Hello there! I just got into Modern, pretty much for the purpose of seeing whether I could make Faeries work. So far I've had loads of fun and won more games than I've lost, so I wanted to share what I've learned.

Faeries is fun because it always has a trick up its sleeve. Creatures with flash are hilarious because the opponent never knows what you're planning until they make their move. A good game of Faeries is like watching your opponent flail around in the dark and dodging blows until they tucker themselves out, then pushing them over and sitting on them when they don't have any more energy to fight.

Faeries is powerful because it has so many tools to punish fast and cheap cards. Modern players love spells with low converted mana cost, all of which are easy targets for Spellstutter Sprite, Fatal Push, Spell Snare, or Inquisition of Kozilek. In the late game, you have cards like Cryptic Command and Snapcaster Mage which will keep just about any threat in line. And Bitterblossom is an insane value engine that keeps them from connecting with frightening creatures or just wins you the game all by itself.

And for now, Faeries seems to be a bit of an unknown commodity. Nobody else plays Faeries at either LGS I frequent, so a lot of my opponents are seeing the deck for the first time. They frequently second-guess themselves when sideboarding or fail to exploit some of my vulnerabilities. And I greatly enjoy seeing people pick up my cards to read them, because it means I'm playing something different.

Anyway, let's talk a little bit about the purpose each card serves.

The Maindeck

Creatures

Spellstutter Sprite

On a good day, this is a more splashable Counterspell that sticks around to beat people up. On a great day, this can be returned to your hand where it can counter another spell. And on a bad day, it's still a 1/1 with flying, flash, and a relevant tribe. Even with no spells to counter, I've flashed this in to kill all sorts of utility creatures that my opponent thought it was safe to swing at me.

Note that this can be killed while its trigger is on the stack. If you don't have enough faeries to match the converted mana cost of the targeted spell when the ability resolves, you won't be able to counter the spell. That said, if your Spellstutter eats a Lightning Bolt or Path to Exile, you're probably coming out ahead even if you fail to stop the spell you were targeting.

Scion of Oona

A nice bit of versatility. It counters removal and lets you go wide. Uncounterable Abrupt Decay coming at your Bitterblossom? Counter it by making its target illegal. You can also flash this in mid-combat to invalidate your opponent's math; you can generate a lot of card advantage when their 1/1s are suddenly chumping 2/2s instead of trading. And worst-case scenario, if you hold up counterspell mana and they don't cast anything, you can flash this out on their end step to make the most of your mana.

Vendilion Clique

The whole package. You can look at their hand and disrupt their plans, or replace a dead card in your own hand. You can get a surprise blocker, or just have a 3/1 flying to close out the game.

It will take some practice to figure out when to cast this. The most common time is during the opponent's draw step, right after they draw their card and right before they move to their main phase. This way, you can tuck away a card that they never get a chance to cast. However, you should be wary about tapping out the beginning of your opponent's turn, as this will give them free reign to do whatever they want. They might even cast their most dangerous card in response to Vendilion Clique's trigger. Unless you have a good idea what they have in their hand, you might want to cast this on their end step instead.

Fun note worth mentioning: my opponents seem to pretty consistently forget that I can target myself with the Clique's trigger. I never announce the target for my etb triggers until the creature spells resolve, so an impatient opponent will usually just show me their hand while I'm pausing to see if they have a response, even when I was planning to target myself. I do the honorable thing and don't change my intended target after seeing their hand, but this card has given me a LOT of free information.

Mistbind Clique

Like the other Clique, this is a real bag of tricks. Reuse enter the battlefield triggers, save a faerie from removal, get a surprise blocker/finisher, or get rid of a Bitterblossom that's about to kill you.

But also like the Vendilion, you'll need to be careful of the timing. The classic maneuver is to flash it out on their upkeep, tapping their lands before their main phase. However, some decks will be able to do a lot in response to this. A burn deck, for instance, will just throw out all its burn spells for the turn before their lands get tapped. Other decks might be able to kill your other faeries in response, making your Mistbind kill itself for want of a champion. This is a great card, but you have to play it smartly and understand your matchup to make the most of it. Against control, you are better off casting this during their end step to either force them to counter it or stop them from doing anything on your turn.

