I don’t understand Modern. Or perhaps I understand it all too well.

As any regular or semi-regular readers can attest, I’ve been advocating a Cruel Ultimatum control deck in Modern for some time now. As anyone with access to the Internet can attest, the deck hasn’t even remotely caught on.

Here’s the deck I’m talking about:

"A Modern Ultimatum"

• Creatures (3)
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 2 Snapcaster Mage

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Jace Beleren

• Spells (29)
• 1 Slaughter Pact
• 2 Remand
• 2 Spell Snare
• 2 Terminate
• 3 Electrolyze
• 3 Mana Leak
• 4 Cryptic Command
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 1 Anger of the Gods
• 1 Damnation
• 1 Inquisition of Kozilek
• 2 Thoughtseize
• 3 Cruel Ultimatum

• Lands (26)
• 1 Mountain
• 3 Island
• 1 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 1 Cascade Bluffs
• 1 Creeping Tar Pit
• 1 Dreadship Reef
• 1 Drowned Catacomb
• 1 Lavaclaw Reaches
• 1 Sunken Ruins
• 2 Blood Crypt
• 2 Darkslick Shores
• 2 Steam Vents
• 2 Sulfur Falls
• 2 Watery Grave
• 4 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Counterflux
• 2 Duress
• 1 Batterskull
• 2 Ratchet Bomb
• 1 Anger of the Gods
• 1 Vandalblast
• 2 Rakdos Charm
• 2 Deathmark
• 2 Slaughter Games

Buy This Deck

Really, only Paul Cheon’s stream has been a haven for people wanting to play Cruel Ultimatum in Modern, but it just doesn’t make sense to me why that’s the case. Even at Pro Tour Born of the Gods, we only found two players playing any sort of Grixis deck. One was wildly misbuilt, and the other only slightly.

Even Patrick Chapin, King of the Cruel, Grand Arbiter of Grixis, Baron of Combining Blood Crypt with Steam Vents (that one was a stretch) didn’t seem to really consider it for the Pro Tour.

And I just can’t explain it.

Things it has going for it:

• The Izzet half of the deck is virtually identical to the R/W/U Control lists that are so popular.
• Cruel Ultimatum is a better Sphinx's Revelation.
• It is able to play Thoughtseize.
• Counterflux and Anger of the Gods are two of the best sideboard cards in the format.
• Terminate is better removal than anything outside of Path to Exile.
• Slaughter Pact is really good right now, too.
• Creeping Tar Pit is on par with Celestial Colonnade.
• Did I mention Cruel Ultimatum?

But the benefit is Cruel Ultimatum!

Oh, and it also has positive matchups against Twin (virtually unlosable), Birthing Pod (Game 1 is ridiculously in your favor, post-board less so), and R/W/U Control (Tectonic Edge is really that deck’s best . . . edge)—you know, three of the biggest decks in the format.

My only explanation is that people still aren’t hitting on the right mix of cards are that they are playing too few Cruels—or that they are taking the Josh McClain route and just playing the same deck they’ve been playing for the last year. In other words, it’s momentum.

That people aren’t hitting on the right mix of cards seems pretty persuasive. To wit, take a look at this deck list from Shaheen Soorani, who finished with a virtual Top 8 in Richmond at 13–2.

"Modern W/U Control"

• Creatures (5)
• 3 Snapcaster Mage
• 2 Vendilion Clique

• Planeswalkers (6)
• 2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 2 Gideon Jura
• 2 Jace Beleren

• Spells (25)
• 1 Repeal
• 4 Cryptic Command
• 4 Mana Leak
• 4 Path to Exile
• 4 Spell Snare
• 3 Serum Visions
• 3 Supreme Verdict
• 2 Detention Sphere

• Lands (24)
• 2 Plains
• 3 Island
• 2 Hallowed Fountain
• 2 Scalding Tarn
• 3 Mystic Gate
• 4 Celestial Colonnade
• 4 Seachrome Coast
• 4 Tectonic Edge

