Can I play modern without using Fetchlands?
Modern forum
Posted on Aug. 1, 2013, 9:52 p.m. by tonmax123
I have recently been wanting to move from standard into modern (Which I am fairly unfamiliar with), but I'm not made of money and would not like to spend a huge amount of cash on the fetchlands that it seems most decks run. Is it fine to run just shocklands/dual lands, or do fetchlands rely help that much and are worth it?
Any help is welcome!
PasorofMuppets says... #3
You might be better off just playing decks that don't need them, I think the only real competitive one is mono white Soul Sisters.
Also very budget friendly, so works out.
August 1, 2013 10 p.m.
Darn because I was really wanting to convert my Jund standard deck to modern without fetch...
August 1, 2013 10:03 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #7
You CAN do it, the thinning effect is negligible but what they are really good for is fixing.
If you want to be uber competitive I have some bad news but if you want to do decently with some friends or some FNM then you can do with shocks/checks as long as your fixing is fine.
August 1, 2013 10:06 p.m.
Ok ya because I don't go to many tournaments, but I do go to FNM. So that helps
August 1, 2013 10:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #9
Moved to Modern forum.
Competitive multicolored decks need the fetches to ensure consistency. Its very hard to play a multicolored deck without the requisite shocks/fetches.
August 1, 2013 10:20 p.m.
@tonmax123 It may be important to understand that in Jund a number of choice cards included had a great deal of synergy with fetch lands - they enable some form of ramp or pump in most modern decks - whether you're fueling landfall triggers and namely in Jund - Lotus Cobra or providing for the use of Deathrite Shaman .
Cheers!
August 2, 2013 8:28 a.m.
The other big thing with Jund in particular is that its mana requirements are relatively tight. Double black for Liliana followed by red/green next turn for Huntmaster strains a mana base. Standard can get away with this because it's slow, but in Modern missing that third- or fourth-turn play because of the wrong mana is really devastating.
I'd like to say that you can get away without fetches in Modern, but you really can't. In a three-plus color deck, each of them mostly acts as a mana source of any color that you need. For instance, in my BGW deck, a Verdant Catacombs can fetch me literally any colored land in the deck (I have no basic Plains , but I have the other two basics and all of the shocks). There is no equivalent, and this unique ability of fetchlands is a major driving force behind the Modern play style.
Also consider that in Modern, many Jund decks splash white, too. It just grows from there.
If you're interested in going fetch-free (and I can hardly blame you, as it's the most expensive part of nearly any Modern deck), you'd be better served choosing a deck that naturally doesn't use them. Affinity, Tron, some sort of Soul Sisters. Or at worst, you can pick a two-color that uses only four. Living End and BW Tokens in particular come into mind because they each use only four fetches, and they're the two least expensive ones.
August 2, 2013 9:14 a.m.
And yes, I failed to mention...as jdcallirhoe alluded to, Deathrite Shaman is important in Modern. The reason is...fetchlands. Otherwise it's just a halfway decent card, the way it is in Standard. In Modern Jund, having a one-drop mana dork is an incredible advantage that you throw away without the fetches.
August 2, 2013 9:17 a.m.
the nice part about fetches is the deck filtering and removal of land from the deck for better draws as the game progresses.in decks running Knight of the Reliquary the feed it and boost it up even before it hits the table, in a naya boom bust deck this is just crazy fun,
August 2, 2013 11:22 a.m.
If anyone tells you that you need fetches they are wrong, I played mill with hedron crab and I used evolving wilds and went 4-1 and with my burn deck no fetches just shocks and duals and it runs turn 4 consistently, it depends on whether you fit the correct mana to what your deck needs. If you find that point your deck will run fine without the use of fetch lands
August 2, 2013 1:15 p.m.
That's a horribly narrow statement that is not representative of most things that are going on in Modern. Saying "my almost mono-color decks, one of which is really slow, run fine without fetches" is not helpful in the least to someone who's talking about porting a three-color midrange deck.
Even so, it can be illustrative. Did your burn deck run fine without fetches? I'm sure it did. Pack in a lot of Mountains and cast a lot of Bolts, fine. Would it have run better with fetches? Definitely. Then you could actually use Searing Blaze as an instant instead of a sorcery and use Deathrite Shaman to power out more early burn. At worst, running fetches would lead to less land being drawn, and while that's a very minor advantage of fetches in most cases, your deck really doesn't want to draw any land after the first three. I'm sure your deck works very well and I congratulate you on it. But even yours would work better with some Arid Mesa and Scalding Tarn in it.
Now OP's deck, on the other hand, is not a single-color deck that splashes a bit of a second color. It bears no relation whatsoever to either of your decks. In Modern, it wouldn't even be viable, no matter how successful you are with your Mountains.