Also, be warned that the trigger for Spellstutter Sprite is NOT OPTIONAL. If you have championed a Spellstutter with this and they kill your Mistbind in response to you casting a spell, the Spellstutter will reenter the battlefield and you will be forced to counter your own spell.

Another word of warning: the land-tapping trigger can only happen if Mistbind Clique is still on the battlefield. If your opponent kills Mistbind while the champion trigger is still on the stack, you're still allowed to exile a faerie. But if you do, the faerie will be gone forever and their lands will not be tapped. In this case, the proper move is to just choose to champion nothing; the Mistbind will be "sacrificed" but it is already dead. Unless, of course, you need to get rid of your Bitterblossom, in which case you can choose to exile it permanently.

Snapcaster Mage

I first learned about this guy by looking up "card advantage" in the dictionary. He comes in cheaply, lets you reuse a spell and sticks around as a creature they still have to deal with. And the fact that he has 2 power is just ludicrous; I've won games by just flashing him in on their end step without even using his trigger, just swinging in for 2 damage more than the opponent expected. He's absolutely insane no matter how you look at him.

The Only Enchantment

Bitterblossom is the backbone of this deck. I have cast this on turn two, then gotten hit with a Blood Moon and not cast any spells for the rest of the game but still won just from this card. And it synergizes well with the rest of this deck.

An inherent disadvantage of Spellstutter Sprite is that it's a 2-mana spell that on its own will only counter a 1-mana spell, meaning that if your opponent curves out perfectly you will never have a target for Spellstutter. But if you cast a Bitterblossom turn 2, then on turn 3 a Spellstutter will counter a 3-drop (Spellstutter + faerie token + Bitterblossom itself = 3 faeries). So this will help ensure your Spellstutters are "on curve." You should keep pretty much any hand that has both a Bitterblossom and the mana to play it.

Additionally, Scion of Oona will both protect your Bitterblossom and allow you to go wide. Turn 2 Bitterblossom, turn 3 Scion will suddenly turn you into an aggro deck. And if you're holding up Spellstutters to counter board wipes you'll find yourself in a very strong position.

At its worst, Bitterblossom is essentially a Forcefield. You might find yourself staring down a Gurmag Angler that you couldn't counter and can't kill with Fatal Push. In this case, Bitterblossom will cost you 1 life to generate a token that you sacrifice to prevent the loss of 5 life. If you're simultaneously also swinging in with a Vendilion Clique, you will win that race.

You should be cautious about playing a second Bitterblossom, as draining yourself for 2 every turn will kill you rather quickly. It's usually only worth it when your opponent has multiple huge creatures that demand chump blocks.

Instants

Cryptic Command

This is what keeps you in control of the game. Counter a spell. Save yourself from an alpha strike. Punch through their defenses for the kill. Refill your hand. Bounce a dangerous permanent that you weren't able to counter the first time, and counter it when they try to replay it. Bounce your own Bitterblossom before it kills you. Then flash this back with Snapcaster Mage and do it all again.

Fatal Push

One-mana instant that kills most things in the format. Death's Shadow, Steel Overseer, Tarmogoyf, Young Pyromancer, Grim Lavamancer, Noble Hierarch, Celestial Colonnade, all gone. Crack a Polluted Delta and now you can kill a Spell Queller, Elvish Archdruid, or Thought-Knot Seer.

Go for the Throat

Just makes the deck a little more versatile. You'll regret having Fatal Push as your only kill spell if your opponent starts slamming Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Gurmag Angler, Bedlam Reveler, Primeval Titan, or Kozilek, the Great Distortion.

Mana Leak

It's really good.

Opt

I play this instead of Serum Visions because it's an instant. I like to hold mana up for counterspells, and if they don't cast anything relevant I'll recast this with a Snapcaster Mage Also, this gives you some control over what you draw; I frequently cast Opt on my main phase to avoid missing a land drop so that I can cast Cryptic Command next turn, but Serum Visions just blindly gives you a card.

Spell Snare

As discussed under Fatal Push, this is a low-curve format and tons of game-winning spells cost 2.

