Two years ago, my friend Peyton made the following video about the top 10 underplayed decks in Modern.:
This was very popular and is still the most viewed video of all time on our YouTube channel MagicGatheringStrat. For this reason, my other friend, Binkabi, decided to make an updated version of the list recently.
If you are looking for something interesting to play in Modern you might find a deck or two in these two lists.
Here is Binkabi's list:
#10: Heartless Summoning
#9: Polymorph
#8: Green Lightning
#7: Elemental Combo
#6: Enduring Ideal
#5: Mardu Tokens
#4: Ad Nauseam
#3: Elves
#2: Sky Hussar
#1: You have to watch the video :)
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Round 8 of the Pauper Gauntlet S03
Round eight ended 5-4 which means that we are very close to the end of the Pauper Gauntlet. Only five decks remain alive!
What is the Pauper Gauntlet?
All about the Pauper Gauntlet Season 03: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-pauper-gauntlet.html
All the deck lists: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-of-pauper-gauntlet-s03.html
Round eight
Round eight was played in the Tournament Practice room.Here are all the results of the round .
Pig Trinket was crushed by MBC 0-2
MBC was crushed by MBC 0-2
BUGs & Pigs lost to Golgari Control (?) 1-2
The Green One took down RG Madness 2-0
Cyborgs defeated Golgari Dredge 2-1
WW Soul Tokens whacked Stompy 2-0
Spiteful Leeches ran into a quitter
Aristocrafts defeated RakdosKitty 2-1
Bant Sword and Shield died to Jund 0-2
Definitely not the result I expected. Still two WW decks alive. And Spiteful Leeches - how did that happen?
What happens now?
We are now in weekly rounds and will go one round per week until the end.
Top ten decks still alive
No Top Ten decks from last season are still in the game. .
The results of the Pauper Gauntlet S03 so far
6th place (round eight): BUGs & Pigs, Pig Trinket, MBC, Bant Sword and Shield
The playoff for the 10th spot in the top 10
10th place: Slivers (won the playoff)
11th place: Stompy Tokens, Mono Red Heroic (round five in the playoff)
13th place: Goblin Storm, BorosKitty Initiated (round four in the playoff)
15pth place: Stompy (round three in the playoff)
16th place: RUG Tron, Izzet Cooldotha and UG Madness
Round seven eliminations - the decks in the Top 10 Playoff: BorosKitty Initiated, Slivers, Mono Red Heroic, Stompy, UG Madness, RUG Tron and Izzet Cooldotha.
19th place (round six): Infect, Blue Bichinho, Death Control, Burn (runner-up from last season) and Pauper Nightmare.
24th place (round five) Illusory Tricks, White Heroes, Goblins, Suicide Black, Turbo Angler, Simic Oracle, Kuldotha Mardu, Elves, Rhystic Tron, MUC, Black Auramancer, Love Train,
36th place (round four) Counter-Kitty,UB Trinket Control, Rakdos Vampires, Flying Ninjas, Turbo Zoo, Shroudfang Ninja. Delver, Green Ramp LD, Snow-Go, Turbo Exhume
45th place: Shared by the 26 decks eliminated in round three: Affinity, Exhume Control, Familiars, Rebel Grind, Pestilence Control, Encroaching Blight, Green Grifters, The Pauper Gauntlet, Project X, Tortured Toolbox, RG Land Crusher, RG Landfall, DelverFiend, Eggs, Gary Busey LD, Selesnya Flash, Abzan Grindhouse, Bant Fog, Crocajund, BUG Proliferators, Evil Allies, Land-o-derm, Pig Trinket, Sultai Delve, 5-color Green
70th place: Shared by nine decks that died during double Elimination, (round one and two): Red Land Destruction, Mono Black Land Destruction, Glass Cannon Red, Tortured Madness, Cheaty Morph, Living End, 1-land Spy, UB Justice Control and Dragon Delve.
What is the Pauper Gauntlet?
All about the Pauper Gauntlet Season 03: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-pauper-gauntlet.html
All the deck lists: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-of-pauper-gauntlet-s03.html
Round eight
Round eight was played in the Tournament Practice room.Here are all the results of the round .
Pig Trinket was crushed by MBC 0-2
MBC was crushed by MBC 0-2
BUGs & Pigs lost to Golgari Control (?) 1-2
The Green One took down RG Madness 2-0
Cyborgs defeated Golgari Dredge 2-1
WW Soul Tokens whacked Stompy 2-0
Spiteful Leeches ran into a quitter
Aristocrafts defeated RakdosKitty 2-1
Bant Sword and Shield died to Jund 0-2
Definitely not the result I expected. Still two WW decks alive. And Spiteful Leeches - how did that happen?
