, 1-ofs are fun and keep the opponent off-balance. I enjoy the variety in game play that results from many one-ofs, and it's nice that opponents never know how many copies of a card I have. Sometimes they assume I will play more and make plays or sideboard decisions in subsequent games accordingly, which turn out to be poor when I'm only running a single copy of that card" - Frank Karsten

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/affinity-in-the-new-modern/

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/building-the-perfect-affinity-sideboard/

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Date added	9 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is not Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 1 Mythic Rares 17 - 9 Rares 15 - 5 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	1.41
Tokens	Construct 0/0 C
Folders	interesting decks, Modern, Decks that look fun to play, My Modern Decks, affinity, Modern Deck Ideas, Modern, Liked, Just modern stuff, Modern
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