Familiar's Ruse

One of my favorite instants in the game. The additional cost of bouncing a creature is, on paper, a drawback, but in this deck this card is better than Counterspell. You have multiple creatures that benefit from being returned to your hand. Vendilion Clique will let you screw with their hand again. Spellstutter Sprite will let you counter another spell.

But by far the most devastating thing you can bounce is Snapcaster Mage. Because on their next turn, you'll flash him back out, give this flashback, bounce him back to your hand again, and counter another spell. Then, on their next turn, you'll be able to flashback yet another card in your graveyard. And by then, you'll probably have enough mana to flashback a Cryptic Command.

But what if you get caught without a creature on the field? Well, yes, this card is situational, but so is every other playable counterspell in modern. Spell snare is dependent on them casting a 2-drop. Mana leak is dependent on them not having a ton of mana. Cryptic Command is dependent on you being able to afford . And these cards are all better than Cancel. You are quite likely to at least have a Bitterblossom token you can bounce, or, in dire straits, a Mutavault you can animate and then bounce. I've even flashed out a Spellstutter Sprite just so I'd have something to bounce. If you can rely on Spell Snare, Spellstutter, Mana Leak and various sideboard cards for early game counters, then Familiar's Ruse and Cryptic Command will help you keep the lategame on lock.

One Sorcery with Two Different Names

Inquisition of Kozilek & Thoughtseize are great early plays that both warn you about what's to come and let you pick a problem to solve before it even happens. They can answer permanents you can't kill such as Blood Moon or spells you can't counter such as Supreme Verdict. If you have both in your hand, cast Inquisition first; it'll get rid of an immediate danger and give you intel on whether you should Thoughtseize.

Do I run a Planeswalker?

Yes. Liliana of the Veil. At minimum, she's a 3-mana Diabolic Edict that they also have to spend a turn attacking instead of you. But if you play her when they only have one creature, or you're able to protect her (which isn't terribly difficult if you have a Bitterblossom), you can start wrecking their hand. This deck loves getting the opponent into topdeck mode; if they have no cards in hand and you're holding at least one counterspell, you can swing in with impunity knowing that they can't do a damn thing about it. You'll be making yourself discard too, but it's worth it to take away their options. You'll throw away that extra Bitterblossom, that land you don't need, or a spell that you can still recur later with Snapcaster if you need it, while your opponent gets wedged into an unwinnable position.

Lands

Watery Grave

A no-brainer. A dual land that lets you pick what its drawback is when you play it. I only run 3 because it's important to leave room for basics.

Polluted Delta

An even more obvious choice. Search for a Watery Grave if you need both your colors, and you can even wait until their turn to see whether you need it untapped or not (but be careful of Shadow of Doubt). Search for a basic if you want something untapped and are low on life, or if you're worried about Blood Moon. This also maximizes your Fatal Push. It even thins your deck so you're less likely to topdeck a land late-game, and fills your graveyard if you want to use delve shenanigans. Which I don't, but you might.

Darkslick Shores

I like these even more than I like Watery Grave. Both your colors, guaranteed to come in untapped on the turns when the game isn't decided yet. You can't really ask for more.

River of Tears

Early game, this is black mana on your turn and blue mana on their turn, which is perfect. Turn 1, this lets you Inquisition, Thoughtseize, Fatal Push a Noble Hierarch or other obnoxious 1-drop, or Spell Snare or Opt on their turn. Turn 2, this is a Bitterblossom. Turn 3, this is a Liliana. Anytime after that, it's going to pay for Cryptic Command or Snapcaster + Familiar's Ruse. And if you absolutely need blue mana on your own turn, you can just tap this before you play your land. Fatal Push is the only black card you'd ever play on their turn, and you're likely to have another source. I used to run Drowned Catacomb in this slot, but got tired of seeing it in my opening hand alongside a Darkslick or Creeping Tar Pit.

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Possibly a little too cute since your requirement for black mana isn't that heavy, but it adds a bit of utility. This and two Mutavaults will let let you cast Liliana, and if you draw a Polluted Delta in the late game while you're low on life and scared of a burn deck or your own Bitterblossom, this will let you tap the Delta for black without needing to pay the life.

