Introduction:
I've always been interested in Thopter Sword Combo and felt that Vesperlark may be an underplayed card in the Modern format. I specifically liked the interaction it had with Urza, Lord High Artificer and also happened to notice that a lot of creature cards that care about artifacts are also one power with ETB abilities.
The deck was finally tied it all together with Imperial Recruiter allowing for a toolbox style deck that was less all in combo and more grindy. A three card combo like Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry + Urza, Lord High Artificer
is hard to assemble, so a grindy value deck with an ETB and artifact slant seemed a good way to capitalize on existing synergies while allowing us the use of Yorion, Sky Nomad and a game winning combo.
Gameplan:
The goal of this deck is to grind out the opponent with value while assembling combo pieces for Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry + Urza, Lord High Artificer
. However this deck can also win by traditional beat down with Urza's Saga or Stoneforge Mystic targets.
Companion Selection: Why Yorion?
This is a blink deck with a tutor targets, which helps mitigate the 80 card disadvantage. As well, the 80 card deck size can be an advantage in that it allows for more flexibility in silver bullet targets without diluting the deck too much with combo pieces or the wrong bullets.
Mainboard Cards
Creatures:
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Esper Sentinel(4): Counts as an artifact, blocks monkeys, and "taxes" the opponent, which helps us transfer into the late game. While not as powerful late game, it can suit up equipment and continue taxing the opponent while still participating in artifact synergies. Finally, it's a removal lightning rod early game, which clears the space for other fragile creatures to survive such as Goblin Engineer or Emry, Lurker of the Loch.
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Thraben Inspector(2): Creates an artifact, blocks monkeys, and can be blinked for value. The deck needed more turn one plays that created an artifact, and this seemed to do just enough to include a couple copies.
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Stoneforge Mystic(4): Helps to grab a piece of the combo, is a blink target, but also can present a must deal with threat if played in the early game. Sometimes it's right to wait to play this until turn three if you have Ephemerate in hand since it can blow out opponents, lay down a threat, and generate a lot of value.
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Charming Prince(1): This card is a swiss army knife since it can blink other value creatures, gain life against aggro, or set up future draws. This plus Yorion, Sky Nomad allows for lots of value.
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Skyclave Cleric
(1): This is in the deck as a hedge against burn/aggro decks, blocks monkeys pretty well, but it is also a blink target that can be pitched to Solitude. Finally, the deck sometimes can be mana hungry, especially with draws that involve Urza's Saga, so MDFCs play double duty in this deck. It can also be tutored as a land drop with Imperial Recruiter to help get to Solitude mana.
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Goblin Engineer(1): This card is a blink target that helps find the combo or silver bullets for the matchup.
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Imperial Recruiter(3): This card helps tutor for all the different pieces of the deck and is a great blink target. There are only three copies of it in the deck since drawing multiples in the early game can be clunky with how fast the Modern format can be.
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Emry, Lurker of the Loch(1): This card helps with the value game plan in grindy matchups as well as help setup the combo if it's already in the graveyard. A lot of time it's a followup target with Imperial Recruiter if Goblin Engineer is already in hand since the engineer can find the card, eat a removal spell, and then this card finishes where the engineer started.
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Vesperlark(1): Most of the creatures in the deck have one power so they can be a target for this card. It's only a one of but can be tutored with Imperial Recruiter, which helps ensure you don't overdraw it. A lot of times this is tutored as insurance once the combo has been found or if Emry, Lurker of the Loch is on the battlefield. Lastly, it can be blinked for additional value.
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Deputy of Detention(1): This edges out Skyclave Apparition just barely because it can be re-animated via Vesperlark and is a great hedge against tokens that are prevalent in the Modern metagame.
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Glasspool Mimic
(1): Like Skyclave Cleric
, this is a MDFC that helps hit land drops while also keeping threat density up, but it's ETB ability is much more potent in non-aggro matchups and when any game goes long.
