What decks do you fear?
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on June 12, 2015, 11:55 a.m. by Ph0xPhire
So recently I've been thinking about getting back into modern, as I found a Gaea's Cradle for $1 at a garage sale, and can probably either turn it into a stack of money or a few valuable cards for whatever deck I am building next.
My question is, what decks do you modern players fear when going up against? Like what makes you go "oh shit I'm going to lose."
I've been considering netdecking You should have read the text for a while now, how would that fare?
I've also been considering a classic G/U infect pump, but I don't know yet.
What deck do I actually fear? As a BG/x (midrange) player - Tron.
June 12, 2015 12:03 p.m. Edited.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #4
It entirely depends what I'm playing. As a genera rule though, I don't really like Junk (sorry Chief XD) because I play control and it's just a really annoying match-up.
June 12, 2015 12:05 p.m. Edited.
I like it when people say they find my deck irritating to play against. Thats kind of a compliment!
June 12, 2015 12:07 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #6
Tri-Color Twin is usually something that I always loathe seeing.
Their ability to put down threats like Tarmogoyf or Tasigur, the Golden Fang means you have to deal with them while also keeping mana open to deal with their combo at any point in time.
Honestly it's exhausting.
June 12, 2015 12:09 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #7
I fear nothing, but there are some matchups I don't like.
June 12, 2015 12:11 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #8
Also, any kind of infinite combo. It bothers me that you can win the game on the spot effortlessly.
June 12, 2015 12:12 p.m.
Not to put down your deck choice, but g/w tokens just is not competitive in modern. B/W tokens is what you want to go for if you want to go a token route. I hate g/r Tron. It's pretty much an auto-loss for me.
June 12, 2015 1:22 p.m.
I'm with Ohthenoises. Tri-Twin is annoying as balls to play against.
June 12, 2015 1:24 p.m.
Its worth noting that most of us are not aggro players so we are not giving a representative view of tron. There are many decks that win fairly easily against it. It just so happens that few of us play them!
June 12, 2015 1:25 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #12
As a RB/X rogue deck player, I fear only two decks. Titan Bloom and Tron. Well in general decks that acquire huge things with trample very quickly.
June 12, 2015 1:27 p.m.
elpokitolama says... #13
I really fear extremly aggro strategies, like mono red burn or affinity. Every deck I run finds itself useless against those...
June 12, 2015 1:40 p.m.
trollslayer says... #14
Hmmm, aparently I made a good choice by going into tron. Ya know, with people not lickeing it and all
June 12, 2015 1:59 p.m.
Yea I was considering netdecking a voltron deck a while back....Might have to reconsider that. I also was tinkering with artifact affinity before I quit, might have to look into that too. I refuse to play RDW because I have a deep loathing of goblins as a concept. I just hate everything about them.
June 12, 2015 2:14 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #16
I like goblins. They make funny little popping sounds when they die.
June 12, 2015 2:20 p.m.
I mean anyone reading this thread is going to be like OH SHIT TRON IS THE GREATEST and then perhaps be disappointed when it loses to like a lot of the meta.
June 12, 2015 2:55 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #20
It was too good to pass on :)
But I don't find Tron to be much of a problem. As long as you disrupt them early and make sure that they can't get a good boardstate, you're good to go.
June 12, 2015 2:59 p.m.
Alright all that being said then, Chief, what would you say would be a good avant-garde deck to wreck face with in modern then?
June 12, 2015 3:03 p.m.
avant-garde? that also wrecks?
If I knew that I'd be playing it ;)
June 12, 2015 3:06 p.m.
Alright then allow me to rephrase. What is the most uncommon face wrecking deck you have seen thus far? And for that matter, what are your thoughts on affinity? I've dusted off my old binder and found a few cards to get the core of my deck started, so I'm considering that too.
June 12, 2015 3:09 p.m.
Affinity isn't uncommon but is face wrecking. One of the only aggro decks to actually be very complicated to play too! I like it a lot.
Uncommon face wreckers.... uhh..... soul sisters piloted by a very competent player. Aura Hexproof (AKA Bogles). Maybe even merfolk (somewhat common).
They're mainly aggro decks.
As for combo....
Storm isn't as popular as it used to be. Its a well known archetype but not a lot play it competitively at the moment.
There's Pili-Pala combo. There's Intruder Alarm combos.
Not sure about control.
The problem with all of these decks is that they CAN wreck face but a lot of the time they won't unless you're very, very skilled at using them. If they wrecked AND did it reliably and often they'd be T1. They are not T1 because they require a ton of effort and some luck to use properly. Affinity doesn't apply here because it just is T1.
June 12, 2015 3:17 p.m.
I was considering the whole hexproof/aura thing for a while, but I think affinity is where I'm going to set up shop. Any tips for piloting/building affinity? That's my last question before I head off to work.
June 12, 2015 3:19 p.m.
I do not play affinity. Will tag those that do to have a chat:
June 12, 2015 3:22 p.m.
RoarMaster says... #28
Affinity scares me most usually. Depends on what Im playing but it generally takes the cake.
June 12, 2015 4:33 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #29
As an Affinity player, there are no decks that I inherently fear. What I do fear, however, is their sideboard cards, because there are a ton that hate on Affinity.
In general, Affinity decks win most Game 1s. Games 2 and 3 are battles though, because of their artifact hate sideboard cards.