Mutavault

It takes guts to run 4 lands that tap for colorless in a multicolor deck, and it precludes you from running other colorless lands like Cavern of Souls or Ghost Quarter, but having a 2/2 faerie for just one mana whenever you want it is well worth the price. Its primary use is to let your Spellstutter counter bigger spells, but it can also turn into a 3/3 shroud off Scion of Oona or serve as an emergency champion for Mistbind Clique. You can also just smash your opponent's face in with them.

Creeping Tar Pit

This thing ends games. It can also kill planeswalkers and survives most board wipes. I only run 2 because I don't want to see more than 1 of them. The guaranteed coming in tapped can really stunt your growth, and having 2 of these on the field is only good if you're willing to tap 8 lands for 6 damage; unless they're at 4-6 life and are completely out of cards or mana, it's almost always better to send in a single Creeping Tar Pit and leave mana up to protect yourself. With just 2 in the deck, you're still likely to draw one by the time you need it. This solves late-game problems, not early-game problems.

The Sideboard

Specialized counterspells

Ceremonious Rejection

Good against Eldrazi Tron, which is a rather difficult matchup for this deck. Also great against Affinity.

Negate

Great against Burn and Control.

Disdainful Stroke

Good against decks with rather high mana curves, like Tron, Devotion, or this one time where a guy didn't know what Modern was and played a Standard Dinosaur deck. Disdainful Stroke will save you from high-impact game-ending spells that can't be hit by Spellstutter Sprite.

Flashfreeze

Good against... actually, this one's pretty self explanatory.

Backup kill spells

Hero's Downfall

This is either an answer to planeswalkers, a replacement for Fatal Push in matchups against high-cmc creatures, or a replacement for counterspells against decks that run Cavern of Souls.

Fatal Push

This is a dead card in some matchups, so I keep the fourth one in the board until I'm sure I need it.

Graveyard hate

Grafdigger's Cage

Its biggest advantage is that, in addition to stopping graveyard strategies, it also hoses Collected Company. It does shut off your own Snapcasters, but you'll be using it in matchups where it hurts the opponent significantly more. Its biggest downside is that it doesn't exile anything, so it's the only graveyard hate that "dies to removal." If your opponent can kill it, they're back on board with the nonsense. Also be warned that it doesn't stop Living End, as the creatures technically enter the battlefield from exile, not the graveyard.

Leyline of the Void

The best graveyard hate in the game if you're lucky to have it in the top 7. Free, one-sided, continuous, and not targetable by Abrupt Decay. If you can get this into play against a graveyard deck and protect it with counterspells, their only way out is a Krosan Grip.

Nihil Spellbomb/Relic of Progenitus

Play one of these, but not both. A case can be made for either one. Spellbomb is better as a late-game topdeck when you need to deal with a graveyard emergency; for a single mana, it will knock out their whole graveyard while leaving yours alone, with the extra mana for the card draw being optional. Relic, conversely, takes out your graveyard and you're required to pay for the card.

That said, Relic has a huge advantage if it's in your opening hand. A turn 1 Spellbomb just sits there doing nothing until you detonate it, but a turn 1 Relic will continuously shred their graveyard, making it a struggle for them to gain any traction. Dredge usually starts with a turn 1 Faithless Looting, dumping cards into their yard that they'll dredge for their turn 2 draw. Relic will exile one of their cards at end of turn, and another one on your turn. This is very likely to eliminate something with flashback, something with dredge, or something that reanimates itself. If cards in graveyards were creatures, Nihil Spellbomb would be a Plague Wind but Relic of Progenitus would be a free repeatable Diabolic Edict that could turn into a Damnation whenever you needed it.

The rest

Echoing Truth

Mainly meant to combat token-based strategies, Lingering Souls in particular, but the versatility of targets could come in handy in unexpected ways. If you can manage to get one basic island onto the field, it provides temporary relief from Blood Moon that could easily become permanent if it frees up your mana for Cryptic Command, Vendilion Clique or Inquisition of Kozilek. If they have no cards in hand and +1 their Liliana of the Veil, you can make them discard her. If you can't counter a Bedlam Reveler, you can bounce it before they have to discard their hand. I also side this in against Dredge; it isn't amazing, but Fatal Push is right useless against Prized Amalgam and I'm frequently staring at four of the same creature. Better to put that army of Bloodghast back into their hand and make them do the legwork to get them back into the graveyard where they want them.