What happens now?
We are now in weekly rounds and will go one round per week until the end.
Top ten decks still alive
No Top Ten decks from last season are still in the game. .
The results of the Pauper Gauntlet S03 so far
6th place (round eight): BUGs & Pigs, Pig Trinket, MBC, Bant Sword and Shield
The playoff for the 10th spot in the top 10
10th place: Slivers (won the playoff)
11th place: Stompy Tokens, Mono Red Heroic (round five in the playoff)
13th place: Goblin Storm, BorosKitty Initiated (round four in the playoff)
15pth place: Stompy (round three in the playoff)
16th place: RUG Tron, Izzet Cooldotha and UG Madness
Round seven eliminations - the decks in the Top 10 Playoff: BorosKitty Initiated, Slivers, Mono Red Heroic, Stompy, UG Madness, RUG Tron and Izzet Cooldotha.
19th place (round six): Infect, Blue Bichinho, Death Control, Burn (runner-up from last season) and Pauper Nightmare.
24th place (round five) Illusory Tricks, White Heroes, Goblins, Suicide Black, Turbo Angler, Simic Oracle, Kuldotha Mardu, Elves, Rhystic Tron, MUC, Black Auramancer, Love Train,
36th place (round four) Counter-Kitty,UB Trinket Control, Rakdos Vampires, Flying Ninjas, Turbo Zoo, Shroudfang Ninja. Delver, Green Ramp LD, Snow-Go, Turbo Exhume
45th place: Shared by the 26 decks eliminated in round three: Affinity, Exhume Control, Familiars, Rebel Grind, Pestilence Control, Encroaching Blight, Green Grifters, The Pauper Gauntlet, Project X, Tortured Toolbox, RG Land Crusher, RG Landfall, DelverFiend, Eggs, Gary Busey LD, Selesnya Flash, Abzan Grindhouse, Bant Fog, Crocajund, BUG Proliferators, Evil Allies, Land-o-derm, Pig Trinket, Sultai Delve, 5-color Green
70th place: Shared by nine decks that died during double Elimination, (round one and two): Red Land Destruction, Mono Black Land Destruction, Glass Cannon Red, Tortured Madness, Cheaty Morph, Living End, 1-land Spy, UB Justice Control and Dragon Delve.
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Shadows over Innistrad: combat tricks
White: Archangel Avacyn, Eerie Interlude, Expose Evil, Humble the Brute, Puncturing Light, Silverstrike, Strength of Arms, Survive the Night Tenacity.
Blue: Compelling Deterrence, Engulf the Shore, Essence Flux, Jace's Scrutiny, Just the Wind, Rattlechains, Stormrider Spirit.
Black: Biting Rain, From Under the Floorboards, Gisa's Bidding, Grotesque Mutation, Merciless Resolve, Murderous Compulsion, Throttle, To the Slaughter.
Red: Avacyn's Judgment, Dance with Devils, Dissension in the Ranks, Dual Shot, Geistblast, Fiery Temper, Inner Struggle, Lightning Axe, Rush of Adrenaline, Senseless Rage, Stensia Masquerade, Uncaged Fury.
Green: Aim High, Clip Wings, Confront the Unknown, Howlpack Resurgence, Might Beyond Reason, Moonlight Hunt, Pack Guardian, Second Harvest.
Multi: Anguished Unmaking.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Modern Bible of RG Tron Update: Winning without Eye of Ugin
As you may know, Eye of Ugin is now banned in Modern: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/banned-and-restricted-announcement-2016-04-04
Sword of the Meek is unbanned, as is Ancestral Visions.
As a RG Tron player, we have now lost our tool to achieve the greatest inevitability in Modern; The Emrakul win through Eye of Ugin. Fetch Eye, get Emrakul, win against anything in the mid and late game.
Sword of the Meek is unbanned, as is Ancestral Visions.
As a RG Tron player, we have now lost our tool to achieve the greatest inevitability in Modern; The Emrakul win through Eye of Ugin. Fetch Eye, get Emrakul, win against anything in the mid and late game.
How badly hurt is RG Tron?
Remember the ways we lose the game: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/07/the-modern-bible-of-rg-tron-chapter-23.html
#1: You don't get to Tron. This has not changed. We are still as capable to play a turn 3 Karn Liberated as we ever were.
#2: You play against a combo deck that is just faster than you are. I have no idea how fast Sword of the Meek decks can be but surely that can be a problem.
