Hey everyone!

I'm back after a busy month at work to tell you more about Bant. I don't just like Bant because of Devoted Devastation, but also Bant Company in Pioneer and Bant Snowblade in Modern.

Let's go!

Modern

SCG Columbus, Team Non-Unified Modern, is quickly approaching. I'm teaming with Stephen Dykman and Raja Sulaiman, of R.I.W. Hobbies. I feel great about the tournament because Devoted Devastation has still been dominating. Here's what I intend to play:

Devoted Devastation | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

• Creatures (25)
• 1 Birds of Paradise
• 1 Deputy of Detention
• 1 Ranger-Captain of Eos
• 1 Walking Ballista
• 2 Duskwatch Recruiter
• 2 Eternal Witness
• 2 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
• 3 Vizier of Remedies
• 4 Devoted Druid
• 4 Giver of Runes
• 4 Noble Hierarch

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Oko, Thief of Crowns

• Instants (9)
• 1 Path to Exile
• 4 Eladamri's Call
• 4 Once Upon a Time

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Finale of Devastation

• Lands (19)
• 1 Snow-Covered Forest
• 1 Snow-Covered Plains
• 1 Botanical Sanctum
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 2 Horizon Canopy
• 2 Temple Garden
• 4 Razorverge thicket
• 4 Windswept Heath

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Path to Exile
• 1 Dismember
• 2 Veil of Summer
• 1 Oko, Thief of Crowns
• 1 Mirran Crusader
• 2 Collector Ouphe
• 2 Gaddock Teeg
• 2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
• 2 Unified Will

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The second Shalai was first proposed by Zach Allen in testing for the SCG Player's Championship. I now prefer a second Shalai because she helps the pre-board game against Red decks and combos nicely with all of the Giver of Runes. It's both a lock piece as well as a way to win with trillions of mana.

I added a single Path to Exile to the main because I don't want to draw two against an unknown opponent. It can be used as a way to break serve in the pre-board game. I also have to be aware of the mirror match now that Lotus Box had a great run at the Player's Championship with Devoted Devastation. It frees up a sideboard slot as I want four removal spells in the 75.

The last change is adding a Mirran Crusader to the sideboard to fight Death's Shadow and Jund. I can find it with Eladamri's Call which is important as the tutors are less powerful when I move away from executing the combo after board.

Team Lotus Box played three Veil of Summer and three Mirran Crusader in the sideboard of the SCG Players's Championship because they anticipated facing many Urza and Shadow decks. I expect a diverse metagame featuring evergreen decks like Burn, Tron, and Eldrazi Tron. Zach Allen's Bant Snowblade deck is able to interact with creatures and doesn't care about Mirran Crusader and Veil of Summer. It's easy to stock up on color hosers when all the removal is Black. Path to Exile and Lightning Bolt even the playing field.

Bant Snowblade is another great Modern deck that interests me. I'm playing Devoted Devastation at SCG Columbus because I am comfortable in each matchup and the tournament will be long. These types of events reward deck familiarity.

I'm looking to test this version of Bant Stoneblade:

Bant Stoneblade | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Ice-Fang Coatl
• 4 Noble Hierarch
• 4 Spell Queller
• 4 Stoneforge Mystic

• Planeswalkers (7)
• 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 2 Teferi, Time Raveler
• 3 Oko, Thief of Crowns

• Instants (9)
• 2 Mana Leak
• 3 Force of Negation
• 4 Path to Exile

• Artifacts (6)
• 1 Batterskull
• 1 Sword of Feast and Famine
• 4 Arcum's Astrolabe

• Lands (22)
• 2 Snow-Covered Forest
• 2 Snow-Covered Island
• 2 Snow-Covered Plains
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Horizon Canopy
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Temple Garden
• 1 Waterlogged Grove
• 2 Field of Ruin
• 3 Prismatic Vista
• 4 Windswept Heath

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Celestial Purge
• 2 Damping Sphere
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Dismember
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 1 Supreme Verdict
• 1 Timely Reinforcements
• 2 Veil of Summer

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Tron is less popular than Eldrazi Tron which makes Bant a better choice than Azorius Stoneblade. A few months ago I was championing Azorius Stoneblade because Field of Ruin was essentially a third color. Now that Eldrazi Tron is more popular, I don't need to blow up as many Urza lands. Oko and Ice-Fang Coatl are very strong against big monsters.

Oko is now more popular than ever in Modern as it's clearly going to be banned in the future. Play him while you can. Noble Hierarch enables a turn two Oko and the exalted makes my elks rule the day. Azorius Stoneblade had a difficult time against Oko because your aggression was almost entirely backed by Stoneforge Mystic.

I foresee Bant Snowblade taking some metagame share from Urza as there are more ways to play fair with Oko than ever before. That's all I have for Modern. I'm excited for the December tournament lull to end and get back to business at SCG Columbus.

Pioneer

Since the inception of Pioneer the format has moved quickly. The banned list has been getting longer each month, but I think things are beginning to settle. Each week there were some clear cut cards to be banned and I currently don't think that's currently the case. Since I don't think the format will dramatically change soon I decided to see what it's all about.

Spell Queller is still my partner in crime so what better deck to play than Bant Company.