Non-fetchland decks are certainly usable in Modern. I listed several of them in my last post. (Oddly, I didn't list RB Burn because I think it's not a very good deck without 8 fetchlands.) But once you stray outside of that into three-color land and more, a deck is simply not going to be competitive if it's always one to two turns behind everyone else.
August 2, 2013 2:21 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #16
There are a few exceptions but I believe Barandis is mostly right. Though I'll point out that the thinning effect was debunked a while ago. The fixing required for most 3+ color decks is too great to do without fetches. (As I said before, there are a few exceptions like Affinity, Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto Modern as an example). Jund really needs the fetches if you are going to be playing Bobs and lilianas and huntmasters, that being said, if you already have most of the expensive stuff springing for the fetches once seems like a decent enough investment.
August 2, 2013 3:31 p.m.
lord_of_the_snakes says... #17
3 color midrange is viable in modern without fetches, yes you may be a bit slower, but i have seen decks that can compensate for this slowness with other cards, Birthing Pod is one that i hate fighting
August 2, 2013 6:30 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #18
glad u r making the switch to modern, once u realize what is available to u, u probably won't even care about ur old standard deck lol
BTW if u run a mono color then yes without the fetches is very viable, once u start to mix the paint though, keep in mind it's around 120$ fine each time.
August 2, 2013 10:29 p.m.
hooman2170 says... #19
you can use shocks and innistrad-duels for the same effects
August 3, 2013 9:24 p.m.
I can't help being slightly amused at seeing "3 color midrange is viable in modern without fetches" followed in the same sentence by "yes you may be a bit slower." The two parts of the statement are contradictory. If you're slower, you are not viable.
Of course fetches don't get you mana any more quickly than regular lands do. But they get you the right color of mana. Fetchlands act, for all intents and purposes, like lands of whatever color you need in a three-color deck. Literally. In my three-color Modern deck, each of my 9 fetchlands can get any color mana I need. If one deck is playing lands that get whatever color they want and one deck isn't, which one is going to have a big advantage?
I agree with Ohthenoises completely, and I'm sorry I even brought up the deck thinning aspect even if I said it was a very minor advantage. However, there is another minor advantage that can't be taken lightly: fetches let a three-color deck play more basics. For example, I play GBW in both Standard and Modern right now. In Standard, I play 25 lands with 1 basic. In Modern, I play 23 lands with 4 basics. In a format with Blood Moon , that's no small matter.
It comes down to what you want from a deck. Do you want something three colors and viable in tournament play? Get fetches. (They aren't a bad investment anyway.) Do you want to be viable in tournament play without getting fetches? That's fine, there are plenty of decks for you, but they're not three-color. Want to play casual? Do whatever you want.
There is one thing to keep in mind: even with the fetches, in the long run, Modern is cheaper than Standard. Perhaps it'll take you a bit to be able to work up to the more expensive cards, but since you won't have to change decks every three months to keep competitive, it's more doable than you may think.
August 5, 2013 7:36 a.m.
Playing without fetches is easy and possible. They can help you fix mana, but you can do 3 colour decks without them, if you are smart about it and have alternative ways to fix.
A lot of people come into modern thinking "Oh, I must have fetches or I can't play at all". A 3 coloured modern deck would be better with fetches, but you don't need them.
Consider Painlands, Filterlands, Shock Lands, Fast Lands, and Check Lands.
August 5, 2013 1:41 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #22
what is the type of land where it says "such and such enters the battlefield tapped unless you don't own any such and such" specifically looking for the G/B and W/B ones
August 5, 2013 1:55 p.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #23
You're looking for lands that have been nicknamed check or buddy lands by the Magic community. Specifically, you're looking for Sunpetal Grove and Isolated Chapel . In the future, might I suggest using the Gatherer's advanced search? Rare lands from M10 will come up with the original checks and rare lands from Innistrad will come up with enemy color checks.
August 5, 2013 2:03 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #24
that wasn't what I was asking at all, and if it was, I would be looking for Woodland Cemetery not Sunpetal Grove xD
u must have missed the "don't own" part, not if u do own.
August 5, 2013 2:36 p.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #25
Oh, yeah, missed that part. Didn't think those even existed. And yeah, don't know why I though it was GW.
August 5, 2013 2:53 p.m.
It seems that I'm doing a poor job of explaining. Let me try once more.
Let's say that you have a Modern GBW deck, colors chosen because they're mine. Insert whatever colors/lands you play for your own viewpoint.
Without fetchlands, I would play Godless Shrine , Isolated Chapel , Overgrown Tomb , Woodland Cemetery , Temple Garden , and Sunpetal Grove . Each and every one of those lands provides two colors.
With fetchlands, I augment those with Marsh Flats , Verdant Catacombs , and Misty Rainforest (because my deck is green-heavy). Each and every one of those lands provides three colors. Additionally, should I have the need to do so (either to fight Blood Moon or to reduce the damage I take from my own lands), I have the freedom to fetch a basic instead.