June 12, 2015 4:59 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #30
As a grixis twin player, the only thing I have to fear is the mirror. It's pretty fantastic.
June 12, 2015 5:25 p.m.
I love playing grixis twin. Such an easy matchup for b/w tokens, so long as you run Auriok Champion mainboarded.
June 12, 2015 5:44 p.m.
Tron is certainly competent but it's not tier 1. As a Zoo player, it usually doesn't bother me. Sure it'll win its games but I find myself winning about 60-40 at least, and I seem to run into tron a lot more than affinity.
and yes, Affinity WILL wreck your face if you're not prepared for it. If you love Hyper aggro, that might be the route for you.
Best under the radar deck that I've played is a variation on Valakut Trap. Unfortunately I don't have my own deck list up right now, but this fellow runs a similar list to me.
The idea here is to run a lot of win cons all stacked up on one another. Early game you ramp to 5-6 mana. Then you cast Emrakul, the Aeons Torn + Through the Breach to auto win. You can also Primeval Titan + Through the Breach to fetch up 2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle followed by 2 Mountain to do a total of 18 damage assuming no blockers. On top of these win-cons you can hard cast the Titan and if it gets countered, Summoning Trap for another Titan or Emrakul. You can also Hard cast the Trap at an opponent's end turn to either surprise win or force them to tap out to counter and open up the way for other surprises on your turn. Long game you can just win with Titan, or any of the other beasties you play with + just playing land on top of a couple of Valakut's.
Honestly I don't know why this deck is not played more often. I play a lot online and the deck wrecks... Twin, B/G/X, Control, Burn, it doesn't matter. I win the majority of the time. There is a version that runs Scapeshift on top of all I mentioned so far, but I don't play that way. I find the deck works much better running a lot of tough mid-range creatures like Courser of Kruphix and Obstinate Baloth to keep you alive longer and give you the definite edge in Agro and burn matches, as well as give you more reasons for your opponent to walk into a Summoning Trap. There is also a Naya version that runs the White Hideaway land, but I find keeping to two colors allows much higher consistency in staying alive against burn and getting enough mountains out to matter when using Valakut.
I play a really expensive Zoo deck with 4 Goyfs and all, and honestly I probably get more wins with this weird offbeat deck. Maybe it's just because people don't expect it, but the deck is extraordinarily powerful in the right hands.
June 12, 2015 6:13 p.m. Edited.
aeonstoremyliver says... #33
I play RDW/Burn, mainly. I don't fear much, but control decks are a pain in the arse. My secondary Modern deck is Abzan Midrange, and I'm toying with building a 
/
Delver variant of some sort, maybe Grixis or Jeskai.
Affinity is nuts. It's almost like a combo deck with all the synergies. Arcbound Ravager being a key piece. I have a good friend that plays it, I helped him tweak it, I've piloted it, and it isn't easy. But it can seriously wreck face! It is important to note that it can be hated out easily, thus counter spells like Remand, Spell Pierce, and Spell Snare are pretty important for your sideboard. Discard ala Thoughtseize works well in the sideboard too. And you always want to run a few basics main.
And, once you acquire the Modern Affinity deck, it would be worthwhile to pick up a few of the Legacy pieces like Seat of the Synod (and the other artifact lands) and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. Legacy Affinity is even more nuts lol!!!
June 12, 2015 6:19 p.m.
You know I am a HUGE aggro player. I don't know what it is about Affinity, but for whatever reason I am prejudiced because of the artifacts. It just doesn't feel like Aggro if I'm not using Goblins or Lions, Tigers, and Bears. I just don't know why....
RDW/Burn is an awesome deck that I came very close to playing myself. I actually own most of the components of the deck, but find I enjoy a creature based aggro strategy more.
June 12, 2015 6:24 p.m.
pumpkinwavy says... #35
Since I generally play stupid rogue combo decks (like Necrotic Ooze combo), I fear control the most. The combination of counters and removal and more removal and counters and then Snapcaster Mage makes me cry.
So now, I play esper control because it crushes other control decks.
Anyway, affinity is a pretty cool and strong deck. Just know that if people really want to beat affinity, they will.
June 12, 2015 9:57 p.m.
Thank you all so much for the advice. I'm going to be selling my Gaea's Cradle at my local card shop, then buy some Arcbound Ravager and Spellskite to start off my deck. This will be my first expensive deck, and I'm super excited. Thanks for all the help!
/thread
June 12, 2015 10:44 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #37
@ThatJunkMage You, you're the asshole in the room! :P
June 12, 2015 11:18 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #38
Yes, hello! That's me.
They usually don't which is great. And when they do, there's Pestermite
June 13, 2015 2:03 a.m.
Justin_Bop says... #40
Scapeshift used to be the most annoying deck. Now I think Bloom Titan is just because of how fast it can be. You need early removal to stop Primeval Titan and if you can't, well it game over.the mtschup I fear is Affinity because of how brutally fast and consistent it is. I can just never make a deck that stop Affinity. Siege Rhino is annoying too. Screw you Abzan.
Hjaltrohir says... #2
That is amazing, I have always looked out for super magic deals like that but have never been so lucky.
As a control player, I hate going up against Tron, the massive creatures are just so difficult to deal with. Also, any Blood Moon decks are super difficult to play against.
June 12, 2015 11:59 a.m.