#3: You get to Tron but not to Emrakul, run out of gas and lose. This is the problem.
Emrakul has to go. A one-off 15-mana card does prove inevitability but there is a very realistic chance you never draw her in a game now. Earlier you had 12+ search cards that could find Eye of Ugin to search for Emrakul. Now you have nothing. That does not work.
The problem is that there may now be decks that have better lategames than us. Take Mono Blue Tron as an example - already equipped with a super powerful lategame (but not as good as Emrakul) they now get four Ancestral Visions as well. In fact, a whole new generation of control decks can pop up now.
Can they deal with us? We are already weak to aggro and combo and we are probably still very good against midrange. But how good is the control match now? Well, we still have potent threats. Their counterspells are still weak lategame. And we still have Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger.
Changes to RG Tron
Eye of Ugin is gone. It was never a land. It almost never gave us mana. It was a way to find Ulamog or Emrakul. I think replacing Eye of Ugin with a land is a mistake and shows a luck of fundamental understanding of what our deck is trying to do.
If we are going to rely on Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, we better draw him. We have to up the count of the great Eldrazi lord.
Could the solution be as simple as to replace Eye of Ugin and Emrakul with two copies of Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger?
This breaks the principle of the 2-of that I wrote about here: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/12/2-ofs_23.html
Looking at that article, Ulamog is certainly a 2-of. We want to be sure we can draw one copy of the card in the lategame and drawing two copies is not the end of the world (they do stack quite well - after they deal with Ulamog #1, Ulamog #2 breaks their back).
Playing three copies of the card seems excessive but Ulamog is so critical to us that I want to try it anyways. The correct solution is probably some other card, unless the whole deck should be reconstructed to be a bigger Eldrazi deck.
Having said all this, I will try this simple swap and see how it does.
An alternative solution - the big Eldrazi deck
I just saw this on mtgsalvation. Credit goes to user Dizdo for trying this.
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Forest
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Expedition Map
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Sylvan Scrying
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
4 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Conduit of Ruin
1 Ruin Processor
3 Oblivion Sower
3 World Breaker
4 Karn Liberated
Sideboard
3 All Is Dust
2 Creeping Corrosion
2 Dragon's Claw
3 Nature's Claim
2 Ruin Processor
3 Spellskite
That is quite different from the pre-ban RG Tron decks. Its more like the love child of Eldrazi and RG Tron. I will be following Dizdo's result closely.
Next week I will publish the first tests with my new RG Tron build with the simple swap on https://www.youtube.com/user/magicgatheringstrat One video on Tuesday, one of Friday. Check them out if you are interested.
Monday, April 4, 2016
How to draft Shadows over Innistrad?
1st pick:
white: Always Watching, Archangel Avacyn, Descend upon the Sinful.
blue: Jace, Unraveler of Secrets.black: -
red: Avacyn's Judgment, Wolf of Devil’s Breach.
green: -coloress: Westvale Abbey.
multi: Altered Ego, Arlinn Kord, The Gitrog Monster, Nahiri, the Harbinger, Olivia, Mobilized for War, Sigarda, Heron’s Grace, Sorin, Grim Nemesis.
2nd pick:
white: Bound by Moonsilver.
blue: Forgotten Creation, Geralf’s Masterpiece, Reckless Scholar, Startled Awake, Welcome to the Fold.
black: Diregraf Colossus, Elusive Tormentor, From Under the Floorboards, Relentless Dead,
red: Burn from Within, Devil's Playground, Flameblade Angel, Goldnight Castigator, Lightning Axe, Mad Prophet.
coloress: -
green: Pack Guardian, Sage of Ancient Lore, Tireless Tracker.
multi: Anguished Unmaking.
3rd pick:
white: Angelic Purge, Bygone Bishop, Dauntless Cathar, Declaration in Stone, Drogskol Cavalry, Hanweir Militia Captain, Nearheath Chaplain, Odric, Lunarch Marshal, Pious Evangel, Puncturing Light, Reaper of Flight Moonsilver, Spectral Shepherd, Thalia’s Lieutenant.
blue: Aberrant Researcher, Compelling Deterrence, Confirm Suspicions, Daring Sleuth, Drownyard Explorers, Drunau Corpse Trawler, Erdwal Illuminator, Ghostly Wings, Just the Wind, Niblis of Dusk, Pore Over the Pages, Rattlechains, Silent Observer, Sleep Paralysis, Stitchwing Skaab.
