DECK: Modern GW Aggro, 2/22/19

My latest Modern experiment has been this GW Aggro/Midrange pile. Basically, the point of the deck is to play Hero of Bladehold. This is the list as of my 2/22/19 FNM:

Maindeck

Sideboard

imgur link

Its quite similar to a "Little Kid" -style Junk deck, basically replacing Lingering Souls with Kitchen Finks, and Siege Rhino/Wilt-Leaf Liege with Hero/Elspeth.

Honestly, losing Rhino & Souls is a big deal due to the reach and resiliency they bring to a GW creature deck. Losing access to other Black cards such as Thoughtseize and Assassin's Trophy limits the dimensions of interaction available as well.

The primary upside of not splashing Black is a smoother, less painful manabase, which is perennially relevant in Modern - but this likely doesn't outweigh its downside.

This is how my rounds went at the FNM:

Round 1: Lantern Contol (L 1-2)
Round 2: UR Phoenix (W 2-0)
Round 3: Jund (W 2-0)
Round 4: Grixis Shadow (W 2-1)
Round 5: UR Phoenix (W 2-0)

Hero of Bladehold killed the opponent in six games over the course of the evening. I did not lose a game in which I untapped with a Hero. All is right with the world.

DECK: Modern Big Naya, 2/15/19

The Modern metagame has became full of relatively linear and noninteractive aggressive decks like Humans, Spirits, Dredge and Phoenix, to the point that Baneslayer Angel has become a staple in UW decks. This led me to think: why not play Baneslayer Angel in a Green midrange shell? If the card is good, isn't ramping into it even better? Starting from one of my favorite decks played by the Naya God himself, I have arrived at the list below:

Maindeck

Sideboard

imgur link

While by no means revolutionary or top-tier, this archetype definitely has legs. It has performed well at the FNM level, producing frequent prize finishes. I took it to one medium event, SCG Regionals last November, and went 4-4 with many misplays. Doing OK playing cards I like is good enough for me.

The maindeck has been quite static (despite many 2- and 3-ofs, it seems to work) until re-examination this week. Elspeth, Knight-Errant was replaced with Ajani Vengeant, and Tireless Trackers were replaced with Huntmasters. Two Bolts became two Helixes. These moves were a concession to the wild popularity of Phoenix and Burn at my store in particular. Its been so long since I played Huntmaster that I still have English ones...

Furthermore, in the sideboard Blood Moons were replaced with Damping Spheres, and Bonfires were replaced with Flame Slash + Dromoka's Command. I am contemplating swapping Rest in Peace for Relic of Progenitus in future as well.

Here's how the FNM went:

Round 1: UW Midrange (W 2-1)
Round 2: Jund (W 2-0)
Round 3: Affinity (W 2-0)
Round 4: Mono-Red Phoenix (L 1-2)
Round 5: Valakut (we drew, but L 0-2 in games)