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Urza, Lord High Artificer(2): Urza participates in the main combo in the deck while also providing a relevant threat in an artifact heavy deck. It's mana generation ability can also help speed up the hefty cost of Yorion, Sky Nomad or just spin the wheel in the late game. This deck plays two copies instead of one to hedge against removal and allow for more chances of seeing it in the mid to late game without having too many copies in the early game.
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Solitude(4): While it's one of the few cards that can't be tutored with Imperial Recruiter, it's a very important hedge against early game aggressive decks. As well, this deck incorporates the Ephemerate + Solitude
package, which can cause severe blowouts in some games. Finally, Imperial Recruiter can recruit cards to pitch for the evoke effect in a pinch.
Instants + Sorceries:
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Ephemerate(4): The overwhelming majority of creatures in the deck have ETB abilities, so this is a main part of the value game plan. Some cards are must deal with threats so this can play as a protection effect as well, which can cause some major blowouts for the opponent. Lastly, it helps create the nasty pitch Solitude combo, which can setback opposing creature strategies significantly.
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Metallic Rebuke(4): This deck has enough artifacts to make this a potent early game counter while allowing you to maintain tempo in the early game. Hitting double in the early game for a card like Counterspell can be difficult due to having five colorless lands, so this is a decent alternative with some artifact specific upsides.
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Prismatic Ending(4): This card helps deal with the myriad of early game threats so the deck can transition into the mid to late game intact. As well, it can help answer potent sideboard threats that counteract the deck's gameplan such as Torpor Orb or Rest in Peace.
Artifacts:
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Portable Hole(4): This card, like Prismatic Ending, helps deal with early game threats, but it's also an artifact which can matter greatly at times in several ways. One potent grindy strategy is to fish this out of the graveyard if milled with Emry, Lurker of the Loch. The one downside is that it can be vulnerable to removal (ie. Kolaghan's Command) and only hits CMC two or less permanents, so in certain matchups it may be boarded out post game one.
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Soul-Guide Lantern(1): This card is a tutor target for Urza's Saga to hedge against the graveyard strategies prevalent in the Modern metagame. It's never a dead draw due to it's cantrip ability. While not as efficient a target for Emry, Lurker of the Loch compared to Mishra's Bauble, it's utility makes it a more potent card in the deck.
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Pyrite Spellbomb(1): This card is a tutor target for Urza's Saga that deals with smaller creatures and low loyalty planeswalkers. As well, it can be recurred from graveyard via Emry, Lurker of the Loch for value.
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Shadowspear(1): This card is a tutor target for Urza's Saga that works great with the tokens it produces. It is a valuable source of lifelink in certain matchups that can help stabilize your life total in the mid to late game.
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Springleaf Drum(1): This card is a tutor target for Urza's Saga that helps mitigate the loss of the land on it's final chapter and when drawn early, can help ramp, fix your mana, and speed up your gameplan.
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Sword of the Meek(1): This is one of the main pieces of the combo with Thopter Foundry + Urza, Lord High Artificer
. If it finds itself in the graveyard, it can also be picked up naturally via Imperial Recruiter or Esper Sentinel, the latter being a pretty potent pickup in some matches.
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Thopter Foundry(2): This is one of the main pieces of the combo with Sword of the Meek + Urza, Lord High Artificer
. Two copies are played since this card is much harder to find than Sword of the Meek and easier to remove permanently. It can provide small amounts of value outside of the combo such as sacrificing Esper Sentinel when it's targeted with removal.
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Batterskull(1): This is a target for Stoneforge Mystic that can be difficult to deal with for some decks and is a hedge specifically against burn decks. As well, Yorion, Sky Nomad can blink this to reset the germ token.
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Kaldra Compleat(1): This is a target for Stoneforge Mystic that can be difficult to deal with for some decks. It specifically is fetched over Batterskull in matchups against combo and control since it's clock is significantly faster. As well, Yorion, Sky Nomad can blink this to reset the germ token.
