UWR Midrange
Vjeren Horvat
1st Place at GP Prague Modern on 01/12/2014
Lands (25)
- 4 Arid Mesa
- 4 Celestial Colonnade
- 1 Glacial Fortress
- 2 Hallowed Fountain
- 1 Island
- 1 Mountain
- 1 Plains
- 1 Sacred Foundry
- 4 Scalding Tarn
- 1 Snow-Covered Island
- 2 Steam Vents
- 1 Sulfur Falls
- 2 Tectonic Edge
Creatures (13)
- 4 Geist of Saint Traft
- 1 Restoration Angel
- 4 Snapcaster Mage
- 1 Thundermaw Hellkite
- 3 Vendilion Clique
Spells (22)
- 3 Cryptic Command
- 3 Electrolyze
- 4 Lightning Bolt
- 4 Lightning Helix
- 2 Mana Leak
- 3 Path to Exile
- 3 Remand
Sideboard
- 2 Aven Mindcensor
- 1 Batterskull
- 1 Celestial Purge
- 1 Counterflux
- 1 Damping Matrix
- 1 Engineered Explosives
- 1 Path to Exile
- 1 Sowing Salt
- 2 Stony Silence
- 2 Threads of Disloyalty
- 1 Thundermaw Hellkite
- 1 Wear // Tear
The first Grand Prix of the new year has come and gone this past weekend from the historical European capital of Prague in the Czech Republic. The format for this tournament was Modern which since its inception two and a half years ago has been one that always piqued my interest, much like the Extended format which it took its roots from did for me before it. This weekend was another very exciting weekend and Vjeren was able to battle through Moderns rather diverse field to rise to the top and take the first GP crown of the new year. It was great to see Modern in action as it is sorely lacking from this PTQ season since Wizards decided to push the Modern PTQs to the summer. This was also partially a tune up for some players as this is the only big tournament for the format before the Pro Tour in Valencia next month which is also going to have Modern for its constructed portion.
Getting into the deck it is at its core an extremely strong Counter-Burn shell using some of the most powerful elements of control and aggression to take over games and destroy opponents with impunity. The creature suite is centerpieced by a pair of legendary creature with Geist and Clique. They are supported by a pair of one-ofs in Resto Angel and Thundermaw which really help to dominate the skies. But the real synergy comes from a full set of Snapcaster with a plethora of targets to push his value to the limit. A huge burn package starts with the requisite set of Bolt along with a set of Helix, then to top it off Electrolyze which doubles as card draw as well. As if all that burn wasn’t enough there’s a trio of Path to clear away any pesky creature threats. Then we get into the permission package with the versatile Cryptic, tempo play Remand and stock control piece Leak. Put that package together and we get a deck that can really lay out the beats.
So if you are lucky enough to have your local game store host Modern FNMs or are already thinking ahead towards the summers PTQs definitely give this deck high consideration. And even if you don’t think this deck is your style make sure you have it in your gauntlet to be sure you know how to attack it lest it burns you out with a Bolt Snap Bolt GG finish.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
ejseltzer@hotmail.com
