On the eve of MKM Series Hamburg, it was once again time for us to follow long-standing tradition and to review what happened last time at the MKM Series. Nine weeks ago, players from all over Europe gathered in Rome for the second stop of the MKM Series 2018, including 192 masters of Modern …

Deck of the Tournament

When people saw Bloodbraid Elf return to Modern, many immediately thought Jund. With 13 copies in the field, Jund was in fact the most common use for it. However, this event showed that more filthy stuff could be done with the Elf than “just” cascading into Liliana of the Veil or Kolaghan's Command on turn four.

Our champion David Peretti, for instance, piloted Red-Green Ponza to victory instead. Combining Arbor Elf and Utopia Sprawl, his deck could cast Bloodbraid Elf into Stone Rain as early as turn two!

David Peretti – Ponza

Main Deck:
  • 4 Wooded Foothills
  • 3 Stomping Ground
  • 1 Kessig Wolf-Run
  • 1 Mountain
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 4 Verdant Catacombs
  • 7 Forest
  • 2 Lightning Bolt
  • 4 Utopia Sprawl
  • 4 Arbor Elf
  • 2 Birds of paradise
  • 4 Blood Moon
  • 4 Stone Rain
  • 3 Molten Rain
  • 4 Tireless Tracker
  • 4 Bloodbraid Elf
  • 3 Inferno Titan
  • 1 Course of Kruphix
  • 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
  • 1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
  • 2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Sideboard:
  • 1 Thrun, the Last Troll
  • 1 Obstinate Baloth
  • 2 Kitchen Finks
  • 2 Scavenging Ooze
  • 1 Shatterstorm
  • 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
  • 2 Trinisphere
  • 2 Ancient Grudge
  • 3 Anger of the Gods
txt version

David Peretti – Ponza
Main Deck:
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Stomping Ground
1 Kessig Wolf-Run
1 Mountain
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Verdant Catacombs
7 Forest
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Arbor Elf
2 Birds of paradise
4 Blood Moon
4 Stone Rain
3 Molten Rain
4 Tireless Tracker
4 Bloodbraid Elf
3 Inferno Titan
1 Course of Kruphix
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Sideboard:
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Obstinate Baloth
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Shatterstorm
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Trinisphere
2 Ancient Grudge
3 Anger of the Gods

Match of the Tournament

For the final, we did indeed get the classic battle Bloodbraid Elf versus Jace, the Mind Sculptor, although neither of the two appeared in their traditional garb. While the Elf carried land destruction in its wake, Jace was working alongside various land searchers culminating in Scapeshift.

David Peretti was looking confident going into the match

It was a long and hard-fought battle, but eventually David Peretti's Blood Moons in particular were too much for Raul Avoscan's deck to handle. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle likes lands to be Mountains only until it's downgraded to a simple Mountain itself.

Notable Finishes

For seven of the Modern quarterfinalists this was their first Top 8 at the Series. The eighth, however, was none other than Jonathan Anghelescu, an MKM Series veteran and member of the Power 8 club. In Rome, Anghelescu went 7-0 before drawing into first place. His undefeated run only came to an end in the quarterfinals when his traditional Living End deck ran afoul of Mono-Blue Living End.

Jonathan Anghelescu

You can read more about Modern at MKM Series Rome 2018 in our archives!