I also have the freedom to drop the check lands entirely, ensuring that every time I draw a land, I can bring it into play untapped, no matter what turn it is or what other lands I have in play. This is a major point, as I am very well versed in how often you draw only check lands in your opening hands. This is bad enough in Standard. It's absolutely devastating in Modern.
If you can truly convince yourself that a player using two-color lands that sometimes come into play tapped has a reasonable chance to win against a player that's using three-color lands that never come into play tapped, then more power to you.
August 5, 2013 2:54 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #27
Just letting you know that Blood Moon renders fetchlands as inert mountains with no ability to sacrifice them.
6/7/2013 Nonbasic lands will lose any other land types and abilities they had. They will become Mountains and gain the ability "T: Add R to your mana pool."
August 5, 2013 2:58 p.m.
DeletedNow4ever says... #28
If you don't want to buy fetches, don't...but don't play three color decks either. You will not be competitive unless the skill level of your LGS is low. Not every deck has to be three or even two colors to be competitive in modern. I play Mono Blue Tron and the deck is a house. You also have a choice of other mono colored decks to choose from. You can trade your Jund standard deck to get the cards you need for these decks if you so choose. They are less expensive, but not really less competitive. Being mono colored has it's disadvantages, but it also has it's advantages. Try Mono Blue Delver, Soul Sisters, Merfolk, and Mono Blue Tron if you're looking for something that doesn't come with the expensive mana base cost attached to it.
August 5, 2013 3:09 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #29
I was looking for a G/B or B/W one of these Razorverge Thicket according to gatherer, there are none (modern legal at least)
August 5, 2013 3:31 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #30
Mirrodin block was the only set that those are from and they only printed the allied colors. Others haven't been printed. Also, they are known as "fast lands" IIRC.
August 5, 2013 3:33 p.m.
LayWhoZayHer says... #31
Fetchlands DO help in cases of fetching for shocklands. But I've found that not using fetches doesn't really screw up your mana base, since I use to play modern with proxies.. But yeah, use shocklands and dual lands if you must!
August 5, 2013 8:54 p.m.
lord_of_the_snakes says... #32
some aggro decks can play without fetches, or even shocks if you'r really good, i normally just run gates over shocks and manage to get 5th in my tournament with we stand as one
August 5, 2013 9:41 p.m.
It is possible to be competitive in modern without the fetchlands if you're running one or two colors. That being said a 3+ color deck in modern begs to have fetches especially jund (otherwise your cobra and deathrite are nurfed as previously pointed out). If you're only playing at your lgs for an fnm you can give it a shot (worse case scenario you're out five bucks) but its not gonna work very well at a more competitive level. If you want to play beyond fnm move to one or two color decks.
August 9, 2013 7:42 p.m.
Ohthenoises...I'm aware of the interaction with Blood Moon . However, the fetchlands that you already used to get basics (presumably you can figure out when you're going against a deck likely to play Blood Moon ), and the fetches that you crack in response to the Blood Moon being played, still do much to counteract the card. Playing no fetchlands doesn't give you that capability and ensures also that you just can't get away with as many basics, since you have to draw your colors naturally.
There are good decks that can get away without them (or with only a few). The two decks I have my eye on right now typically play a grand total of four (0 for mono-blue Tron and 4 Marsh Flats for BW Tokens). These are good decks. I encourage people unwilling to pay for fetches to look in that direction (especially Tron...it's like $200 for everything, including the sideboard).
August 10, 2013 9:13 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #35
Ok, I was just ensuring that you weren't missing something that's all.
August 10, 2013 9:22 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #36
(Also why I love Qasali Pridemage mainboarded in my Pod deck.)
August 10, 2013 9:23 p.m.
I play UR storm in modern without fetches, the constant digging enables me to have a deck with minimal amount of land cards, but still drawing them when needed.
Fetches still make things easier.
August 6, 2014 7:31 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #38
lol the manabase is the cheap part of Jund anyway :)
August 6, 2014 7:36 p.m.
List of decks that can be played without fetchlands that won't effect gameplay that much:
Aura-hexproof(use the mainboard Suppression Field build), Red Deck Wins, Infect, Martyr life, The Rock, Living End, Hatebears, Blue moon, Merfolk, Affinity, Fairies, Tron, BW Tokens/midrange, UR Delver.
As you can see, there are plenty of choices for decks that don't use fetchlands. Contrary to popular belief, you can be successful in modern without fetchlands. Living End, Merfolk, and Blue moon are my personal recommendations.
August 6, 2014 11:59 p.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #40
Guys, please read the date on this thread. We don't need this much Necromancy on the site. Let the other colors of mana have a chance.
xzavierx says... #2
Fetches help a ton for thinning your deck / mana fixing to remain competitive, however you could get away with shocks / checks like in standard but wont be as competitive draw for draw
August 1, 2013 9:58 p.m.