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A post shared by Michael (@fivewithflores) on Dec 30, 2019 at 5:48pm PST

If CoolStuffInc ain't in Central Florida, I don't know what is

Prometheus

A trickster figure, Prometheus was a champion of mankind known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and the gods and gave it to mortals.

Q: Is Seal of Fire there for Prowess on the front side; and Spectacle on the back side?

A: Sounds good to me.

Q: Why did you take out Manamorphose?

A: Actually, I never had Manamorphose! This strategy (which was properly largely developed by many a MTGO grinder) is the realization of the "all 1 mana spells" paradigm I have been championing [independently] for like a year.

Q: What do you think of -1 Mountain, +1 Snow-Covered Mountain (Modern Horizons)

A: This is actually the best question I got about my deck all week.

Here's what I played:

Lava Squared | Modern | Michael Flores

• Creatures (13)
• 1 Bonecrusher Giant
• 4 Goblin Guide
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Soul-Scar Mage

• Instants (8)
• 4 Lava Dart
• 4 Lightning Bolt

• Sorceries (16)
• 4 Lava Spike
• 4 Light Up the Stage
• 4 Rift Bolt
• 4 Skewer the Critics

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Seal of Fire

• Lands (19)
• 10 Mountain
• 1 Snow-Covered Mountain
• 4 Fiery Islet
• 4 Sunbaked Canyon

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Bonecrusher Giant
• 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
• 3 Fry
• 1 Searing Blood
• 4 Smash to Smithereens

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As you can see I played 10 Mountain, 1 Snow-Covered Mountain. Which was possibly an opening for a deck registration error. But given I was playing a Red Deck inspired by other people's work for once, I really wanted to do something to make it my own.

So I took a page out of the book of celebrated Autumn Burchett and rocked all different basic lands:

Asking @BasicMountain (or anyone)...

Do you still get @AutumnLilyMTG tilt-cred if you do it with style and panache? https://t.co/7ITPKyFGr8 pic.twitter.com/B0iBGA5dqv

— Michael Flores (@fivewithflores) December 28, 2019

After a little testing I decided that 20 lands was too many and cut the one (relatively available) Zendikar full-art Mountain for the one Bonecrusher Giant (the only non-one mana spell in the deck). I did consider playing a Modern Horizons Snow-Covered Mountain, but wasn't sure which to cut. Perhaps I was too enamored of playing one each of the original non-Snow-Covered Mountains from Ice Age alongside a tilting Coldsnap reprint? On second thought, I was exactly as enamored as appropriate.

But would still take suggestions on what to cut for the 2019 reprint! Best suggestion is the foreign Tempest. And no, I don't think I own an Arabian Nights one. But we apparently sell them here for $149 if anyone wants to get me a late Christmas present :)

What was a little dissatisfying is that none of my opponents seemed to notice my varied Mountains selection, let alone go monkey tilt over my not playing all the same art. That said, I was equally careful about my card selection otherwise.

The core of the deck is similar to Burn decks I've been playing for the past 3-4 years. On the creature side I removed any Grim Lavamancers in part because this deck doesn't play fetches; ergo has less fuel for that beloved Wizard. I didn't even touch a Searing Blaze for the same reason.

Instead of Eidolon of the Great Revel (which I still sided in quite frequently), I played Soul-Scar Mage, This card is not just another 1-drop, it's very potent with cards like Lava Dart and Seal of Fire. If Soul-Scar Mage's greatest failing is that it is not Monastery Swiftspear... I guess there can really only be one most underrated creature of all time and I'm glad to be playing her per usual.

The whole cohort of two mana spells - Lightning Helix, Boros Charm, Skullcrack, and Searing Blaze - turned into Lava Dart and Seal of Fire (and Light Up the Stage, but I have been playing that since it was printed anyway).

Seal of Fire is like the perfect card!

It does less damage than Rift Bolt but is much more flexible. It can trigger Prowess immediately, and reliably kill mana creatures the turn you play it. Like Rift Bolt, Seal of Fire is a non-creature catalyst for Spectacle that you can run out on the first turn, so you can draw extra cards on the second without needing (or compromising!) a land drop. Especially when you're not yet behind, Seal of Fire is one of the best cards you can draw against opposing Goblin Guides and Eidolons. If you have a Seal and they play an Eidolon at parity you might just win on the spot if they don't have Lightning Helix.

