Faithless Brewing MTG: Modern and Pioneer for the Spike Rogue

How to Start Brewing in Historic

Core Set 2021, Episode 10: Brewer's Guide to Historic, Part 1
 
You've heard the rumors. You've felt the buzz. Your Twitter feeds are littered with images of colorful squares of art hovering over an attractive battlefield, with screenshots of Mythic rank achievements. Historic is in the air. It's the next Mythic Invitational format, it just received yet another influx of cards from Amonkhet (and yet another banning in Field of the Dead), and it seems to loom large in WotC's plans for the future. Historic. So hot right now. Historic.
 
We are not a Historic podcast, but then again, there was a time when we were not a Pioneer podcast either. Is change inevitable? Or is the gulf between Arena and the MTGO and paper formats simply too large to bridge? There's a lot to sort through when parsing out the very basic questions of What is Historic and what does it mean for us? Is the format fun? Is it accessible? What's the metagame like, and is there room to brew? What is Historic exactly, and what are the key pillars of its tier archetypes and card pool?  And perhaps more to the point -- should we play it? We tackle all of that and more this week, with the aid of some great questions from our listeners. Let's dive in!
 
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Flashback: M21 Potpourri
 
Jeskai Transmogrify: 2-3 league
Izzet See the Truth: 3-2 league, 2-2 league
Lotus Discontinuity: 2-3 league
 
 
 
 
 

Discontinuities: When Titan Vial Ruled Modern, and Citadel in Pioneer

Core Set 2021, Episode 9: Transmogrify, See the Truth, Discontinuity
 
By all accounts, 2020 has been a Very Long Year. It keeps twisting and dragging us into unexpected places, each more disturbing than the last. And somehow, it is only August.
 
So it can't really be called surprising when, for inexplicable reasons, a Modern deck called "Titan Vial" is somehow causing the price of Elvish Reclaimer to spike on Magic Online, while in Pioneer noted hall of famers are earnestly debating the proper build of a deck that contains a playset of Bolas's Citadel. Who can explain it? Does it even need to be explained? It's just been that kind of year.
 
Late August can sometimes be the doldrums of competitive Magic, as Standard awaits rotation and the summer Core Set has mostly played itself out. We are lucky, at least, that M21 is a set with a very long tail: plenty of interesting cards can still spark the brewer's imagination for at least a decklist or two, if not quite rising to the level of commanding a full episode deep dive. We tackle some intriguing ones this week as we probe the far reaches of the M21 spoiler: Transmogrify, See the Truth, and Discontinuity. What will we discover? Only the leagues will tell!
 
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Titan Vial by fpawluszmtg
 
Flashback: The White Episode
 
Soul Speakers: 3-2 league
Basri Bots: unplayable
Mardu Nine Lives: 3-2 league
Chonky Capridor: 3-2 league
 
 
Brew Session: M21 Potpourri
 
Jeskai Inspiring Transmogrify
Izzet See the Truth
Bant Lotus Discontinuity
 
 

White Is the Loneliest Color

Core Set 2021, Episode 8: The White Episode
 
Blue is not the loneliest color. In Magic at least, that hasn't been true for a while now, if it was ever true to begin with. Blue cards tend to bring along several more friends when you cast them. The same is true for Green, and Black, and even Red. One good card leads to another, all thanks to the magic of card advantage.
 
White, on the other hand... now there's a lonely color. With white cards, you tend to get exactly what you pay for, and nothing more than that. No undercosted rate monsters, no snowballing effects that run away with the game, no recursive threats or big mana engines. If your opponent removes your White card, it's usually just gone: my card for your card, the fairest possible trade. Imagine trying to win a game of Modern or Pioneer that way in 2020!
 
We haven't featured a White card on Faithless Brewing in a very long time. The options tend to be narrow and on the lower end of the power spectrum. Maybe they can spawn a deck or two each, but they're not likely to even be the best cards in their respective archetypes. If we're going to find success brewing around a White card, we'll need to take a more proactive approach and chuck the whole bag of darts at the dartboard. That's right, this week features no less than 7 new white cards from M21, with a frew brew for each: Speaker of the Heavens, Containment Priest, Griffin Aerie, Angelic Ascension, Nine Lives, Basri Ket, and Stormwild Capridor.
 
Will any of these cards have what it takes to make a splash in competitive play? You know the drill: let's find out in the queues!
 