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Aven Mindcensor
• 2 Baneslayer Angel
• 2 Ethersworn Canonist
• 2 Grafdigger's Cage
• 1 Last Breath
• 3 Meddling Mage
• 1 Rest in Peace
• 2 Stony Silence

Buy This Deck

Soorani has always built decks a bit differently, but this one is certainly worth noticing for the little touches he puts on it, most notably his reliance on Planeswalkers. Even more eyebrow-raising is his adaptation of this guy:

Original-flavor Jace, some might recall, used to hold the title of Best Planeswalker. Granted, that was when there were only five Planeswalkers, but he was a key cog in the old Faeries machine and was the best 3-mana ’Walker for years until Liliana of the Veil came around.

That Soorani uses two Jace Beleren in a very successful deck at a crowded tournament says a lot about the card’s power level, especially when Soorani played a total of six Planeswalkers and didn’t play Ajani Vengeant.

It says Jace Beleren is the real deal in Modern.

And yet, no one seems to be giving little Jace his due beyond Soorani and me. Soorani hasn’t posted his explanation of Jace as of this article’s writing, but I can certainly vouch that there’s a strong correlation between activating Jace more than once and winning.

Another card people don’t give enough respect is this gem from the sideboard:

I was skeptical at first, but this little guy has proven himself again and again. Whereas Grixis definitely loses out to R/W/U Control on sideboard cards against the format—white’s sideboard options are the best in the format—Rakdos Charm makes up a lot of that difference all by itself. It’s even possible there should be three copies.

It comes in against basically anything besides R/W/U. Against Birthing Pod decks, it’s both a way to kill Pod and a way to break up graveyard shenanigans. Against Affinity, it’s another removal spell. Against Splinter Twin decks, it’s an instant-speed spell that says, “You lose,” if the opponent is not careful (and opponents often aren’t or can’t be). Against Living End decks, it’s virtually impossible to answer or play around. Against Storm, is shuts off Past in Flames.

The list goes on. I’m almost never sorry to draw it post-board.

However, there is one card I’m becoming more and more sorry to draw, which is too bad considering how much of a pet card it is.

Prior to the bannings, Mulldrifter more than earned its spot by actually being aces in the Jund matchup. One of the all-time great attrition creatures was, unsurprisingly, great against the attrition deck.

And while B/G Obliterator has somewhat taken Jund’s spot in the metagame—and actual Jund still exists—it’s becoming less and less necessary and more of an irritation when so much of the deck works at instant speed. It’s not even necessarily the best creature to bring back, since Snapcastering Cruel Ultimatum is about the best thing ever.

It’s in there for now, but, honestly, it is probably just better as a third Snapcaster Mage.

Cruel against the World

The question pressing against Cruel’s potential success, of course, is how it fares against the field. With two major Modern tournaments under our belts, we have a pretty good picture of how the metagame looks now.

This is what the Grand Prix Richmond metagame looked like on Day 2 with every deck with at least a 4% share in the field:

Let’s look at what these key matchups look like from the Cruel Control perspective.

Affinity

This matchup is probably slightly unfavorable, but not by much. Cruel has a ton of removal plus Electrolyze, which is amazing here. Spell Snare can proactively stop Cranial Plating. Game 1 often hinges on being on the play and drawing more Lightning Bolts than Mana Leaks, but it becomes even better post-board. I wouldn’t call Grixis a favorite, but there’s room to work here. Blood Moon is a serious problem post-board, but we’re bringing in Ratchet Bomb anyway.

MeliraPod

Here, I actually would call Grixis a favorite. With as much removal as we have, Kitchen Finks is really the only annoyance, as there’s virtually zero chance Melira can actually combo you out. Reveillark is a thing, but it’s also a thing that gets Mana Leaked pretty easily. I’d actually like to fit a third sweeper in the main deck, and this matchup is a big reason for that. Post-board, the numbers switch a bit in Pod’s favor with Thoughtseize and Sin Collector, but it’s still not bad, and the Pod player can almost never beat Cruel Ultimatum.

