Another week has passed and we are getting closer and closer to a new Standard. Amonkhet is just around the corner and we’ll get some new toys to play with. Instead of talking about Standard decks today or building new decks, we are going to talk about the Modern online PTQ and the decks that emerged from it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited about Amonkhet but I want to see all the cards first before I start brewing with it. I’ll also be reviewing the whole set so that will give me a better understanding of what’s good and which cards will make an impact in the format. So, for now, we will stick to Modern. The two decks I want to talk about are the winning decklist which was Jund and a different take on the Goryo's Vengeance strategy. Both are pretty exciting to me because they aren’t looking to end the game quick and against either of them, the games should be going pretty long. All right, let’s have a look at Breal2’s Jund deck which he managed to take down the whole thing with!

Jund ? Modern| BREAL2

• Creatures (12)
• 2 Scavenging Ooze
• 2 Tireless Tracker
• 4 Dark Confidant
• 4 Tarmogoyf

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Liliana of the Veil

• Instants (11)
• 3 Terminate
• 4 Fatal Push
• 4 Kolaghan's Command

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Maelstrom Pulse
• 4 Inquisition of Kozilek
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Lands (24)
• 1 Forest
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 1 Blooming Marsh
• 1 Graven Cairns
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 2 Overgrown Tomb
• 2 Wooded Foothills
• 3 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 3 Bloodstained Mire
• 3 Raging Ravine
• 4 Verdant Catacombs

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Maelstrom Pulse
• 1 Anger of the Gods
• 2 Collective Brutality
• 1 Damnation
• 3 Fulminator Mage
• 1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 3 Leyline of the Void
• 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
• 2 Thundermaw Hellkite

Buy This Deck

HURRAY! This is Jund midrange, not Jund Death's Shadow! Jund isn’t anything new, by any means, but it seems to have fallen slightly out of favor in the Modern meta. I believe Jund to be a great, but the deck has a tough time answering multiple decks in the format. If Modern was a three or four deck format, then Jund would reign supreme. It’s just hard to be ready for Burn, Infect, Dredge, Tron, Lantern, Death's Shadow, Eldrazi, Ad Nauseam, and the other many decks that can win any given Modern event. Breal seems to have found the perfect mix of answers in his main deck and sideboard to win this online PTQ.

What exactly is Jund?

Maybe you’re new to Modern or maybe you’re a new player. In case you don’t know what Jund is about, let’s go over it fast. Jund is a deck that is all about attrition. The deck tries to grind you out of threats and plays with its hand disruption and removal. Some of the best cards it grinds you with are Dark Confidant and Liliana of the Veil. Those two card will allow Jund to one for one you while either refilling their hand our building up to a devastating Liliana of the Veil ultimate. In a strange way, Jund is kind of a control deck.

Why is this list so Special?

No Abrupt Decays

Breal2 is a genius. I don’t know the guy personally but he made some crazy adjustments in Jund that people would’ve gotten infinitely berated for. If you would’ve asked a Jund community what they thought about shaving Abrupt Decay, the answer would’ve most likely been, “No way!” With some, “Maybe, but I’d still play a couple in the board as answers.” Well Breal took it further and shaved all the Abrupt Decays. That’s a pretty huge leap and is something only a person who knows all the ins and outs of Jund would do. If you don’t believe that, then maybe what he also did will convince you.

No Lightning Bolts

If you look closely, you’ll see they are running zero, yes zero, Lightning Bolts. Now that’s blasphemous in the eyes of most players. Even I would’ve been skeptical about shaving some Lightning Bolts, yet alone all of them. Well that’s what happened in this list and I think they’re correct. Sometimes it’s very hard to come off a card that has been a staple in a deck for so long, especially when the card has been called, “one of the best five cards in Modern.” However, when you have a bunch of Death's Shadow decks running around, why play Lightning Bolt? It’s a liability, just kill everything instead. When your deck is trying to attrition everyone out and you can’t kill one of the best creatures in Modern (Death's Shadow) then it’s time to hang up the old Bolts.

Full Playset of Kolaghan’s Command

The Sideboard

I’m a firm believer that Jund can realistically beat any given deck if it knows about it in advance. Breal2 proved that point and took home a well-deserved win and a qualification to the Pro Tour.

If you love Jund, I would 100% start with that list.

The other deck I want to quickly talk about is the one that got 5th place. It’s an Esper deck but it’s not like traditional Esper decks. It also has Goryo's Vengeance but it’s not like traditional Goryo's Vengeance decks. Here, see for yourself.

Esper ? Modern| _QFORTIER, 5th MTGO PTQ

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Griselbrand
• 1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
• 2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
• 4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy

• Istants (13)
• 1 Go for the Throat
• 1 Murderous Cut
• 3 Fatal Push
• 4 Goryo's Vengeance
• 4 Thought Scour

• Sorceries (18)
• 1 Set Adrift
• 2 Inquisition of Kozilek
• 3 Pieces of the Puzzle
• 4 Lingering Souls
• 4 Serum Visions
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Lands (21)
• 1 Island
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 2 Flooded Strand
• 2 Hallowed Fountain
• 2 Watery Grave
• 3 Darkslick Shores
• 4 Marsh Flats
• 4 Polluted Delta

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Fatal Push
• 2 Celestial Purge
• 2 Ceremonious Rejection
• 2 Collective Brutality
• 1 Damnation
• 1 Darkblast
• 1 Dispel
• 2 Fragmentize
• 2 Rain of Tears
• 1 Ravenous Trap

Buy This Deck

Whenever you see a deck with Goryo's Vengeance you expect to see the full playset of Emrakuls and some number of Griselbrands. Well, that’s not what Fortier had in mind. Instead they’ve decided to use Goryo's Vengeance as a value card instead of an instant win card. By running cards like Obzedat, Ghost Council, you not only win over Brian Braun Duin’s heart, but you aren’t stranded with things like Emrakul in your hand. You can still cast Obzedat easily without Goryo's Vengeance.

Speaking of Obzedat, the ghost council will stick around if you bring it back with Goryo's Vengeance. This works because Obzedat will be trying to exile itself at end of turn with its own ability and Goryo’s triggered ability. Since you own both triggers, you can stack them how you like. By stacking it so Obzedat exiles himself with the ability you’ll insure they come back next turn. Vengeance can also get back Jace, Vryn's Prodigy so that you can activate it and then transform it into Jace, Telepath Unbound. This works the same with as Obzedat, so you’ll get to keep it. Your new found Planeswalker can then re-buy that Goryo's Vengeance or you can cast whatever else in your graveyard that your hard desires.

Unique Choices

I really like this take on Goryo's Vengeance, I like the consistency it offers in not being all in. However, I don’t believe this deck is as tuned and focused as the Jund deck. That’s not a bad thing at all, in fact I see it as a great thing. It means we have a new deck here that did very, very well and has room for improvement. These are some of the best kind of decks. You can add Path to Exile, a Gifts Ungiven package with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Unburial Rites, or do whatever else you like. Esper is a three-color combination so you’ll have plenty of options.

Really loving both these decks and I’m excited for both of them. I’ll be giving them a go and I hope you will too.

As always thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time with some Amonkhet spoilers, reviews, and new brews!

Until next time,

Ali Aintrazi

@AliEldrazi on Twitter