Faithless Brewing MTG: Modern and Pioneer for the Spike Rogue

These Cards Should Be Unbanned in Modern

Season 15, Episode 18: Weekly Roundup
Yorion, Sky Nomad is the latest addition to Modern’s endless ranks of the banned. There are now 48 cards in Modern jail, some of which have been there since the beginning.
Today on Faithless Brewing, the crew takes a hard look at the Modern ban list to see whether it stands up to scrutiny in the post-MH2 era. With so much power creep, many cards could likely be released back into the format safely, joining the ranks of successful unbans like Sword of the Meek, Valakut, Wild Nacatl, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
Broadly speaking, the banned cards fall into six categories.
Category 1: Gone forever. These are the best of the best, the most broken of the broko. They should be locked away until the end of time. (Example: Hogaak, Oko, Dark Depths).
Category 2: Banished for reasons other than power level. These cards are problematic for reasons other than win rate, and are therefore also gone forever. (Ex: Sensei’s Divining Top, Second Sunrise, KCI).
Category 3: Safe, but no upside. Some cards only support a single deck or combo. Even if those combos are not overpowered (and in fact some are likely quite weak), their existence would be a net negative on the format. There is no upside to ever unbanning these cards. (Ex: Blazing Shoal, Hypergenesis, Splinter Twin)
Category 4: Risky and probably not okay. These cards used to be too powerful. Today, they’d fall in the gray area. If you want to live dangerously, you could unban them, but they are likely still too strong. (Ex: Mystic Sanctuary, Eye of Ugin, Glimpse of Nature)
Category 5: Risky but probably okay. These are powerful cards that would impact the meta. The resulting decks would likely be fine, but would need to be watched carefully. (Ex: Faithless Looting, Birthing Pod, Seething Song)
Category 6: Should be unbanned today. These cards are completely safe to unban, and Wizards should do so as soon as possible. (Ex: Preordain, Bridge from Below, artifact lands).
Cavedan and Morde don’t see eye to eye on everything, but they broadly agree that the current ban list is outdated and too conservative. Which cards are the most controversial, and which ones did we get right and wrong? Listen to the full episode to find out!
 
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
 
Decklists and Timestamps
[1:01] Eulogy for a Sky Noodle
[4:42] Housekeeping
[6:56] Dissecting the Yorion ban
[13:18] Where does Modern go next?
[20:44] Brewing after Yorion: Morde’s journey begins
[30:16] The state of the Modern ban list: Oct 2022
[36:35] Category 1: Gone forever
[40:47] Category 2: Banished for reasons other than power level
[42:29] Category 3: Safe, but no upside
[46:24] Category 4: Risky and probably not okay
[51:43] Category 5: Risky but probably okay
[56:42] Category 6: Should be unbanned today
[1:11:18] A modest proposal
 
 
 
 

Haughty Djinn: Don’t Sleep On This Genie

Season 15, Episode 17: Brew Session (Haughty Djinn) + Flashback (Soul of Windgrace, Tolarian Terror)
Cost reduction creatures are incredibly dangerous. Modern players know that Baral, Chief of Compliance and Goblin Electromancer must be killed on sight. If your opponent untaps with a cost reducer, you will surely be buried beneath an avalanche of spells.
Still, it’s not so hard to kill a 2/2 or 1/3. Electromancer isn’t scaring anyone in the red zone, and Baral has skipped leg day every day of his life. For most of Magic’s history, phenomenal cost reduction also means itty bitty power and toughness.
But all that is about to change. Haughty Djinn is a cost reduction creature that slaps HARD. We’re talking Enigma Drake, Crackling Drake, massive one-hit-kill territory. To be sure, Drakes also need to be killed on sight, so there’s not a huge change on that front. But we’ve never seen cost reduction paired with such impressive power and toughness, on a flyer no less. This is a rare combination and a dream worth chasing.
David has some ideas for Haughty Djinn in Pioneer, and Cavedan is dusting off the spellbook to find the best instants and sorceries to feed the genie. Will this be the Djinn that grants all of our wishes? There’s only one way to find out.
 