Lands
- This deck uses a traditional fetch land mana base with four fast lands for the main colors in the deck.
- Urza's Saga gets to act as a supreme spell land with the downside of being colorless.
- The deck is purposefully base white where blue and red spells are at a low count to mitigate the effect of getting color screwed.
- The one of Inventors' Fair helps find key combo pieces without increasing the colorless land count too much.
- Two spells are MDFCs, which can help hit land drops for more mana hungry hands
Sideboard
Overall, the sideboard has been created with tutor targets in mind for several specific matchups while also having some cards that are generically good in a variety of matchups. This deck can have clunky draws at times, so many of the cards are lower CMC to help make the deck more mana efficient. Many of the sideboard creatures have power of one or less so that they can be brought back with Vesperlark in case they are removed by the opponent.
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Unholy Heat(4): It also helps pick off planeswalkers and larger creatures at a low cost. While there isn't much self mill in this deck, achieving delirium is very much doable in the mid to late game. Tourach, Dread Cantor's protection ability can make it almost invulnerable to our main deck removal, so Unholy Heat is a relatively clean answer to this card.
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Dovin's Veto(2): This is a hard counter for planeswalkers and other problematic non-creature spells no matter when they are cast during the matchup, which is important considering Metallic Rebuke becomes less effective as the game goes longer. It can also help counter removal spells on key creatures while protecting the decks' main combo.
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Wear / Tear(2): This card helps answer problematic artifacts or enchantments like Torpor Orb or Blood Moon that the opponent could bring in to stifle the deck's game plan, but it also very efficient removal spell against many cards in the format that are central to top decks in the format. It's fuse ability also allows the card to be a two for one in certain instances.
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Hex Parasite(1): This deck can struggle with resolved planeswalkers, so this card can act as a repeatable threat against them with an ability that can be used immediately. It also can take down counter-based strategies and has cute synergies with Urza's Saga. While fragile, this card can be tutored by Urza's Saga or Imperial Recruiter and can also be re-aminated via Vesperlark, which makes it an easier find or bring back so any planeswalker does not stay as long on the battlefield.
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Drannith Magistrate(1): This card helps protect against opponent's "unfair" strategies such as Lurrus of the Dream-Den, cascade, rebound, and other graveyard synergies.
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Burrenton Forge-Tender(1): The deck's creatures are smaller on average, so a scary card even when pitched is Fury. Besides protecting against red threats, it has general utility in any red based matchups (Burn, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, etc...).
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Sanctifier en-Vec(1): Most graveyard decks are either base black or red, so this card is a huge beating. It also has utility in any red based matchups even if the deck isn't graveyard based. Lastly, in the right matchup, this card can be very difficult to remove permanently.
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Phyrexian Metamorph(1): Definitely the spiciest inclusion in the sideboard. This clone effect is extremely versatile and allows the deck to steal other deck's gameplay warping creatures, many times for a lower cost. This card is very good in any matchups with a lot of elementals or companions the deck wouldn't mind having itself like Lurrus of the Dream-Den or Omnath, Locus of Creation without having the same restrictions. Essentially, it allows the deck to stay on par with the opponent's strategy or get ahead if you have a removal spell for their threat. Lastly, it's 0/0 power and toughness and artifact status means it can be recurred if destroyed with either Vesperlark or Emry, Lurker of the Loch.
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Skyclave Apparition(1): This card acts as a permanent removal spell that can be tutored with Imperial Recruiter and blinked.
Maybeboard
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Sejiri Shelter
(1) instead of Skyclave Cleric
(1): Having a card to that can protect key creatures seems like it could be worthwhile. It can also help push in damage in board stalls, which can be important when facing off against opponents with planeswalkers.
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Giver of Runes(?): This is a card that can protect key creatures while also being able to be re-aminated via Vesperlark. The only thing that makes it difficult as an include is that it is best played on turn one, and there isn't enough space for four copies to make it as potent, and if it is tutored via Imperial Recruiter, it may have to wait one to two turns before it's protection ability starts to become relevant.