Storm

Grixis has a ton of counters and disruption, but not a fast way to close the game, leaving it vulnerable to a late-game Past in Flames. Firing off Cruel Ultimatum in Game 1 is key, but things are much better in the second and third. Slaughter Games is usually fast enough with any other piece of disruption, and Slaughter Games on Empty the Warrens plus a Rakdos Charm is usually enough. Plus, the Storm player pretty much just can’t ever beat Counterflux backed by discard and graveyard hate. Just make sure to bring in Ratchet Bomb to answer both Defense Grid and Blood Moon.

Merfolk

I honestly don’t have much experience here. It seems to be a creature deck with very few disruptive elements, but the Merolk decks don’t have to disrupt you for long. I’ve literally never played this matchup, so I can only guess.

R/W/U Control

This one is interesting. These opponents’ burn spells are actively bad—unless they draw a bunch of them and just throw them at your face. Cruel tends to lose Game 1 when there’s an abundance of burn and more than one Celestial Colonnade. Discard and Spell Snare, however, make resolving a Cruel Ultimatum a realistic possibility, even against Mana Leaks, Remands, and Cryptic Commands. Post-board, it really depends on how these opponents sideboard, but Grixis has a much better ’board. You know all of those really cool white sideboard cards R/W/U has access to? Yeah, none of them do anything against Cruel Control. Meanwhile, Good Guy Grixis gains Duress, Counterflux, and possibly Slaughter Games.

B/G Obliterator Rock

This is pretty much the same as the old Jund matchup, except you don’t have to worry about Deathrite Shaman or a turn-two Liliana of the Veil. It should be relatively in your favor since you play blue cards and removal while the Rock player plays creatures and green cards. Jace Beleren does a fine job matching up against Liliana as well. Mulldrifter is oddly good here.

However, note that older versions of Cruel had Dreadbore to deal with Liliana at any point. With Terminate taking its place for the time being, Liliana can be a real problem.

U/R Twin/Tarmo-Twin

It’s almost impossible to be combed out given the number of tools you have at your disposal, but you can still die to random beats. I guess. Bring in the Duresses, keep in the instant-speed removal, and be happy with facing what is probably your best matchup. I’m probably something like 98–2 against Twin variants with Cruel Control, so I’m fairly happy to see Deceiver Exarchs and Pestermites on the other side of the board.

In fact, a local Twin player came to our newly-minted weekly Modern tournament last Saturday and asked if I was playing Grixis. When I said I was, he audibly groaned. And that makes sense—he was probably the recipient of ninety or so of those ninety-eight losses I’ve meted out to Twin decks.

Moving Forward

I’m still tinkering with some numbers. I finally decided to add the twenty-sixth land (Cascade Bluffs) both to help out with more red for Anger of the Gods and to mitigate some mana issues against Tectonic Edge. It’s possible the twenty-sixth land should be a Tectonic Edge of our own, but I’m not there yet.

Slaughter Games is easily the worst card in the sideboard, but I kind of like having it around. It might not be correct, however. Pithing Needle, more Damnations, Engineered Explosives, and another Counterflux are all options.

Speaking of Damnation, I’d like to fit a second copy in the main. Having a third mass-removal spell improves the Zoo, B/G Rock, Jund, and Affinity matchups significantly.

Finally, Vandalblast could easily be Shatterstorm, but I like having another cheap answer to Birthing Pod and Spellskite. Both of those are answered by Pithing Needle, so if we opt to find room for the Needle, we could switch back to Shatterstorm.

But, really, the key change for this deck is just going to be getting people to play it. I very well could be wrong about its viability, but nothing has convinced me that it’s anything but a potentially strong player in the metagame. I wouldn’t even be the slightest bit surprised to see a tweaked version do well at Grand Prix Minneapolis in May. There’s power here that should not be denied.

Because Cruel Ultimatum.