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Flashback: Second Chance Pioneer
 
Narset's Undoing: 4-1 league, 2-3 league
Tome Diviner: 4-1 league
GW Oath Enchantress: 2-3 league
 
Reference lists:
Narset's Undoing (by SrTortinha, 6-3 Pioneer Challenge)
RG Dinos (by Voltzwagon, 5-0 Pioneer league)
 
 
Brew Session: Seven Dubious White Cards
 
Sketch 1: Soul Speakers
Sketch 2: Priest and Taxes
Sketch 3: Griffin Aerie
Sketch 4: Jeskai Lukka Ascension
Sketch 5: Mardu Nine Lives
Sketch 6: Basri Bots
Sketch 7: Chonky Capridor
 
Reference lists:
Soul Speakers (by Gabriel Nassif, 5-0 Modern league)
Jeskai Lukka Fires (by FestiFan, 7-2 Pioneer Challenge)

A Second Chance at Love in Pioneer (ft. Aspiringspike)

Core Set 2021, Episode 7: Surprise Pioneer B&R ft. Evart Moughon
 
Life has a funny way of giving you second chances. One week, you're flunking out of season 24 of The Bachelor, roseless and rejected. The next week you're the darling of Bachelor in Paradise, delighting audiences with your antics as you revel in another shot at romance. So, too, in Magic: one week your format is a ghost town, with near-empty tournament queues and a "healthy and balanced" metagame of four combo decks, each with strengths and weaknesses against each other. The next week, practically the entire Tier 1 metagame is banned, and we are suddenly presented with a second chance at love in a wide open Pioneer.
 
This week we welcome special guest Evart Moughon, aka Aspiringspike, to survey the new Pioneer landscape after the long shadows of Theros combo decks have been lifted. We tackle a bit of post-Astrolabe Modern as well, and wind down with some questions for Evart from the Brewers' Mailbag. Is this the dawn of a new era of brewing? What new decks and strategies might rise to the top? Which pre-Theros strategies are poised for a resurgence? The one thing we know for sure: if Aspiringspike has anything to say about it, it's going to involve a lot of Shark Typhoons. Happy brewing!
 
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Where to find Evart:
https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart
http://twitch.tv/aspiringspike
 
Flashback: Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse
 
Temur One-Mind Jolrael
BG Jolrael Enchantress
Sultai Jolrael Delirium
 
Brew Session: A Second Chance at Love in Pioneer
 
UB Narset's Undoing
UB Tome Diviner
UG Sublime Sharks
Jeskai Lukka Sharks
Mono-G Karn
 
 

Jolrael Empress of BEATS (ft. ManaCymbal)

Core Set 2021, Episode 6: Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse
 
What happens when you take a mechanic based on drawing extra cards, and move it out of Izzet colors and into Green? Does it somehow get a whole lot better? Jolrael thinks so, and we are inclined to agree. The empress of the Jamuraan jungles has gotten a lot leaner, fiercer, and more cat-friendly since we last saw her all the way back in Prophecy. As a splashable two-mana legend that generates tempo and card advantage every turn, Jolrael seems to have all the right moves for both Modern and Pioneer, so let's see what she can do!
 
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Roundup: Brewers' Mailbag ft. ManaCymbal
 
Where to find Zach: https://www.twitch.com/manacymbal
Links to Zachs' YouTube, Twitter, etc. can be found here
 
Flashback: Mazemind Tome
 
Blue Moon (Damon): 4-1 league
Eldrazi Tron: 5-4 ManaTraders Qualifiers
Classic Dice Factory (by Hampuse1): 2-3 league
Saheeli Dice Factory (by Brian M): 3-2 league
Blue Tron (by Lordofthelobsters): 3-0 league
 
UB Tome Diviner (David, Zach): 4-1 league, 3-2 league
 
Mazemind Niv (by Grixisism)
Esper Maze-Seize (by Spotred)
 
Brew Session: Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse
 
Modern
 
Sketch: Jolrael's Shadow
Sketch: Bant Jolrael
Sketch: Temur Tokens
Sketch: Jolrael GW Taxes
Sketch: Jolrael UG Kinnan
 
Pioneer
 
Sketch: Jolrael Delirium
Sketch: Bant Cycling
Sketch: Jundrael Enchantress
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The New Sylvan Library: Brewing Mazemind Tome

Core Set 2021, Episode 5: Mazemind Tome
 
M21's Mazemind Tome certainly looks unassuming. For a small 2-mana down payment, you get the option to "crack a Clue," as it were, by paying another 2-mana installment. If you don't want to spend mana, you can trade a Clue for a scry 1. Do that four times, then collect 4 life. Sounds simple enough. Can a bootleg Tireless Tracker really set the Modern format on fire?
 
Well, don't take our word for it, just ask the Eldrazi Tron players who have adopted this card en masse while surging to the top of the metagame in the wake of last week's B&R. You can blame those players too for the Sylvan Library comparison: it's not that there is an actual mechanical similarity between the two cards, but exude that same energy of "I've got this": if you get your engine down safely and have a few turns to extract value from it, you feel like a million bucks.
 
The beautiful thing about Tome is that it is colorless and cheap, which means it can potentially fit in a host of different strategies. It's not exactly a "build-around," as it asks very little of you and mostly supports whatever else your deck is attempting. But it does its job efficiently and well, and who isn't in the market for a reserve supply of 4 Clues? We've asked the question, so we'll do our best to answer it this week with some new homes (and some old ones) for Mazemind Tome in both Modern and Pioneer. Happy brewing!
 
