Grixis Jace
Grixis is a powerful shard right now, with lists top-eighting major Modern events.
In particular, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
and Kolaghan's Command are a combination worthy of dipping into the color set.
Game Plan
Make no mistake, at its core, this is a control deck that is happiest to Island-go. The deck likes to win attrition battles--an extra card via Cryptic Command's counter-draw modes or the tempo swing of Remand buy time to resolve a threat like Tasigur, the Golden Fang. Instant speed removal like Terminate or Electrolyze keep the board free of threats. We can play fewer of these removal spells thanks to Snapcaster Mage. Hand disruption like Inquisition of Kozilek and Rise/Fall ensure your opponent is kept off balance and helps protect the deck from lethal combos. The additional information afforded by Inquisition also helps inform the best line to take. The sheer value of a card like Mulldrifter is yet another lever on the attrition valve, giving you a card advantage edge whether 'drifter is evoked or hard-cast--let's not forget it can be brought back from the dead for added value with a timely Kolaghan's Command. However, the real all-star of this list is the best two-drop in every format, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
.
Jace was the most underrated card from Magic Origins but since the release has steadily made his way into Vintage, Legacy, Modern and of course Standard. The beauty of Jace is multifaceted, but in our list we can focus on how the card synergizes with Kolaghan's Command. A Command in our 'yard is accessible via Jace--if we spend Jace's loyalty to "flashback" (note Jace's ability is far more powerful than the actual flashback mechanic) Command then we can cast command, opting to return Jace to our hand and selecting a relevant second mode. The combination of these two cards means that a certain amount of recursion with our 'yard is possible and this ends up being a very powerful edge. It's also worth pointing out that "dies to removal" is a less interesting criticism of a card that just ends up being Raise Dead'd anyway--your opponent spends a card while you spend half a card to recover, and again, attrition is how this deck wants to win.
Depending on the matchup, the goal is to eventually resolve a Tasigur, the Golden Fang or attack your opponent to death with unblockable card:Creeping Tarpits. Occasionally you may even find your opponent within range of a couple of burn spells as well.