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Maul of the Skyclaves(1): This card was in previous iterations and helped push through damage in matchups as well as being a good foil to Dragon's Rage Channeler. This deck wouldn't mind one extra tutor target that hits the sweet spot between Shadowspear and Batterskull. It has some relevant synergies with Esper Sentinel and Yorion, Sky Nomad as well that make it an attractive option.
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Timeless Dragon(1-2): This card sees play in some Legacy Yorion builds and makes sense as a value card that helps find lands when needed, which can be very important in Blood Moon matchups. It's ability also gets past counterspells and provides a reasonable threat, and the card itself wears equipment well. It essentially provides a different avenue of attack for the deck.
Matchups
Strengths
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Plethora of exile effects mean decks looking to recur creatures or permanents can struggle at times (ie. Lurrus of the Dream-Den)
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Red based decks that use Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer have a difficult time getting through the combination of early blockers and interaction
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Land light decks can be slowed down heavily by Esper Sentinel
Weaknesses
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Struggles vs. Omnath value decks which can outgrind the deck and present larger threats.
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The deck can have clunky draws due to more variance as an 80 card deck, colorless lands in the manabase, and prevalence of higher CMC cards
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The deck can struggle to create pressure via combat since the creatures outside of Urza's Saga tokens are generally small or lack evasion. This means resolved planeswalkers can be difficult to kill via combat.
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The deck does not have much instant speed creature removal in game one.
**Record (3-1 as of 12/25/21)
Hammer Time: 1-0
- The deck's several exile effects help it effectively deal with the opponent's non-creature artifacts and Lurrus of the Dream-Den. The opponent's comparatively low lack of removal allows the deck to exact it's own gameplan without much interruption.
- Out: Urza, Lord High Artificer -1, Vesperlark -1, Thopter Foundry -1, Ephemerate -3, Stoneforge Mystic -2, Thraben Inspector -2, Kaldra Compleat -1,
- In: Unholy Heat +4, Dovin's Veto +2, Skyclave Apparition +1, Drannith Magistrate +1, Wear / Tear +2, Phyrexian Metamorph +1
Murktide: 1-0
- The deck appears to have a decent matchup as long as it can stabilize against it's early creature threats and has answers for Murktide Regent, although Blood Moon can cause significant problems post board.
- Out: Stoneforge Mystic -2, Imperial Recruiter -1, Kaldra Compleat -1, Deputy of Detention -1, Ephemerate -3, Thopter Foundry -1, Urza, Lord High Artificer -1
- In: Unholy Heat +4, Dovin's Veto +2, Burrenton Forge-Tender +1, Sanctifier en-Vec +1, Wear / Tear +2
Naya Landfall: 0-1
- Brushfire Elemental is a very potent and evasive threat that is difficult to deal with outside of removal.
- Out: Soul-Guide Lantern -1, Urza, Lord High Artificer -2, Sword of the Meek -1, Thopter Foundry -2, Imperial Recruiter -1, Goblin Engineer -1
- In: Unholy Heat +4, Burrenton Forge-Tender +1, Sanctifier en-Vec +1, Skyclave Apparition +1, Drannith Magistrate +1
U/W Control: 1-0
- The deck can apply early game pressure while generating value, which makes the matchup more difficult for the control player since this deck can force the opponent to make suboptimal plays.
- Out: Solitude -4, Ephemerate -1, Portable Hole -4, Soul-Guide Lantern -1, Deputy of Detention -1,
- In: Unholy Heat +4, Sanctifier en-Vec +1, Phyrexian Metamorph +1, Dovin's Veto +2, Skyclave Apparition +1, Drannith Magistrate +1, Hex Parasite +1
Updates
1/19/22:
-1 Pyrite Spellbomb, +1 Aether Spellbomb
-1 Ephemerate, +1 Thopter Foundry
