Faithless Brewing MTG: Modern and Pioneer for the Spike Rogue
A selection of our favorite decks from our testing in MTGO Leagues and paper tournaments.
It's crucial to not be too results-oriented when brewing a new deck, so a 5-0 finish or a Top 8 result is less meaningful than the information gleaned from gameplay. If you're interested in trying one of these lists, be sure to check out the episodes in which we workshop them and discuss what we learned. There are always improvements to be made, so don't be afraid to iterate, experiment, and improve upon our ideas!
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Our most famous creation (and our personal favorite), we brewed the first Modern Niv-Mizzet deck in Episode 2 and have been crushing tournaments with it ever since. This is a 5-color control deck with tremendous flexibility in its spells as well as its manabase. The rainbow dragon finds his way into many of our episodes, but see especially our deep dive in collaboration with The Dive Down, or our earlier in-depth discussion in Episode 16, for a good introduction to the archetype.
Resources:
Niv-Mizzet Deep Dive (The Dive Down, Ep. 51)
GP Niv-Mizzeapolis (Faithless Brewing, Ep. 16)
Damon's Niv-Mizzet Video Deck Tech (GP Minneapolis)
Decklists:
Utopia Niv-Mizzet (40th + 42nd place, GP Columbus): https://scryfall.com/@FaithlessMTG/decks/b03c7adf-e33d-428d-a068-4e429017beb6
Safewright Niv-Mizzet (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2467352#online
Utopia Niv-Mizzet (4th place, SCG IQ): http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/133759
Faeburrow Niv-Mizzet (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2321715#online
Safewright Niv-Mizzet (Top 32, Modern Challenge): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2307379#online
Safewright Niv-MIzzet (Top 32, Modern Challenge): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2284351#online
Safewright Niv-Mizzet (7th place, SCG IQ): http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/132741
Search for Tomorrow Niv-Mizzet (5th place, SCG IQ): http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/131620
Anti-Hogaak Niv-Mizzet (94th place, GP Minneapolis): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2178300#online
Original Niv-Mizzet (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1885348#online
Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
One of the most underrated planeswalkers from War of the Spark, we built a Gruul ramp deck around Kiora in Episode 3 and have been iterating on it successfully for several months (see for example Episode 4, 23, 24, 28, and 29). The deck relies heavily on a 1-3-5 mana curve, topping out on Glorybringer to pair with Kiora's untap ability.
Once Upon KioraDrazi (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2451776#online
Temur Bonecrusher Oko (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2368621#online
Gruul Dragons (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1929876#online
Oko, Thief of Crowns
We put Oko into a bunch of different archetypes during "Oko Week" (Episode 23), and the trophies just started piling up. Oko plays a different role in each of these decks, and has become a multi-format all-star, so these are not so much recommendations for "Oko decks" as they are examples of the many different strategies that can benefit from Oko.
Sultai Ninja Goose (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2359880#online
Bant OkoBlade (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2359925#online
Temur Oko-Kiora (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2368621#online
Faeburrow Niv-Mizzet (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2321715#online
Neoform
Our very first episode yielded a slick update to Simic Evolve, an aggressive deck built around +1/+1 counters by combining the evolve mechanic with the undying mechanic. While Neoform is now more synonymous with broken Allosaurus Rider combo decks, this "Bant Monkeyform" shell offers a vastly different way to unlock the power of the War of the Spark tutor spell.
Bant Monkeyform (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1871220#online
Bant Monkeyform (SCG IQ Top 8): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1885401#online
SaffronOlive Deck Tech and Gameplay
Jim Davis Gameplay
Dreadhorde Arcanist
One of the more challenging cards we've taken on, Dreadhorde Arcanist looks like it should fit easily into spell-based control decks (especially when paired with discard), but our testing showed that the attacking power of spells like Atarka's Command was crucial to actually closing out games.
Jund Atarkanist (5-0 league): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1984395#online
Version: 20241125