Speaking of not having Lightning Helix, the one failing of this build is that it is definitely behind in the "mirror" match, especially if they have Kor Firewalker for Game 2. That's why I played Bonecrusher Giant. I wanted a card that had a Skullcrack-like effect for fighting Kor Firewalker... Without having to actually play stupid Skullcrack. As you know, I Hate Skullcrack now. I considered some pretty bad cards like Pyrite Spellbomb and Kozilek's Return, which are still both better than Skullcrack.

In addition to pinch-hitting for my many missing Searings, Bonecrusher Giant does the tricky work of a Skullcrack. Basically you swing and hope they block. If they do, you Stomp and they lose their Kor Firewalker. If Kor Firewalker blocked a Prowess creature, you even win the fight! If they block Goblin Guide oir Eidolon of the Great Revel you at least trade. It turns out that a 4/3 later in the game is kind of relevant in some matchups, and is actually bigger than anything the opposing Red Deck might bring.

Speaking of poor Eidolon... It's probably no longer the best card in Modern. Oh well.

Speaking of the best card, or card(s) in Modern, I originally didn't even want to play in this tournament. Young apprentice Roman Fusco was visiting from LA and told me he wanted to play in something called an Invitational Qualifier. I scanned all the recent Modern results and, while I owned a lot of the relevant cards, probably couldn't put together a current Tier One deck.

But I had a nagging itch to play with eight Red Horizon Canopies and just took a bunch of test draws with this wonderful Red Deck. I was getting more turn three and four goldfish draws than I ever had with my or decks. It was way better than "what the heck" ... I didn't think that someone who was actually planning to beat me by gaining three life per turn was actually going to be able to do that.

Still, I sideboarded Fry.

This tournament was also a good excuse to hang out with my friend who I had not seen in months.

Helios

Helios was the god of the Sun in Greek mythology; he was thought to ride a golden chariot which chased the Sun across the skies each day from the east to the west.

Interlude: Round One

Esper Control. Got the first one, but it was tight.

Esper Control? That sounds like an easy matchup. Their mana...

Dude, they have Timely Reinforcements!

Did he draw it?

Actually, he played Runed Halo into my Eidolon of the Great Revel Game 2.

Oh spit, what did you do?

I told him to take two and then sided my Bonecrusher Giants in for the third.

Rundown:

Round One: Esper Control, 2-1 W

Round Two: Jeskai Control, 2-1 W

What's with all these Timely Reinforcements decks? And Lightning Helix??? I only won because he drew Fiery Islet as his only red source in Game 3, which did about four free damage.

Round Three: Jund 1-2 L

If I told you that the opponent hit me with a two-stack Weather the Storm and played two escalated Collective Brutalities AND I drew 12 lands, how do you think that game would have gone? What if I also told you that I missed an Eidolon of the Great Revel trigger? Well that was the game I won! Yikes! Roman avenged me at the 3-0 table. All three of us made Top 8.

Round Four: Sultai 2-0 W

This was basically the only match where I felt like I got a good draw. I plowed through Ice-Fang Coatl, Vraska shenanigans, and Oko in Game 1 to exactsies him for 14 on like turn five.

Despite this being an Oko matchup, I chose not to side in Fry. Just 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel for a mix of Lava Darts, Lava Spikes, and Rift Bolts. Normally I would consider Lava Dart low priority, but Ice-Fang Coatl was a consideration; and in actual game play, I got Oko with a flashback ping and some Prowess triggers. Literal turn four kill through his good draw.

Interlude: Round Five

Rob Seder is a New York area End Boss. Very capable player; usually on Azorius Control.

We chatted while shuffling about who would be favored. I posited it depended on how many main deck Timely Reinforcements Rob played main deck.

I don't know how many he played, but he certainly drew one; which he ran back three if not four times before I gave up, thanks to Mystic Sanctuary and Flooded Strand shenanigans. I actually thought I had won at least twice Game 1, but was outmaneuvered by Force of Negation and both Teferis.