Damnation

Army of tokens? Hexproof bastards? Swarm of stupid little elves? Absolute Nonsense? This solves it all.

Hurkyl's Recall

Affinity's kind of a problem. Fix it with this.

Ensnaring Bridge

So beautiful. That Death's Shadow, Reality Smasher, or Bedlam Reveler will be left twiddling their thumbs while you draw a card, swing with a swarm of 1/1s, and then dump your hand by any means necessary. It'll probably shut off your Mistbind and Vendilion, but you won't care. And the best part is, since you don't maindeck any artifacts nobody will be expecting this in game 2. Green and White decks may side in something for Bitterblossom that can incidentally hit artifacts too, but Grixis decks are unlikely to have an answer.

Matchups

Affinity

This deck certainly has the tools to beat affinity, but it's a dangerous game. Affinity will have trouble dealing with Bitterblossom, as most of their creatures have 1 toughness and will trade with your tokens if they attack. A Steel Overseer or Master of Etherium will reduce your tokens to mere chump-blockers, so they should be priority targets for Fatal Push. The most frightening card they have is Etched Champion. If they resolve it, your only chance is Mutavault; if the game's going well they can trade, but if they manage to boost their Champion's toughness or stick a Welding Jar you're going to be in trouble. And if a Champion picks up a Cranial Plating you're just plain dead. Etched Champion is your #1 priority to hit with hand disruption or counterspells, and Cranial Plating is a close second.

You should also be on alert for a Vault Skirge picking up Cranial Plating; you have to take it slow against affinity because of how dangerous a single unblocked attacker can be. If a Skirge swings in and gains them 8 life, even just once, they will massively extend the game, increasing the odds that you will bleed out from your own Bitterblossom.

For game 2, you should replace your Mistbind Clique because a lot of Affinity's mana doesn't come from lands, and take out your Go for the Throat because... you can figure that one out. Grab your fourth Fatal Push, both Ceremonious Rejections, Hurkyl's Recall, and a Damnation will help as a last resort against Etched Champion.

Burn

This matchup is extremely fun and tense; I pretty much always win with 1 or 2 life left. Burn will come out the gate swinging, dealing massively efficient damage to you, but it will eventually run out of cards. You will reach a point where half of your opponent's deck can kill you instantly, but they are playing one spell per turn. If you can keep countering their spells, you'll eventually win. But if you slip up once, you're dead. This is the sort of match where a timely Familiar's Ruse will create enough value to win you the game.

Most of your maindeck is pretty useful here; they're unlikely to be able to pay the tax from Mana Leak, there are lots of important targets for Spell Snare, all of their creatures die to Fatal Push (but you should prioritize Grim Lavamancer if you see one), and Spellstutter can hit pretty much whatever it needs to. Inquisition is great (and you should prioritize card: Eidolon of the Great Revels if you reveal one), but Thoughtseize isn't ideal. You'll often be spending 1 mana, 1 card and 2 life to get rid of a card that would have only dealt you 3 damage. Replace them with Negates and take out your Mistbind Clique for a Flashfreeze; they'll just respond to the Mistbind trigger by zapping you.

As unintuitive as this sounds, Rift Bolt is often more dangerous to you than Lightning Bolt. It gives them something to do with their mana that can't be countered immediately, the 3 CMC makes it harder to Spellstutter, and if you counter it on their next upkeep you'll risk leaving yourself open to a Boros Charm. You should also anticipate them siding in an Exquisite Firecraft, and avoid getting down to 4 life at all costs.

Tron

Just... curl up in a corner and cry. I've played against three different versions of this deck (Bant, monogreen, and full colorless) and all of them are absolutely filled with cards that create huge problems for faeries. They're going to start by playing a bunch of low-mana spells like Chromatic Star, Expedition Map or Ancient Stirrings that you won't want to counter. But as early as turn 3, Urza's Power Plant and company will start playing 7-mana spells that you will neither be able to counter with Spellstutter nor kill with Fatal Push. Cards like Kozilek, the Great Distortion will provide incredible value with their cast triggers even if they get countered, and frequently you'll face a Cavern of Souls that severely limits your interaction. You might see a Chalice of the Void set to 2 that makes the majority of your deck unplayable, a Thought-Knot Seer that ruins whatever plans you were making and whose 4/4 body will kill a lot of your faeries, or a Reality Smasher who dodges Fatal Push, tramples over your blockers and 2-for-1s you on spot removal. And if they land an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon you might as well scoop.

