Taking current archetypes to the next level
Modern forum
Posted on March 10, 2015, 2:36 a.m. by JexInfinite
As highlighted in Caleb Durward's aricle, I thought how we could take already known archetypes and make them better, or just different.
TWoo did it with Ascendancy Storm, removing green and making it into a control deck rather than a glass cannon combo, and Caleb Durward made a quick Zoo Scape brew.
My task for you is to take certain decks, say, Amulet Bloom, and make it into something equally as good, but completely unknown and hard to beat. Make your own Zoo Scape, or Amulet Zoo, or even ScapeTwin.
Do something fancy and cool. Break the meta.
JexInfinite says... #3
I would prefer this to be a discussion of how to take archetypes to the next level. Keeping it in the modern sub-forum means more accessibility.
Discuss what could be done to spice up RG Tron or something. A challenge is usually a lot more specific.
March 10, 2015 3:45 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #4
Right, so with Zoo Scape, you want to cast Scapeshift to make Steppe Lynx OP, and/or get a super huge Knight of the Reliquary. You can use Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle as a backup plan.
There is also the regular Zoo beatdown plan.
It seems like a similar idea to Tarmo Twin.
March 10, 2015 4:14 a.m.
branston567 says... #5
I certainly like the idea of ScapeTwin, seems like a deck that would shock a lot of people who are playing around a Splinter Twin and allows Tarmo Twin to attack on a thiord axis, certainly viable
March 10, 2015 5:25 a.m.
branston567 says... #6
Made a decklist, cant link it for some reason but is on my profile, manabase definitely needs more work (just a lift from another TarmoTwin deck that ive altered slightly
March 10, 2015 6:18 a.m.
I dont know if you have seen this yet but its StormShift
March 10, 2015 6:35 a.m.
Sorry I dont think that link worked here's the web address:
http://www.starcitygames.com/article/28456_Introducing-Stormshift.html
March 10, 2015 6:36 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #10
I like the Zooscape.
Come on 
/x players, Legacy rocks the Dark Depths combo in their lists. ...what can we do in modern?
March 10, 2015 9:13 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #14
All good, I make simple mistakes like that constantly.
March 10, 2015 9:30 a.m.
branston567 says... #15
One thing that i have been seing for th X players is a rise in this Junk Gifts thats being played, could be the path to go down
March 10, 2015 9:32 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #17
Are there other ways to play the game in a way which it wasn't meant to be played?
Glittering Wish decks are really dumb (in a good way).
March 11, 2015 2:09 a.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #18
Twoo back in August made a really interesting post about the best ways to use Master of Waves in modern. Once was a merfolk deck that had blood moon. His rational for it was as follows:
"I know I cut a lot of sacred cows with this Merfolk deck but I think the Merfolk community needs to try some new things to push the archetype. The deck has had some mediocre results, never well enough to break into the top of a premier Modern event, and we might need to really shake up the archetype to get it here."
He's got a point. Legacy fish is so good because of the safety and control offered by Force of Will and the strength of True-Name Nemesis. Another critical difference is that the modern format is packing a lot more removal than legacy. Modern is a format where almost a third of all decks run a playset of Lightning Bolt, and the rest run Abrupt Decay and/or Path to Exile.
Cursecatcher, which can counter a T1 Ponder in legacy, is far less powerful in modern. Also the need to devote spots to a 
2/2 flyer is a high price to pay for protection. By cutting the Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Cursecatcher, and Merrow Reejereys, you free up spots.
Rather than becoming a linear aggro strategy outclassed by Burn/RDW/sligh and even Zoo, we can turn fish into an incredibly synergistic small core of creatures that are protected by a blue moon shell. I've been playing around with a version of that for a while and really like it.
Blue Moon Merfolk takes the best aggressive power of fish (lords and tokens) and melds it with the control and mana denial of blue moon (blood moon, spreading seas, sea's claim).
If Merfolk is ever going to be a tier 1-1.5 modern deck, it will have to be either 
or rather than the traditional or 
March 12, 2015 12:52 p.m.
KrosanTusker says... #19
I really like the idea of Fish Moon being a thing. Do you have a list for that?
Here is an article about Twin, which is an.. interesting idea, though not necessarily an improvement. I, for one, prefer to have Snapcaster Mages and Remands, but hey.
March 12, 2015 2:24 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #20
Sure man, my list currently is Whelming Flame, Boiling Blood
March 12, 2015 3:44 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #21
Those are the sort of innovations which really push decks. All you need to do is add about 6 fetchlands and some Steam Vents, maybe a Lightning Bolt or 4. Seems pretty solid. You could cut Mutavaults entirely, but having 2 seems strong, still.
GoofyFoot says... #2
ChiefBell, probably should be in articles and challenges.
March 10, 2015 3:41 a.m.