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
 
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Decklists and Timestamps
[2:19] Housekeeping
[5:12] Brew Session: Haughty Djinn
[8:02] Building around cost reduction
[11:43] Theat packages
[13:30] Key synergies
[18:53] David’s Izzet Djinn
[24:05] David’s Dimir Flying
[37:28] Flashback: Soul of Windgrace, Tolarian Terror
[38:24] David’s Jund Titan Ramp
[47:55] Dimir Terror by erbianchuibeifang

Conspiracy Town: The REAL Story Behind $1000 Boosters

Micromancer: Tiny Spells with Big Dreams (ft. IPlayBadDecks)

Season 15, Episode 15: Brewing with Antony Mannino (IPlayBadDecks)
On today's episode Morde is joined by good friend of the podcast Anthony Mannino, better known as IPlayBadDecks, for a dive into some of his newest brews for the Modern format.
We start high and mighty with a favorite of old mono white enjoyers, Martyr Proc. The deck got a brand new toy in the form of Serra Paragon, enabling it to buy back practically any card in the deck, be it a Ranger-Captain of Eos for some good grinding potential, or an Abiding Grace to enable a fog lock with Kami of False Hope.
From there we take a leap into Rakdos Waste Not, with the addition of Pioneer All-Star Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Sheoldred gives the deck an additional payoff for its Burning Inquiry turns, as your opponents cycle through their hands.
And that's only half of it. Join our crew as they go deep into two other decks, and keep looking for ways to keep the format fresh and interesting.
 
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
 
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Decklists
Ant’s Mono White Martyr
Ant’s Rakdos Sheoldred Waste Not
Ant’s Esper Vial

Tolarian Terror: There’s Always a Bigger Zombie Fish

Season 15, Episode 14: Roundup (Brothers’ War Previews) + Brew Session (Tolarian Terror) + Flashback (Meria, Scholar of Antiquity)
Veteran players remember Gurmag Angler, the sleek delve threat once seen in decks like Grixis Shadow and Hollow One. At one mana, the Zombie Fish was brutally efficient and surprisingly hard to kill — so much so that Legacy players once thought Gurmag might need to be banned in their format (until cooler heads prevailed and identified Deathrite Shaman as the culprit).
The Zombie Fish has mostly disappeared from today’s Modern as removal has gotten better, black has gotten weaker, and stronger 1 mana threats have emerged. But what if Gurmag came with Ward? That’s the promise of Tolarian Terror, a new one mana threat from Dominaria United. Terror is in a much stronger color and doesn’t consume the graveyard, meaning that it’s possible to deploy multiple Serpents in one turn, while also leaving mana open for additional interaction. Sure, the opponent can kill them, but only at a tremendous tempo deficit thanks to Ward 2.
We are starting to see early returns on Tolarian Terror in both Modern and Pioneer. But questions remain. How far we can lean into the graveyard before exposing ourselves to hate? Can Terror earn its spot over even bigger options like Murktide Regent? Or can they perhaps be played together? Morde and Cavedan investigate this week, looking at several new decks.
On the Flashback, the crew shares their preliminary findings with Meria, Scholar of Antiquity, including Hullbreaker Horror Combo, Song of Creation Combo, and Artificers tribal Thopter-Sword. They also study the early previews from The Brothers’ War, including Urza, the Mightstone and Weakstone, and Surge Engine.
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
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Decklists and Timestamps
[2:19] The Brothers’ War First Look
[7:24] The Mightstone and Weakstone
[9:51] Urza, Lord Protector
[13:53] Queen Kayla bin-Kroog
[16:01] Mishra’s Foundry
[18:18] Surge Engine
[20:22] Recruitment Officer
[21:24] Special promos
[24:59] Brew Session: Tolarian Terror
[27:32] Lessons from Pauper
[33:49] Grixis Tolarian Tempo by Selfeisek
[39:58] Izzet Prowess by MonkeyDBaboo
[42:21] Dimir Third Path Control by strangledangles
[48:05] Flashback: Meria, Scholar of Antiquity
[50:12] Dan’s Meria Hullbreaker Combo
[57:12] David’s Meria Song of Creation
[1:00:52] Emi’s Artificers Thopter-Sword Combo
[1:08:27] Final thoughts on Meria

What’s Wrong with Modern? Can It Be Fixed? (Brewer’s Mailbag)

Season 15, Episode 13: Brewers’ Mailbag
Does Modern have a “five color problem”? If so, how can it be fixed? Has the format become hostile to brewing? And why has black become such a weak color?
Today, Cavedan and Morde open up the Brewers’ Mailbag to field listener questions about the state of Modern and Pioneer after several weeks of Dominaria United. Many listeners want to know, “What’s wrong with Modern?” and more importantly, what can be done about it? After a bit of soul searching (and weeping and gnashing of teeth), the crew has some recommendations to help you get the most out of these formats.
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
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Timestamps
[4:17] Checking in
[7:33] White Rhinos by HamburgerJung
[10:02] Housekeeping
[12:15] Why not The Raven Man?
[14:55] Emi’s Micromancer Wizard Control
[22:36] The RCQ system: is it working?
[28:42] Brewing in Modern after MH2
[33:49] Are efficient answers good for brewing?
[35:27] Does Modern have a “5 color problem?”
[41:41] Search hate: pros and cons
[47:31] Rakdos Scam and how to beat it
[52:01] Deck building heuristics
[56:04] Should Morde be banned from Yorion decks?
[58:12] Deck diversity in Pioneer
[1:00:26] Reprints we want for Pioneer
[1:01:43] Why black is the worst color in Modern
[1:06:35] All time favorite limited format
[1:08:45] Card designs we want to see