Luckily, this does get a little easier once you sideboard. Ceremonious Rejection, Disdainful Stroke, Ensnaring Bridge, Damnation, and Hero's Downfall will all be lifesavers. Keep your Mistbind Clique in, it will buy you turn since these decks usually can't do much at instant speed. Lose your Spell Snares and some Fatals Push, but bear in mind a Push can still answer a Thought-Knot or a Walking Ballista. Instead of trying to sideboard land hate for Cavern of Souls, I prefer to just switch some counterspells out for ways to kill the things I can't counter. And remember that Cavern of Souls specifies creature spells, so it can't make an All Is Dust uncounterable.

Death's Shadow

You've got good chances against this deck. Death's Shadow is easy to Push, Spellstutter, Inquisition or chump block. Save your Go for the Throat, though, for a Gurmag Angler or Tasigur, the Golden Fang. Liliana's -2 will also be devastating for your opponent; this deck only runs a few creatures and they're all very high-impact. They will also damage themselves enough that a Bitterblossom backed by Scion of Oona will create serious threats. Just watch out for a surprise blowout with Temur Battle Rage.

When sideboarding, Ensnaring Bridge will help you tremendously. Hero's Downfall will never be dead card, especially since you're likely to see an enemy Liliana. Damnation may also be useful as a last resort.

Druid Combo

I'll admit I haven't played this matchup yet, but it seems like you should be able to handle it. You've got a multitude of ways to handle both Devoted Druid and Vizier of Remedies, and Spellstutter can hit all the various ways they search for them. Definitely side in your last Fatal Push, Grafdigger's Cage if they're running Collected Company, and you might as well toss in Flashfreeze while you're at it.

Dredge

Game 1 is going to be rough. There aren't many spells for you to counter, as most of their creatures are going to enter the battlefield through the graveyard. And killing their creatures doesn't set them back much further than tapping them down. This is why I suggested siding in Echoing Truth; it's not as good here as it is against token decks, but bouncing their creatures is more annoying than killing them, since they'll have to find a way to get them back into the graveyard so they can reanimate them.

Game 2 doesn't seem particularly fun either. You'll either draw your grave hate and win or you won't and you'll lose. The times I've played this matchup, I haven't drawn my grave hate and dredge has just exploded all over me. But theoretically, if you were to luck into a Leyline of the Void, you could just protect it with all your counterspells while poking them in the eyes with a Spellstutter every turn and using your hand disruption to keep them off a Krosan Grip.

Mardu Pyromancer

This deck is frightening. A turn 2 Young Pyromancer followed by a turn 3 Lingering Souls will generate such an explosion of tokens that Bitterblossom will struggle to keep up. But despite its tendencies to have 10+ tokens on the board, this is also a control deck that takes away all your threats with Thoughtseize, Fatal Push and Path to Exile while blanking your removal with Boros Charm, then uses Bedlam Reveler both as a source of card draw and as a finisher. Faithless Looting will simultaneously fix their hand, dump spells with flashback, and fill the graveyard to cheapen an upcoming Bedlam Reveler. Reveler not only escapes your CMC-based defense system, but by the time they want to cast it they'll probably have enough mana to pay for a Mana Leak.

But you're not defenseless. Your first priority is ensuring Young Pyromancer doesn't live to their untap step, and you have a plethora of ways to do that. Without a Pyromancer, Lingering Souls will still be annoying but you can either outlast them with Bitterblossom or outgrow them with Scion of Oona. I've never seen this deck run a way to give a Bedlam Reveler evasion, so you should be able to keep it at bay with Bitterblossom if you can't answer it with a Go for the Throat, Cryptic Command or Familiar's Ruse. Also, if they have just one or two cards in hand, it probably means they're getting ready to drop a Reveler, which means it's a good time for a Thoughtseize, draw-step Vendilion, or upkeep-step Mistbind.

