Collected Company remains one of the most efficient card advantage engines in Modern, given that it can easily net you up to 6 mana worth of creatures at instant speed. However, we’ve largely seen the card used as a means of enabling combo decks, either via Elves, Devoted Druids, or Melira, Sylvok Outcast. However, it’s also a great value engine and a means of applying pressure to opponents who are playing more controlling strategies, since Collected Company is such a great way to respond to sweepers or counterspells. Let’s take a look at another way of leveraging Collected Company.
Four-Color Humans - Modern | Nexest, 5-0 Modern League
- Creatures (31)
- 2 Anafenza, the Foremost
- 2 Mayor of Avabruck
- 2 Mirran Crusader
- 2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
- 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
- 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
- 4 Champion of the Parish
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Reflector Mage
- 4 Thalia's Lieutenant
- Instants (8)
- 4 Collected Company
- 4 Path to Exile
- Lands (21)
- 1 Forest
- 1 Plains
- 1 Hallowed Fountain
- 1 Overgrown Tomb
- 1 Temple Garden
- 2 Gavony Township
- 2 Horizon Canopy
- 2 Mana Confluence
- 2 Razorverge Thicket
- 4 Cavern of Souls
- 4 Windswept Heath
- Sideboard (15)
- 2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
- 2 Meddling Mage
- 2 Orzhov Pontiff
- 1 Reclamation Sage
- 3 Rest in Peace
- 2 Sin Collector
- 3 Stony Silence
We don’t see a ton of Humans decks in Modern despite the high density of support for the tribe. Champion of the Parish is quite a one-drop, particularly when backed by both Thalia's Lieutenant and Mayor of Avabruck. There is even Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Thalia, Heretic Cathar to punish opponents who are trying to do unfair things, as well as Reflector Mage to play against people who are trying to play fair Magic.
This is a deck that can apply enormous amounts of pressure early in the game while maintaining the ability to be highly interactive along specific axes. You can get a little more aggressive with cards like Burning-Tree Emissary and Lightning Mauler. You can opt for the direction Nexest did and play a few copies of Anafenza, the Foremost to help you beat up on graveyard decks and slowly grow your creatures out of burn range.
The deck is a little bit weak to Lightning Bolt and Fatal Push, but seems like it ought to have a reasonable matchup against Death's Shadow variants given all the taxing effects and Reflector Mages. If you’re looking for a deck that combines explosive starts, moderate disruption, and flexible hate bears; this is the deck for you. You even have Collected Company to pull it all together, helping you find the pieces you need at any given time and stay ahead on cards.