Five Color Legends?! Jodah, the Unifier in Modern and Pioneer

Season 15, Episode 12: Brew Session (Jodah, the Unifier) + Flashback (Soul of Windgrace)
The people have spoken! The votes have been tallied for our next monthly project, and two cards stood head and shoulders above the rest. Mechanized Production, an intriguing alternate win con using artifact tokens, was bested by the narrowest of margins, losing only to a card that is even more insane: Jodah, the Unifier.
For five mana, in WUBRG colors, we had better be getting an amazing deal. Jodah has a ridiculous text box that certainly gives you a massive advantage while he is in play. But five mana without an ETB effect is a very tall order. That’s Niv-Mizzet mana, after all, and we know that Niv can win the game just by entering the battlefield once. Jodah is going to make us work harder, to guarantee that either his anthem effect or his “buy one, get one” coupon for legends is enough to put the game away. Cavedan has some ideas for how to pursue this, so let the brewing commence!
On the Flashback, the crew also reviews their testing results with Soul of Windgrace, a card that is enjoying a breakout week of finishes. Morde stuck to more traditional Yorion good stuff shells, while Cavedan ranged further afield with Bard Class, Shigeki Fires, and Titania’s Fury. If Soul is on track to become a staple of Modern and Pioneer, what can we expect from this card?
 
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
 
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[2:19] Voting results
Brew Session: Jodah, the Unifier
[7:24] Rules notes
[10:47] The Tibalt loophole
[14:30] Getting Jodah into play
[24:04] Building for anthem vs. building for cascade
[29:04] Micro-syngergies
[33:17] Jodah Pyre Humans by Rich Ellis
[36:39] Jodah Pyre Humans by DJeffMTG
[38:47] 5c Humans Company by IslandGoSAMe
[41:38] Dan’s 5c Jund Tibalt
[45:14] Jodah Winota by Mildpro
Flashback: Soul of Windgrace
[52:39] 5c Domain Delirium by aspiringspike
[54:17] Emi’s 5c Yorion Domain Delirium
[1:01:01] Jund Windgrace by claudioh
[1:04:09] Dan’s Jund Bard Class
[1:07:21] David’s Jund Shigeki Fires
[1:10:46] Dan’s Titania’s Fury
[1:16:50] Final thoughts on Soul of Windgrace

Better Than Urza? Meria Is Desperately Wanting to Be Good

Season 15, Episode 11: Weekly Roundup + Brew Session (Meria, Scholar of Antiquity)
Artifact strategies have been around forever, but Urza, Lord High Artificer was a game-changer. Urza unlocked massive amounts of mana, in quantities not seen since Tolarian Academy, and even gave you somewhere to spend that mana by playing free cards from your deck. On top of that, Urza brought a large Karnstruct friend, ensuring good value from your 4 drop even if your opponent succeeds in foiling whatever combo or big mana nonsense you are up to. This made Urza a perfect engine: explosive when unchecked, but also a viable standalone threat.
Imagine our surprise, then, when Dominaria United brought a new, cheaper Urza in Gruul colors. Meria, Scholar of Antiquity trades blue mana for green but retains the ability to draw large amounts of cards while also providing boatloads of mana. Meria is a full mana cheaper (a huge upgrade) and draws cards at an even faster rate. In exchange, we lose out on the Karnstruct and the ability to tap tokens, but those are merely bonuses, not the core of what makes Urza powerful.
Today on Faithless Brewing the crew takes a close look at Meria in several new builds in Modern and Pioneer. The intersection of Big Mana and Big Card Draw is a potent brewing space, as long as we’re willing to get our hands dirty and get into the weeds looking for the right artifact support. Meria has already earned trophies in combo decks like Paradox Engine, Thopter-Sword, and Hardened Scales, but are there more homes waiting to be unearthed? It will take a brilliant archaeologist to unlock Meria’s full potential, so let’s roll up the sleeves and get to work!
 
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
 
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Decklists and Timestamps
[2:06] Housekeeping
[5:57] Unfinity spoilers
[14:43] Magic 30 woes
Brew Session: Meria, Scholar of Antiquity
[19:32] Rules notes
[29:41] Key interactions
[40:26] Paradox Engine Combo by mouthbreather1
[43:23] David’s Meria Song of Creation
[49:04] Dan’s Hullbreaker Horror Combo
[52:40] Gruul Hardened Scales by maxxattack
[55:53] Thopter Sword Combo by MTGBullent
[58:52] Meria Howling Mine Combo