For the first time in a while I'll be traveling to an Invitational. Now, it's easy to make the joke about how I didn't go because I wasn't qualified but I have some emails from Jared Sylva that say otherwise. So take THAT mean internet user. This is also one of the few invitationals I've been comfortable enough with my decks to lock them in early. Normally I'm running around trying to figure it out and questioning every decision. So, I have to wonder if I'm making a mistake. By the time this article goes up we will know how smart I ended up being! Either way, I'm going to break down my choices and review why I played the decks I did.

Let's start with Standard. Standard has been nothing short of awesome with new decks every week and keeping up with what's going on can reward you greatly.

Izzet Drakes | Guilds Standard | Rudy Briksza

• Creatures (10)
• 2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
• 4 Crackling Drake
• 4 Enigma Drake

• Instants (14)
• 1 Lightning Strike
• 3 Dive Down
• 3 Shock
• 3 Spell Pierce
• 4 Opt

• Sorceries (13)
• 1 Beacon Bolt
• 4 Chart a Course
• 4 Discovery // Dispersal
• 4 Lava Coil

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Treasure Map

• Lands (21)
• 5 Mountain
• 6 Island
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 1 Watery Grave
• 4 Steam Vents
• 4 Sulfur Falls

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Murmuring Mystic
• 1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
• 2 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• 2 Shivan Fire
• 2 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Entrancing Melody
• 1 Beacon Bolt
• 1 Fiery Cannonade
• 1 Star of Extinction
• 1 Search for Azcanta

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At first, playing without Arclight was ludicrous to me. The card is essentially free and is extremely powerful in the context of Standard. Against a multitude of decks, having a repeatable offender will eventually run your opponent out of resources so you can chip in for the win over time. Yet, I arrived at the conclusion that, for this weekend, playing eight Drakes is better. The decks in Standard are increasingly low to the ground and leaner (think Boros and Golgari) or are packed with plenty of answers to Arclight Phoenix. Playing Dive Downs in your Arclight Phoenix deck doesn't work out too well when you're trying to trigger it. If decks are getting lower to the ground, spinning your wheels every turn isn't going to work out in your favor. Because of this, setting up a 1-2 punch with Drakes is a safer bet. At this point in the format, I believe this is the better thing to do.

We've also confirmed Niv-Mizzet, Parun to be the best thing you can be doing in Standard. It's absurdly powerful and likely going to win the game if you untap. In this deck, Niv plus Dive Down is easy to set up with all the manipulation, and with all the cheap spells it is going to be trivial to slaughter opponents.

That being said, I think the best deck coming up is Boros Aggro. Utilizing more Mentor creatures is a great way to beat all the Deafening Clarions rolling around while keeping pace with the format by remaining aggressive. Being a bit bigger means you can block effectively in some of the smaller creature mirrors. Going a little deeper into Red means cards like Experimental Frenzy, Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice, or Banefire become more palatable options.

For Modern I'm putting my trust in fellow Steam Vents enthusiasts Ross Merriam and Harlan Firer and playing the Izzet Arclight deck that Ross won the Open in Baltimore with.

Izzet Arclight | Modern | Ross Merriam

• Creatures (13)
• 2 Monastery Swiftspear
• 3 Crackling Drake
• 4 Arclight Phoenix
• 4 Thing in the Ice

• Instants (20)
• 1 Izzet Charm
• 2 Lightning Axe
• 2 Thought Scour
• 3 Gut Shot
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Manamorphose
• 4 Opt

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Chart a Course
• 4 Faithless Looting
• 4 Serum Visions

• Lands (18)
• 2 Mountain
• 3 Island
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Polluted Delta
• 3 Steam Vents
• 4 Scalding Tarn
• 4 Spirebluff Canal

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Alpine Moon
• 2 Abrade
• 2 Ceremonious Rejection
• 2 Dispel
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 2 Surgical Extraction
• 1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• 1 Anger of the Gods
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Rending Volley

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Like the iterations of Arclight before it, the goal is to try and make the most consistent game plan you can. This version is less combo oriented than its Runaway Steam-Kin brethren and it's more focused on cantrips to create a consistent path to hitting your opponent hard and fast. Like most powerful Modern decks this tries to win the game on turn three/four and has the basic interaction needed to be able to not lose while forwarding its game plan. Being consistent is vital to Modern and important for a deck like this to perform well. What certainly looked like a flash in the pan has turned out to be a contender.

In spite of the visibility caused by Ross's win, I still believe the deck to be well positioned and hard to counter. The deck has evolved to be better against graveyard hate. While your opponent will be boarding it in regardless (and they should) it certainly isn't going to be lights out. Crackling Drake is especially powerful against Leyline of the Void and Rest in Peace, completely ignoring them all together.

Team Nova

This past weekend I also got to unveil something that I've become a part of. Started by my roommate Will Pulliam; Team Nova is a team for the SCG Tour with the goal of qualifying as many players for the Players Championship while working together on formats and teaming with each other at events. The current roster includes myself, Will, Austin Collins, Drake Sasser, Chad Harney, and Harlan Firer. Look for us on the Tour as we pave our way to the Players Championship!