Pulled out the sideboard games, brining in Eidolon and Fry for 2 Lava Dart, 2 Lava Spike, and 3 Rift Bolt. It's always weird siding when most of your cards do the same thing.

Round Five: Azorius Control 2-1 W

Round Six: Boros Burn ID

Roman actually threatened to play me to keep me out of Top 8. One of the principles of How to Win a PTQ being "No Mercy." (He was already locked). I told him that I would not hold that against him as a Magic player but would as a friend. ESPECIALLY AS I ONLY CAME TO HANG OUT WITH HIM.

Still, I really wouldn't have held it against him as a Magic player.

Icarus

In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. He and his father attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. Icarus was so intoxicated by the experience of flight that he went higher and higher. As the wax in his wings melted, he tumbled into the sea and drowned.

The Top 8 included, in order:

1. Boros Burn (Roman obv)
2. Jeskai Ascendency combo
3. Jund (Clark, who had beaten me in Round Three)
4. Heroes! (Mono-Red Burn / Prowess / 1-drops)
5. GriShoalBrand combo
6. Eldrazi Tron
7. Death's Shadow (Alfredo, whom I met in the finals of the PTQ two weeks ago)
8. Rob Seder with Azorius Control

Awesome amount of diversity, with only one Urza deck and one Oko deck... But two aspiring Fire Gods.

I liked my matchup with Jeskai, Jund, and Death's Shadow. I had already beaten Rob but felt like it could go either way, and more likely than not, his, given main deck Timely Reinforcements. Roman and I would be a great matchup! I'd pick me (obv) but I'd pick Roman's deck heads up (3 Kor Firewalkers in his sideboard literally just for YT). Finally, I disliked Eldrazi Tron, which I've had spotty results against over the years... While GriShoalBrand seemed hopeless.

So obviously I got GriShoalBrand.

Roman also got GriShoalBrand... But not until the finals, where they both collected Invitational invitations.

My match was kind of disappointing in implementation, but probably not surprising given matchup expectations.

I had basically one decision in Game 1.

Nadher, a very capable player of his Weapon of Choice, had already brained me with Griselbrand once. I had a serviceable draw but not really an outlier one. The game was lightning fast because we were both basically goldfishing each other.

His board was literally a Swamp and a Forest. He kept seven from the Griselbrand.

I had:

The only question was whether I should flash Lava Dart to put Nadher to two, or not flash it, which would leave him at four. I decided to get the extra point in and Prowess, under the theory that I could at least prevent him from front siding a Stomping Ground. Anyway everything in my deck costs one and I would still have two lands, if no cards in hand.

To make a long story short, he was basically dead to every spell in my deck but Soul-Scar Mage and Rift Bolt; and I would at least get to spin the wheel on a land. I drew Soul-Scar Mage and kicked myself for that previous turn sacrifice. With three lands in play instead of two, I would have topped a burn spell for the win, instead of leaving him at the one life necessary to kill me.

I'd like to say Game 2 was competitive.

I actually got double Eidolon of the Great Revel... Which never meaningfully triggered at him (only on me). Nadher drew three - three - copies of Nourishing Shoal, the first of which sent a Griselbrand at me via a Through the Breach Splice Onto Arcane. So I guess he drew 14 extra cards. A Worldspire Wurm gave Nadher a pretty healthy life total via his last Nourishing Shoal... But no combo.

I tried to set up a kill with Light Up the Stage, which simply resulted in getting me low enough due to double Eidolon for him to discard his third and fourth copies of Simian Spirit Guide to just Bonecrusher Giant my face with Stomp (and the kill).

Which, as you might expect, was not the way I expected to lose.

Ho hum.

Fell a little short, but the Mrs. reminded me that I had just won a PTQ, and Top 8 is still pretty good. Very happy for Roman, who completed his mission on the visit! But no longer in complete agreement on Red Deck-builds. I'd happily play mine again, same seventy-five.

Scratch that. I'd consider:

• -1 Mountain, +1 Snow-Covered Mountain
• Harsh Mentor in the sideboard; Harsh Mentor is like a one-sided Eidolon of the Great Revel that really puts the hurt on Oko and Urza... At least until he gets turned into an Elk

Epilogue

LOVE

MIKE