black: Accursed Witch, Asylum Visitor, Crow of Dark Tidings, Dead Weight, Ever After, Farbog Revenant, Ghoulcaller’s Accomplice, Ghoulsteed, Gisa’s Bidding, Heir of Falkenrath, Kindly Stranger, Markov Dreadknight, Murderous Compulsion, Olivia’s Bloodsworn, Rancid Rats, Sinister Concoction, Tooth Collector.
red: Breakneck Rider, Dance with Devils, Falkenrath Gorger, Fiery Temper, Gatstaf Arsonists, Geier Reach Bandit, Geistblast, Gibbering Fiend, Howlpack Wolf, Incorrigible Youths, Inner Struggle, Kessig Forgemaster, Ravenous Bloodseeker, Scourge Wolf, Sin Prodder, Spiteful Motives, Tormenting Voice, Ulrich’s Kindred, Voldaren Duelist.
green: Briarbridge Patrol, Byway Courier, Cult of the Waxing Moon, Deathcap Cultivator, Duskwatch Recruiter, Graf Mole, Hermit of the Natterknolls, Hinterland Logger, Inexorable Blob, Intrepid Provisioner, Lambholt Pacifist, Obsessive Skinner, Quilled Wolf, Rabid Bite, Seasons Past, Silverfur Partisan, Solitary Hunter, Soul Swallower, Traverse the Ulvenwald, Ulvenwald Hydra, Veteran Cathar, Watcher in the Web.
multi: Prized Amalgam.
coloress:
Slayer’s Plate,
Tamiyo’s Journal,
Wild-Field Scarecrow.
Banned and Restricted announcement
You may want to take a look at the new banned & restricted list, just release by WotC !
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/banned-and-restricted-announcement-2016-04-04
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/banned-and-restricted-announcement-2016-04-04
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Slivers get 10th place in the Pauper Gauntlet S03
The playoff is over. Slivers wins with a 5-0 record. Now the top 9 decks will decide which deck wins the Pauper Gauntlet
See below for the exacts standings of the decks in the playoff.
What is the Pauper Gauntlet?
All about the Pauper Gauntlet Season 03: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-pauper-gauntlet.html
All the deck lists: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-of-pauper-gauntlet-s03.html
The nine decks that are still in the competition (the top 9)
Aristocrats by Paul Jones: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gb-suicide-is-painless/
Bant Sword and Shield by Paul Jones: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bant-sword-and-shield/
Bugs & Pigs: By Galactic President. http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bugs-pigs-20/
Cyborgs by jphsnake: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/cyborgs-1/
Green One: By Deluxeicoff. http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/09/pauper-gauntlet-competitor-1-green-one.html
Mono Black Control by Mario.
Pig Trinket by Power_T: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-powert-submitted-to-pauper.html
Spiteful Leeches by Bava: http://magicgatheringstrat.com/2015/11/spiteful-leeches-a-combo-list-for-pauper-gauntlet-s3/
WW Soul Tokens by Bava: http://magicgatheringstrat.com/2015/12/ww-soul-tokens-in-the-pauper-gauntlet/
What happens now?
Round eight begins on Monday April 4th. We are now in weekly rounds.
.
Top ten decks still alive
BUGs & Pigs and Green One remains alive as the only two Top Ten decks from last season.
The Eliminations to this point
The playoff for the 10th spot in the top 10
10th place: Slivers (won the playoff)
11th place: Stompy Tokens, Mono Red Heroic (round five in the playoff)
13th place: Goblin Storm, BorosKitty Initiated (round four in the playoff)
15pth place: Stompy (round three in the playoff)
16th place: RUG Tron, Izzet Cooldotha and UG Madness
Round seven eliminations - the decks in the Top 10 Playoff: BorosKitty Initiated, Slivers, Mono Red Heroic, Stompy, UG Madness, RUG Tron and Izzet Cooldotha.
19th place (round six): Infect, Blue Bichinho, Death Control, Burn (runner-up from last season) and Pauper Nightmare.
24th place (round five) Illusory Tricks, White Heroes, Goblins, Suicide Black, Turbo Angler, Simic Oracle, Kuldotha Mardu, Elves, Rhystic Tron, MUC, Black Auramancer, Love Train,
36th place (round four) Counter-Kitty,UB Trinket Control, Rakdos Vampires, Flying Ninjas, Turbo Zoo, Shroudfang Ninja. Delver, Green Ramp LD, Snow-Go, Turbo Exhume
45th place: Shared by the 26 decks eliminated in round three: Affinity, Exhume Control, Familiars, Rebel Grind, Pestilence Control, Encroaching Blight, Green Grifters, The Pauper Gauntlet, Project X, Tortured Toolbox, RG Land Crusher, RG Landfall, DelverFiend, Eggs, Gary Busey LD, Selesnya Flash, Abzan Grindhouse, Bant Fog, Crocajund, BUG Proliferators, Evil Allies, Land-o-derm, Pig Trinket, Sultai Delve, 5-color Green
70th place: Shared by nine decks that died during double Elimination, (round one and two): Red Land Destruction, Mono Black Land Destruction, Glass Cannon Red, Tortured Madness, Cheaty Morph, Living End, 1-land Spy, UB Justice Control and Dragon Delve.
