Manifest Combo Primer

Modern Combo Competitive GWU (Bant)

QuixoticMcGee

Creature (20)

• 4x Birds of Paradise
• 4x Coiling Oracle
• 1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
• 4x Noble Hierarch
• 4x Restoration Angel
• 2x Thragtusk
• 1x Whisperwood Elemental

Land (22)

• 4x Breeding Pool
• 1x Flooded Grove
• 2x Forest
• 2x Gavony Township
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 2x Island
• 4x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Plains
• 1x Temple Garden
• 4x Windswept Heath

Enchantment (4)

• 4x Cloudform

Instant (10)

• 4x Congregation at Dawn
• 2x Mana Leak
• 4x Path to Exile

Sorcery (4)

• 4x Serum Visions

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Sideboard

Creature (4)

• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
• 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 1x Voidmage Prodigy

Enchantment (5)

• 4x Leyline of Sanctity
• 1x Stony Silence

Instant (6)

• 2x Fracturing Gust
• 2x Nature's Claim
• 2x Negate

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And for my next trick I will turn this 2/2 morph into a 15/15 jellyfish.

What is Manifest Combo?

This is a midrange deck with that can combo off similarly to say Melira Pod. Our combo is Congregation at Dawn + Cloudform.

How does the combo work?

Face-down creatures including manifests, that are flickered (exiled and returned to the battlefield) return face-up. Other decks have tried to abuse this interaction with cards like Cloudshift, but it requires getting a big creature on top of your library first and getting a Cloudshift in hand. This is not particularly reliable.

To address that problem this deck uses the card Congregation of Dawn to stack the top of our library with three creatures. We can abuse this in such a way as to put a flicker effect, in this case Restoration Angel, on top for us to draw, followed by the creature we want to manifest. We then cast Cloudform, manifesting the top card of our library, so that we can later flip it with Restoration Angel. Presto!

Often the creature manifested will be Emrakul as it's difficult to interact with and presents a quick clock. This doesn't mean that Emrakul is the only option however. Both Iona and Elesh Norn are great targets in different match-ups. Technically you can cheat any creature into play with this combo, though I don't recommend Phage, the Untouchable.

How do most games go

Usually we win by leveraging the power of Congregation at Dawn by itself. Either we set up the combo or we use it for value, this deck leans heavily on Congregation to give us a card power advantage. Two Thragtusks into a Restoration Angel is hard for most decks to beat.

Post-Sideboard we decide whether to lean more heavily on the fair elements or the combo elements depending on the match-up. So against discard heavy decks we often remove the combo and against control decks we try to include more counterspells to win with the combo.

Card Choices

Creatures

• (4) Noble Hierarch

Taps for all of our colors, accelerates us so we can combo earlier, and can even attack for 1.

• (3-4) Birds of Paradise

Same as above, minus attacking.

• (4) Coiling Oracle

This snake can both draw and ramp. It also synergizes well with Restoration Angel.

• (1-2) Restoration Angel

My flicker creature at choice. Flash makes this much harder for the opponent to play around and its body is nothing to sneeze at if you topdeck it.

• (0-1) Flickerwisp

This card lets you Cloudform and flicker in the same turn more easily, though that's only really relevant against decks without disruption.

• (1) Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Big stupid jellyfish. Hard to kill, harder to race. This guy is half the reason to play this deck to be honest.

• (1) Whisperwood Elemental

The threat of this card is powerful by itself. It can steal a game against B/x decks by simply topdecking a Congregation. It's also eminently castable.

• (0-1) Elesh Norn, the Grand Cenobite

Beatdown decks can often kill you a turn earlier than Emrakul can kill them. In those cases Elesh Norn can come down and wrath their board, while presenting a quick clock. Unlike Emrakul it's possible to hardcast this one.

• (0-1) Iona, Shield of Emeria

Great against other combo decks and burn. Can often lock the game out by itself. Again great if Emrakul is too slow.

• (0-1) Thragtusk

Amazing synergy with Restoration Angel. Sometimes Congregation for Thragtusk, Resto, Resto can win a game by itself. I like Thragtusk against discard decks and burn.

Combo Pieces

• (4) Congregation at Dawn

This makes the deck tick. Irreplaceable.

• (4) Cloudform

The best manifest enabler. Hexproof saves us from traditional removal.

Card Draw/Dig

• (4) Serum Visions

Modern staple and it's no different here. It smooths out our draws and makes the deck more consistent.

Disruption

• (1-3) Mana Leak

Helps us interact early and keep ourselves alive. Not a great topdeck late.

• (2-4) Path to Exile

One of the best spells in modern for dealing with troublesome creatures.

• (0) Remand

Does not synergize well with our plan to manifest. If we draw a card we are no longer manifesting what we want to.

Sideboard

• (4) Leyline of Sanctity

Insane against Burn and Discard which are some of our weaker match-ups. Also hoses gifts and the hate against us like memoricide.

• (2) Negate

Can serve both as counterback-up and a cheap way to remove troublesome enchantments/planeswalkers

• (1) Celestial Purge

An answer to a resolved Blood Moon.

• (1-2) Fracturing Gust

Great against Affinity and Bogles. Also gives us an out to troublesome enchantments and artifacts.

• (1-2) Stony Silence

Hoses Affinity and Tron.

• (1) Sigarda, Host of Herons

Very good option against B/x decks with lots of removal and Liliana. Lines up well against Siege Rhino.

• (1) Voidmage Prodigy

This little guy can come down on the same turn as Cloudform and help your Restoration Angel resolve. Just stack it so you draw this first, then your manifest target, then resto.

Why play this deck?

1. This strategy can cheat out any creature, so you can adjust it to fit your metagame or your preferences.
2. Bant has access to some of the most powerful SB cards in modern. Cheap counters, white hate cards, and devastating sweepers.
3. You want to play a rogue deck that will catch people off guard. Few decks will be prepared for a turn 3 Congregation at Dawn into a turn four Emrakul if you lead off with Noble Hierarch.
4. You like working on new decks and trying to help improve/change them.

How about reasons not to?

1. It's not the best combo deck yet. It's possible to beat Tier 1 decks, but undoubtedly Twin and Scapeshift do the combo-control deck more reliably.
2. You don't like unfair decks. This deck struggles to win without the combo game 1, though we do have SB options that let us compete.

Q/A

Why not play Cloudshift?

I think Cloudshift is a perfectly playable card, but not in this deck. Adding Cloudshift makes this a three card combo that you must assemble as opposed to a two. That might be fine, but adding it also takes a spot from another card that doesn't something if you don't have the combo. Unless we add good flicker targets to the maindeck, Cloudshift just doesn't do enough outside of the combo.

Even our other combo pieces can have an effect on the game by themselves. Cloudform can be a hard to kill flier and Congregation can grab a string of creatures that we can cast and win with.

If you want a place for in-depth discussion of the deck, please visit the primer at MTGSalvation

Top Ranked	Achieved #21 position overall 9 years ago
Date added	9 years
Last updated	9 years
Legality	This deck is Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 3 Mythic Rares 31 - 8 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 6 - 4 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.58
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Manifest 2/2 C, Morph 2/2 C
Folders	standard ideas, Interesting Decks, favorites, Cool Brews, Notables, Funny Decks, cool stuff I fund, inspo, liked