In Round 6 of our massive Modern main event, we witnessed a true battle of David versus Goliath. In this case, David was 22-year-old Niclas Chlench from Dortmund, Germany, who described himself as “mostly just an FNM player.”

That was, until now. Today he had started 5-0 into the largest German Magic tournament since 2012, only to sit down across from Eliott Boussaud, a veteran of the game with three Grand Prix Top 8s to his name and the most succesful Standard player on the MKM Series to date. Still, in true David-versus-Goliath fashion, Chlench won.

And he did so piloting a deck which isn't exactly known as a Modern powerhouse. In fact, when we collected the data for today's metagame breakdown, we noticed that only three people had chosen to play Allies. We didn't expect to find one of them at 6-0. Neither did Niclas Chlench expect to do so well.

Niclas Clench is tearing through the field at MKM Series Frankfurt!

“I usually play Merfolk and I had originally planned to play that here as well,” Clench said. “I switched to Allies mainly to have some fun.”

The deck, he said, had started out as a casual deck. “But then I played against my friends who had ‘real' Modern decks and quickly realized the deck's potential.”

Chlench said he had built the deck from scratch himself. “Though the card choices are pretty obvious,” he admitted. “I just tried out various configurations and improved the deck over time. I mostly tested at my local FNM in Dortmund's Auenland.”

When asked about the most important cards of the deck, he pointed out the two 1-drops Hada Freeblade and Champion of the Parish. “But what really impressed me was Reckless Bushwhacker. I started with one, now I'm up to three copies. The card is awesome.”

The only non-Human Ally in the deck also was key in Chlench's victory over Boussaud. In the third game of their match, Chlench had summoned Hada Freeblade on turn one (which died to Lightning Bolt), Harabaz Druid on turn two, a pair of Ondu Clerics on turn three, and Akoum Battlesinger plus Reckless Bushwhacker on turn four. That gave him 19 power, enough to kill Boussaud even through one Goblin Electromancer on blocking duty.

“That deck is really fast,” Boussaud said after the match. “And a bit of spot removal is not enough to stop the Allies. I would have needed something like Pyroclasm.”

Niclas Chlench – Allies

Main Deck:
  • 4 Hada Freeblade
  • 4 Expedition Envoy
  • 4 Champion of the Parish
  • 4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
  • 4 Kazandu Blademaster
  • 4 Akoum Battlesinger
  • 3 Harabaz Druid
  • 1 Thalia's Lieutenant
  • 3 Reckless Bushwhacker
  • 2 Firemantle Mage
  • 2 Lantern Scout
  • 4 Collected Company
  • 2 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 4 Plains
  • 1 Temple Garden
  • 1 Sacred Foundry
  • 1 Forest
  • 4 Ally Encampment
  • 3 City of Brass
  • 4 Mana Confluence
Sideboard:
  • 2 Tuktuk Scrapper
  • 4 Ondu Cleric
  • 2 Kabira Evangel
  • 3 Path to Exile
  • 2 Return to the Ranks
  • 2 Eternal Witness
txt version

Niclas Chlench – Allies
Main Deck:
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Expedition Envoy
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Akoum Battlesinger
3 Harabaz Druid
1 Thalia's Lieutenant
3 Reckless Bushwhacker
2 Firemantle Mage
2 Lantern Scout
4 Collected Company
2 Flooded Strand
1 Reflecting Pool
4 Plains
1 Temple Garden
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Forest
4 Ally Encampment
3 City of Brass
4 Mana Confluence
Sideboard:
2 Tuktuk Scrapper
4 Ondu Cleric
2 Kabira Evangel
3 Path to Exile
2 Return to the Ranks
2 Eternal Witness