Round 1 ended 56-22 (72% match win rate)
Round 2 ended 13-9 (59% win)
Round 3 ended 43-26 (62% win)
Round 4 ended 32-11 (74% win - best win rate so far in Pauper Gauntlet history!)
Round 5 ended 23-12 (66% win)
Round 6 ended 18-5 (78% win) - a new record!
Round 7 ended 9-9 (50% win!)
See below for the exacts standings of the decks in the playoff.
What is the Pauper Gauntlet?
All about the Pauper Gauntlet Season 03: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-pauper-gauntlet.html
All the deck lists: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-of-pauper-gauntlet-s03.html
The nine decks that are still in the competition (the top 9)
Aristocrats by Paul Jones: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gb-suicide-is-painless/
Bant Sword and Shield by Paul Jones: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bant-sword-and-shield/
Bugs & Pigs: By Galactic President. http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bugs-pigs-20/
Cyborgs by jphsnake: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/cyborgs-1/
Green One: By Deluxeicoff. http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/09/pauper-gauntlet-competitor-1-green-one.html
Mono Black Control by Mario.
Pig Trinket by Power_T: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-powert-submitted-to-pauper.html
Spiteful Leeches by Bava: http://magicgatheringstrat.com/2015/11/spiteful-leeches-a-combo-list-for-pauper-gauntlet-s3/
WW Soul Tokens by Bava: http://magicgatheringstrat.com/2015/12/ww-soul-tokens-in-the-pauper-gauntlet/
What happens now?
Round eight begins on Monday April 4th. We are now in weekly rounds.
.
Top ten decks still alive
BUGs & Pigs and Green One remains alive as the only two Top Ten decks from last season.
The Eliminations to this point
The playoff for the 10th spot in the top 10
10th place: Slivers (won the playoff)
11th place: Stompy Tokens, Mono Red Heroic (round five in the playoff)
13th place: Goblin Storm, BorosKitty Initiated (round four in the playoff)
15pth place: Stompy (round three in the playoff)
16th place: RUG Tron, Izzet Cooldotha and UG Madness
Round seven eliminations - the decks in the Top 10 Playoff: BorosKitty Initiated, Slivers, Mono Red Heroic, Stompy, UG Madness, RUG Tron and Izzet Cooldotha.
19th place (round six): Infect, Blue Bichinho, Death Control, Burn (runner-up from last season) and Pauper Nightmare.
24th place (round five) Illusory Tricks, White Heroes, Goblins, Suicide Black, Turbo Angler, Simic Oracle, Kuldotha Mardu, Elves, Rhystic Tron, MUC, Black Auramancer, Love Train,
36th place (round four) Counter-Kitty,UB Trinket Control, Rakdos Vampires, Flying Ninjas, Turbo Zoo, Shroudfang Ninja. Delver, Green Ramp LD, Snow-Go, Turbo Exhume
45th place: Shared by the 26 decks eliminated in round three: Affinity, Exhume Control, Familiars, Rebel Grind, Pestilence Control, Encroaching Blight, Green Grifters, The Pauper Gauntlet, Project X, Tortured Toolbox, RG Land Crusher, RG Landfall, DelverFiend, Eggs, Gary Busey LD, Selesnya Flash, Abzan Grindhouse, Bant Fog, Crocajund, BUG Proliferators, Evil Allies, Land-o-derm, Pig Trinket, Sultai Delve, 5-color Green
70th place: Shared by nine decks that died during double Elimination, (round one and two): Red Land Destruction, Mono Black Land Destruction, Glass Cannon Red, Tortured Madness, Cheaty Morph, Living End, 1-land Spy, UB Justice Control and Dragon Delve.
Round 1 ended 56-22 (72% match win rate)
Round 2 ended 13-9 (59% win)
Round 3 ended 43-26 (62% win)
Round 4 ended 32-11 (74% win - best win rate so far in Pauper Gauntlet history!)
Round 5 ended 23-12 (66% win)
Round 6 ended 18-5 (78% win) - a new record!
Round 7 ended 9-9 (50% win!)
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