Bant Company | Pioneer | Kyle Boggemes

• Creatures (32)
• 2 Scavenging Ooze
• 3 Llanowar Elves
• 3 Selfless Spirit
• 4 Deputy of Detention
• 4 Elvish Mystic
• 4 Lovestruck Beast
• 4 Spell Queller
• 4 Tireless Tracker
• 4 Voice of Resurgence

• Instants (4)
• 4 Collected Company

• Lands (24)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Plains
• 3 Breeding Pool
• 3 Yavimaya Coast
• 4 Botanical Sanctum
• 4 Hallowed Fountain
• 4 Sunpetal Grove
• 4 Temple Garden

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Settle the Wreckage
• 1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
• 3 Aether Gust
• 1 Teferi, Time Raveler
• 1 Selfless Spirit
• 3 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Reflector Mage
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 1 Arashin Cleric
• 1 Knight of Autumn

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I tried Gilded Goose, but the mana is fairly reliable. For this reason I went with an all elf ramp package. Pioneer can be fast so it's important to get on the board quickly. A turn three Collected Company can generate plenty of tempo. This is important as Bant doesn't have a cheap removal spell.

The mana dorks allow me to play a 3-drop on the second turn. Lovestruck Beast has impressed as a 5/5 is hard to fight. It further reinforces elves over geese as a 1/1 allows the beast to attack. I think nearly every Green deck should play Lovestruck Beast in Pioneer; the power creep is strong.

Spell Queller can be cast on the second turn, but it plays better when masked by Collected Company. A 2/3 flyer is impressive in Pioneer as Fatal Push needs revolt while Wild Slash and Stomp deal two.

Deputy of Detention is a versatile removal spell that happens to be a hit with Collected Company. Again, the creature isn't as fragile as you might think with 3 toughness and converted mana cost greater than two. Be careful how you sequence your permanent names with Deputy and Legion's End in the format.

Reflector Mage is still a solid hit with Collected Company, but is relegated to the sideboard. It's weak against Blue control and combo. Deputy has more versatility and gets the nod. I want a total of six of this effect in the 75.

Brazen Borrower was not impressive. I began with three and quickly cut to zero. This deck cares more about card advantage and attacking with large creatures. Chip shots with a creature that doesn't block well isn't part of the plan.

Tireless Tracker is an excellent mana sink as it gives the mana dorks something to do in the mid game. I began with two trackers, but am now up to four. If there were less ways to take advantage of the mana in the mid game I would play less than seven elves. There are times where it's correct to hold your land drop when casting Collected Company on your opponent's turn for landfall.

It's no secret Bant has amazing 3-drops. The secret is finding the right combination of 2-drops and I've selected four Voice of Resurgence, three Selfless Spirit, and two Scavenging Ooze.

The elemental tokens play very well with Lovestruck Beast. I can cast Heart's Desire and the beast for four mana to grow the token quickly. Collected Company is a way to add two creatures to the battlefield at instant-speed, too.

Voice is similar to a Kitchen Finks in this deck as the opponent will be reluctant to use a Wild Slash or Fatal Push. I want to make my first plays resilient to removal when possible.

Selfless Spirit began as a metagame call for Control. Supreme Verdict can be countered by Spell Queller, but giving your creatures indestructible works, too. It's important to be insulated against sweepers as I play so many mana dorks.

Many of my 3-drops are helped by Selfless Spirit. Spell Queller and Deputy of Detention can be awkward if removed at an inopportune time. Selfless Spirit can also serve as protection for Tireless Tracker to play it on time. Sometimes it's best to wait to cast the tracker to get an immediate clue.

The ground can also be gummed up against other creature decks because of Lovestruck Beast and Voice of Resurgence. This is exacerbated by Selfless Spirit sitting on the battlefield. I have been impressed.

Scavenging Ooze is the final 2-drop. I can eat cards out of the graveyards of Blue opponents to make Dig Through Time more expensive. There are also many creatures like Scrapheap Scrounger, Prized Amalgam, and Haunted Dead that are popular.

I choose to play traditional Bant Company over Spirits because their strength lies in the Control matchup. Many of the creatures with the spirit creature type line up against Blue control, but are worse against aggro. They also rely on strength in numbers while Bant Company plays more stand alone powerhouses. That's how I like to play Magic.

Control is currently the "Best Deck" which means it has a target on its back. I expect the metagame share to decline because the tools exist in Pioneer to fight traditional Azorius Control. Bant Company is a more generally powerful deck deck; this is a boon as the field becomes more diverse.

Bant Company also has a strong sideboard. Aether Gust is powerful because two popular decks in Pioneer are Mono-Green Devotion and Gruul Aggro. I want early interaction because Green decks can get underneath you quickly with mana dorks; this is a way to change the matchup dynamic and win on the draw.

Mystical Dispute gets the nod over Negate, Dovin's Veto, and Disdainful Stroke. This is because I want 1-mana counters to counter Teferi, Time Raveler. The last thing I want is to tap low for early creatures and have Teferi shut off my counter.

Disdainful Stroke is less necessary when I have so many Aether Gust. I want narrow sideboard cards if they are misses on Collected Company because every matchup is always about creatures.

I'm looking forward to continue playing Pioneer. The format is in a good place after the Oko ban.

Hopefully in the next couple weeks I have a winning report from Columbus, too.

Thanks for reading!

-Kyle