Your sideboard will also be helpful. Hero's Downfall will save you both from Pyromancer and Bedlam Reveler, not to mention any Liliana that happens to show up. Echoing Truth will clear out a stockpile of either spirit tokens or elemental tokens, and Damnation will really punish this deck for dumping its hand. You should swap a Mana Leak for Flashfreeze to increase your chances of stopping Reveler.

I need to test my sideboard a little more against this deck. Adding a fourth Fatal Push would increase the odds of swiftly answering a Pyromancer, but the only other creatures are Lingering Souls tokens (against which it's inefficient) and Reveler (against which it's useless). I'm leaning toward staying at 3 Pushes to avoid having to take out something that could counter a Pyromancer or something else. Also, a Leyline of the Void in your opening hand would really set this deck back; it'll stop a second use of Lingering Souls or Faithless Looting, and those Revelers will stay in their hand if they have to pay the full 8 for them. However, a Leyline on turn 4+ would be far too late to have any effect.

So currently, my sideboard plans are to take out Mistbind, a Mana Leak, and both Spells Snare, and put in Flashfreeze, Damnation, Echoing Truth and Hero's Downfall.

Hey, why aren't you using...

Maindeck

Secluded Glen?

I know, this card and UB faeries were literally made for each other. And with 13 faeries, the odds of this coming in untapped are high. But in practice, I found that I hated revealing cards from my hand. It's fine to reveal a Bitterblossom on turn 2 that you immediately cast, but every other faerie wants to lurk silently in your hand to surprise your opponent at the most inconvenient moment. A Spellstutter that they know they need to play around is nowhere near as effective.

Tasigur, the Golden Fang?

Because I can't remember where I left my prerelease foil that I used to run as a commander, and it wouldn't feel right to run another Tasigur. Also, I don't like his lack of flash; it's nice to have a creature that can block and survive, but I'd rather play Mistbind on their turn without having to tap out, delve away my Snapcaster targets, or both.

Logic Knot?

Because I like Familiar's Ruse better. If I'm going to pay for a counterspell, I'd rather pay the "extra cost" of bouncing a creature that I probably want back in my hand than get rid of graveyard stuff I might want. And if I'm flashing Logic Knot back, I might not have enough of a graveyard to delve again. I'd probably rather put in a fourth Mana Leak than a Logic Knot.

Remand?

Tried it, didn't like it. It's nice tempo early on, but late-game I found it to be a worse Opt. I'd play the hell out of Memory Lapse if it was legal, but as it stands I prefer Mana Leak because I won't have to worry about those spells next turn.

Sideboard

Collective Brutality?

Common wisdom is that if you profit from all three modes of this against Burn, you can't lose. I usually do pretty well against Burn as it stands, and have plenty of sideboard tech against it. I need to free up room in my board for other decks that frighten me more.

Spellskite?

Again, great against Burn but not much else.

Languish?

Damnation is better. Like I said, Tron is my worst nightmare, so I wouldn't run a board wipe that didn't kill Reality Smasher. This also won't kill anything in Death's Shadow, which I see pretty frequently at my LGS.

Sower of Temptation?

I can't think of a deck that both runs creatures I want to steal and can't kill a 2/2.

Engineered Explosives?

Mostly because I don't have any. Ratchet Bomb is the classic budget replacement, but since I use my own token-producers I prefer Echoing Truth for its one-sidedness and synergy with Snapcaster.

Countersquall?

Countersquall's great. I used to run it over Negate, and once in a great while the life loss won me a game. But Negate's a safer bet, especially with four Mutasvault. Faeries is good at drawing the game out, so you're less likely to be in a hurry. You're unlikely to be without black mana, but not being able to counter a spell is much more likely to cost you a game than the opponent having 2 more life.

For more information

I got a lot of helpful advice starting this deck from this guide. https://docs.google.com/document/d/14PC7XEuvznIG4QyeADGe7wnOHeV27-5COhWp_5yPZkQ/edit?ts=5a5a5b87

The author is also one of the moderators on a Discord channel centered around Faeries, which he links in the text. Come say hello and chat with veteran Faeries players (and me) if you have any questions.

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Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	1 - 0 Mythic Rares 35 - 6 Rares 10 - 4 Uncommons 9 - 5 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	1.97
Tokens	Faerie Rogue 1/1 B
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