Regardless of what happened immediately afterward, the Pro Tour was a showcase of the highest level of tournament play in the world. The Top 8 and its deck diversity was a thing to behold. Though Collected Company did not dominate the standings as in the past two weeks’ worth of Star City Games events, in the hands of an extremely skilled pilot, it did make its way to second place, falling to Steve Rubin and the speed and value of his G/W Tokens deck. Still, Collected Company in Standard remains among the best choices in Magic.

I’m also going to talk a little about Collected Company in Modern, where it thrives in many different flavors and where it will probably do well for years to come.

Collected Company in Standard

Let’s take a look at the Pro Tour’s second-place deck.

Bant Company ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Andrea Mengucci

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Tireless Tracker
• 4 Bounding Krasis
• 4 Duskwatch Recruiter
• 4 Reflector Mage
• 4 Sylvan Advocate
• 2 Archangel Avacyn
• 2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
• 4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy

• Spells (9)
• 1 Ojutai's Command
• 4 Collected Company
• 4 Dromoka's Command

• Lands (25)
• 2 Island
• 3 Plains
• 4 Forest
• 2 Yavimaya Coast
• 3 Canopy Vista
• 3 Lumbering Falls
• 4 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Prairie Stream

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Dragonlord Dromoka
• 2 Surrak, the Hunt Caller
• 2 Declaration in Stone
• 2 Dispel
• 2 Invasive Surgery
• 3 Negate
• 3 Tragic Arrogance

Buy This Deck

Just as in other of the best CoCo decks, Reflector Mage is an absolute beating. It's especially good off a CoCo when it takes out a transformed Westvale Abbey or either side of Archangel Avacyn. Bounding Krasis is also amazing, even hard-cast, as it has flash and can tap down a key card at exactly the right time. In a field full of tiny- to medium-sized creatures, Dromoka's Command is exactly what you need to take those creatures out and either add counters to your guys or pick off a Stasis Snare or Quarantine Field.

As observed in Andrea's Top 8 matches, Tragic Arrogance is an absolute beating out of the sideboard, frequently leaving just a token behind on the opponent's side. Also, Dragonlord Dromoka is what we call a "mirror-breaker," as it stops opposing copies of Collected Company from being cast on your turn (unless the opponent casts it while Dromoka is on the stack, of course). And Ojutai's Command has no effect on it.

Though a bit pricey to buy into from scratch, Bant Company is a resilient deck that will be good throughout its life in Standard, which, in this case, is the next six months or so until Collected Company rotates.

Collected Company in Modern

CoCo placed four decks in the top twenty-four of the SCG Modern Classic a couple weekends ago, split across three entirely different archetypes. The Abzan and Bant variations also showed up in the top nine of the Modern portion of the invitational. In the case of the Open, Bant finished the highest; in the Invitational, it was Abzan. These decks are split up by what 3-cost creatures offer the most value in specific matchups, so it might behoove you to try them all and see which one works best in your metagame.

Abzan

The aforementioned combo involves Melira, Sylvok Outcast plus either Kitchen Finks or Murderous Redcap and a sacrifice outlet like Viscera Seer. Since Melira prevents -1/-1 counters from being placed, persist creatures like Finks and Recap can be sacrificed and returned an infinite number of times, giving you infinite life or killing the opponent, respectively.

Even if you don't land the combo, cards like Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit and Scavenging Ooze can add a mess of +1/+1 counters and lead to some heavy hits. There's no Tarmogoyf in this build, so the most expensive cards you're looking at are the fetch lands that have yet to be reprinted. (Come on, Eternal Masters!)

Abzan Company ? Modern | Ryan Fleisher

• Creatures (29)
• 1 Murderous Redcap
• 1 Orzhov Pontiff
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 2 Eternal Witness
• 2 Fiend Hunter
• 3 Noble Hierarch
• 3 Viscera Seer
• 3 Wall of Roots
• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 4 Kitchen Finks
• 1 Spellskite
• 2 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
• 2 Melira, Sylvok Outcast

• Spells (8)
• 4 Chord of Calling
• 4 Collected Company

• Lands (23)
• 1 Plains
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Forest
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 2 Gavony Township
• 2 Marsh Flats
• 2 Overgrown Tomb
• 2 Razorverge Thicket
• 2 Temple Garden
• 4 Verdant Catacombs
• 4 Windswept Heath

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Abrupt Decay
• 1 Anafenza, the Foremost
• 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
• 1 Kataki, War's Wage
• 3 Path to Exile
• 1 Reclamation Sage
• 2 Sin Collector
• 2 Stony Silence
• 2 Voice of Resurgence

Buy This Deck

Bant

Your favorite amazing removal card from Shadows over Innistrad, Declaration in Stone, is a two-of in this version to go with two copies of Path to Exile. It seems that trading instant speed and a free basic land for sorcery speed and a Clue (for the opponent) is worthwhile.

Bant Company ? Modern | Eli Kassis

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Eternal Witness
• 3 Kitchen Finks
• 3 Qasali Pridemage
• 3 Scavenging Ooze
• 3 Voice of Resurgence
• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 4 Knight of the Reliquary
• 4 Noble Hierarch

• Spells (11)
• 2 Path to Exile
• 4 Collected Company
• 2 Declaration in Stone
• 3 Retreat to Coralhelm

• Lands (23)
• 2 Plains
• 4 Forest
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Gavony Township
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Horizon Canopy
• 1 Stirring Wildwood
• 1 Temple Garden
• 1 Westvale Abbey
• 4 Misty Rainforest
• 4 Windswept Heath

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Pithing Needle
• 1 Ethersworn Canonist
• 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
• 1 Choke
• 2 Stony Silence
• 1 Courser of Kruphix
• 2 Negate
• 2 Twisted Image
• 1 Gaddock Teeg
• 1 Kataki, War's Wage
• 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Buy This Deck

Naya

Last, there's the Naya version, the red-headed stepchild of Modern CoCo. This one doesn't finish as high and is also the most expensive thanks to Tarmogoyf, but it also has some really interesting choices. The one-of Arlinn Kord can be a lot of fun in this type of deck, and of course, Lightning Bolt is always good. If you can manage a big attack with a pumped-up Kessig Wolf Run after a Collected Company on the opponent's turn, it could lead to some blowout games. Try it out.

Naya Company ? Modern | Max Perlmutter

• Creatures (26)
• 1 Voice of Resurgence
• 2 Loxodon Smiter
• 3 Scavenging Ooze
• 4 Knight of the Reliquary
• 4 Noble Hierarch
• 4 Qasali Pridemage
• 4 Tarmogoyf
• 4 Wild Nacatl

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Arlinn Kord

• Spells (11)
• 3 Collected Company
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Path to Exile

• Lands (22)
• 1 Plains
• 2 Forest
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Temple Garden
• 2 Horizon Canopy
• 2 Stomping Ground
• 4 Arid Mesa
• 4 Windswept Heath
• 4 Wooded Foothills

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Batterskull
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Kitchen Finks
• 3 Blood Moon
• 2 Choke
• 3 Stony Silence
• 2 Ancient Grudge
• 1 Sigarda, Host of Herons

Buy This Deck

Be a Company Person

Whichever flavor of CoCo you choose, enjoy putting 3-cost creatures on the battlefield at instant speed. And don't forget you're sometimes spinning the CoCo slot machine—and once in a while, you'll brick out and get nothing. Shake it off and cast another one!