Metagame Breakdown

117 players showed up to our Modern main event this weekend, and the decks they brought with them displayed the usual variety we have come to expect from the format. In fact, Affinity was the only single deck to reach double-digit numbers.

Only when looking at the macro archetypes, was Affinity overtaken by two others: Midrange decks combining black and green with one third color—white, red, or even blue—as well as blue control decks—Grixis, Esper, Jeskai with Nahiri, the Harbinger/Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or even Saheeli Rai/Felidar Guardian, and “Blue Moon.”

Among the Burn decks, Naya was the clear frontrunner, followed by just red and white and one deck with a bit of blue and Delver of Secrets / Insectile Aberration. The Valakut, Molten Pinnacle decks on the other hand were almost all of the Scapeshift persuasion, with but one player combining Primeval Titan and Through the Breach.

The lower popularity tiers were good for a few surprises. Mill decks drawing level with “self-mill” decks (also known as Dredge) was astounding, and having more people play Eight Rack than Death's Shadow Jund wasn't exactly what we had expected either; the alleged best deck was only piloted by two players.

Two players each were also running Goryo's Vengeance, Lantern Control, Blue-Red Kiln Fiend, and Slippery Bogles. The list of singletons, finally, was long and included such highlights as Enchantress and a Spirit tribal deck. All in all, the tournament featured no less than 34 different archetypes!