The Mana Deprived Super Series visited Toronto this past Saturday, July 25th, with a 5K Modern constructed event. The event had a 148 player turnout but what made this an exciting day was the diversity.

A Look at the Field

If the goal is to create a format that is diverse then this tournament is certainly proof of that. The field had everything from G/B/x, Twin, and Amulet Bloom decks to Mono Blue Turns, Green Machine, and Skred Red. No one archetype ate up more than 14% of the field. The most played deck type was U/R/x Twin at 13.6% of the field. G/B/x decks were the second highest in terms of popularity at 13.2%. There were fifty-three different decks at this event, many of them being played by two or fewer people. Only one player, David Goldfarb, decided to play Mono-Blue Turns and given that he won the tournament it is safe to say that a rogue deck can still get the job done.

While I am not sure if this means that modern is in a good place at the moment, I would argue that it is certainly in a place that rewards solid deck design and tight plays. If you are about to jump into a big event and want to do well pick a deck that you know inside and out. Preferably one that can close out a game quickly as combo appears to be king given the top 8 results. The top 8 was all over the place in terms of decks but it would appear to heavily favor combo decks.

The Top 8

When the dust settled after 8 rounds of swiss we were left with a few interesting decks. The first was David’s Mono Blue Turns. Felix Tse piloted a R/G Scapeshift list to second place. Scott Jones proved once again that Amulet Bloom is a deck to be feared with his 3rd place finish. William Yu’s 4th place finish showed the power of Living End. Matthew Loong managed to get to 5th place this time with his Junk/Abzan list. Big mana strategies served Ryan Ascott well as he earned 6th place. Sammy T reminded us all that Delver of Secrets and a certain zombie fish are forces to be reckoned with as he and his Grixis Delver deck placed 7th. Erik Vanderbeek wrapped up the day nicely at 8th with his Tarmo Twin deck.

Twin had the highest number of players but at the end of the day it was the rogue decks that did the best. Both Felix and David had unique deck choices for the day and it served them well. As our soon to be uploaded deck techs will show there were more than a few interesting brews in the room.

Mono Blue Turns – David Goldfarb (1st)

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Ghost Quarter
22 Island
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
[/Lands]
[Spells]
3 Cryptic Command
4 Dictate of Kruphix
1 Elixir of Immortality
2 Gigadrowse
1 Jace Beleren
4 Remand
4 Serum Visions
1 Spell Snare
3 Telling Time
4 Temporal Mastery
4 Time Warp
4 Walk the Aeons
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
1 Aetherize
2 Gigadrowse
3 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Laboratory Maniac
3 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
2 Swan Song
2 Wipe Away
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

RG Scapeshift – Felix Tse (2nd)

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Bloodstained Mire
5 Forest
9 Mountain
4 Stomping Ground
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Spells]
2 Farseek
4 Khalni Heart Expedition
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Magma Jet
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Scapeshift
4 Search for Tomorrow
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
4 Primeval Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
2 Pyroclasm
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Rending Volley
2 Boil
2 Back to Nature
1 Shatterstorm
4 Obstinate Baloth
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Amulet Bloom – Scott Jones (3rd)

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Boros Garrison
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Golgari Rot Farm
2 Gruul Turf
1 Island
1 Khalni Garden
1 Radiant Fountain
2 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Slayers’ Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
4 Tendo Ice Bridge
2 Vesuva
[/Lands]
[Spells]
4 Amulet of Vigor
2 Ancient Stirrings
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Hive Mind
2 Pact of Negation
4 Serum Visions
2 Slaughter Pact
4 Summer Bloom
4 Summoner’s Pact
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
2 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
4 Primeval Titan
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Thragtusk
1 Hornet Queen
2 Seal of Primordium
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Swan Song
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Pyroclasm
1 Firespout
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Living End – William Yu (4th)

[deck]
[Lands]
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Copperline Gorge
1 Forest
2 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
2 Swamp
[/Lands]
[Spells]
3 Beast Within
4 Demonic Dread
3 Living End
4 Violent Outburst
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
4 Architects of Will
2 Avalanche Riders
4 Deadshot Minotaur
2 Faerie Macabre
4 Fulminator Mage
1 Jungle Weaver
4 Monstrous Carabid
2 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Street Wraith
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
4 Brindle Boar
3 Ricochet Trap
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Boil
2 Ingot Chewer
1 Jund Charm
1 Dismember
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Junk – Matthew Loong (5th)

[deck]
[Lands]
2 Forest
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Godless Shrine
3 Marsh Flats
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
2 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]
[Spells]
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Dismember
1 Go for the Throat
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Lingering Souls
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Slaughter Pact
4 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
3 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
2 Thragtusk
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Go for the Throat
1 Darkblast
2 Feed the Clan
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Damnation
1 Golgari Charm
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Deglamer
1 Duress
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

GR Tron – Ryan Ascott (6th)

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Eye of Ugin
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Snow-Covered Forest
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Urza’s Tower
[/Lands]
[Spells]
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Expedition Map
4 Karn Liberated
3 Oblivion Stone
4 Pyroclasm
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Sylvan Scrying
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
3 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
4 Nature’s Claim
2 Thragtusk
2 Boil
2 Rending Volley
1 Vandalblast
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ghost Quarter
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Grixis Delver – Samuel Tharmaratnam (7th)

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Blood Crypt
4 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Spells]
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Kolaghan’s Command
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Snare
2 Terminate
4 Thought Scour
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Gurmag Angler
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Young Pyromancer
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Dragon’s Claw
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Flashfreeze
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Negate
2 Rending Volley
2 Shattering Spree
2 Spellskite
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Tarmo Twin – Eric Vanderbeek (8th)

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Breeding Pool
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Forest
1 Hinterland Harbor
3 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
3 Sulfur Falls
[/Lands]
[Spells]
2 Cryptic Command
1 Dismember
1 Electrolyze
2 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
1 Roast
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
3 Splinter Twin
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
4 Deceiver Exarch
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Vendilion Clique
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
1 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Flashfreeze
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Nature’s Claim
2 Pyroclasm
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Spellskite
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Thragtusk
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]