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Roundup: Modern + Pioneer After the B&R
 
UW SharkBlade (by HeyPharaoh, 2nd place Modern Champs)
Eldrazi Tron (by TheTunnelingCat, 1st place Modern Champs)
Mono-White Tokens (by Marxelo, 7-2 Modern Champs)
Fervent Sunforger (by qbturtle15, 5-0 Modern League)
 
Pioneer: Aggregate results from Challenge + last four Prelims (by FamousOnLine)
 
Flashback: Teferi, Master of Time
 
Teferi Delirium (Dan): 6-4 leagues (a "Robertson 9-1," three losses were timeouts)
Teferi Phoenix (David): 2-3 league
Izzet Moon (Damon): 3-2 league
UW Miracles (Dan): 2-3 league
 
Brew Session: Mazemind Tome
 
Reference: Blue Moon (Damon)
Reference: Eldrazi Tron (by TheTunnelingCat, 1st place Modern Champs)
Reference: Dice Factory (by Hampuse1, 5-0 Modern League)
Reference: Blue Tron (by Lordofthelobsters, 5-0 Modern League)
Reference: Skred Red (by utopia_mycon, 5-0 Modern League)
 
Sketch 1: Klothys Prison
Sketch 2: Tome Diviner
 
 

Teferi Is Better than Jace, Change My Mind

Core Set 2021, Episode 4: Teferi, Master of Time
 
Recently, certain members of the Faithless Brewing brain trust expressed skepticism that new Teferi could ever possibly be better than Jace, the Mind Sculptor (I won't name names, so let's just call them D***). How could any 2UU walker ever compete with JTMS, perhaps the greatest planeswalker of all time? But here's the thing: they don't write the show notes.
 
This week, we settle the score once and for all by putting Teferi through his paces in four different archetypes. And we do so set against the brave new landscapes of two formats completely refreshed by this week's B&R announcement. The metagame is brand new! Anything is possible now in Modern and Pioneer! .... ***wait, what's that? oh.... Modern only? no bans this week in Pioneer? awkward...*** Correction: Modern looks brand new and Pioneer looks as healthy and balanced as ever, so let's forge ahead!
 
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Notable decks from around the leagues:
Chromatic Combo Tron (by Trellon, 5-0 league)
Liliana 8-Rack (by D00mwake, 5-0 league)
Sultai Neo-Evolution (by sivek, 5-0 league)
 
Flashback: Archfiend's Vessel
 
Abzan Horse Vessel: 1-4 league
BW Liliana’s Vessels: 4-1 league, 3-2 league
Archfiend Jund: 2-3 league
 
Brew Session: Teferi, Master of Time
 
Sketch 1: Te4eri Delirium (Pioneer)
Sketch 2: Te4eri Phoenix (Pioneer)
Sketch 3: Izzet Rielle (Modern)
Sketch 4: UW Miracles (by Zach Allen, Top 8 Modern Challenge)
 
 

Big Surprises in Tiny Archfiend's Vessels

Core Set 2021, Episode 3: Archfiend's Vessel
 
Archfiend's Vessel is a card to make your jaw drop. 5/5 flying? For a single black mana? Move over, Gurmag Angler; where can we sign up?
 
As with most demonic bargains, the truth is that Archfiend's Vessel is rife with hidden costs. On the surface, the bargain is simple: kill my vessel, then bring it back for demonic fun and profit. But the card gives no guidance on how we are actually supposed achieve this. A 1/1 lifelink is not a relevant combat creature, so you can't rely on your opponent to kill the Vessel for you. And it's not like "reanimate a creature" is an effect that just gets thrown around for free. Once you set out to solve all the puzzles, the Archfiend might not feel like such a bargain after all. But, as we know, there's only one way to find out, so let's build some decks!
 
Meanwhile, around the Multiverse: a surprise B&R announcement has us putting on our speculation hats again, this time for both Pioneer and Modern. There's plenty that we'd like to see changed, but the timing of the announcement is also suspicious: is it possible that something will be freed from B&R purgatory? We make our best guesses before the bombshell is dropped on Monday. Also on the Flashback: our testing results with Silversmote Ghoul.
 
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Roundup: B&R Predictions
 
Modern Predictions
 
Pioneer Predictions
 
Flashback: Silversmote Ghoul
 
Mardu Helix (Modern): 3-2 league
 
WB Silversmote Midrange (Pioneer): 1-4 league
 
Sultai Blood for Ghoul (Pioneer): 1-4 league
 
Sultai Jolrael Delirium (Pioneer): 4-1 league
 
 
Brew Session: Archfiend's Vessel
 
Theorycraft
 
Four Conceptual Challenges
 
Reanimation Options
 
Decklists
 
Reference: BR Lurrus Rites (by Wolfie98, 4-1 Pioneer preliminary)
 
Sketch 1: Rakdos Archfiend Rites (Modern)
 
Brainstorm: Archfiend Pox (Modern)
 
Sketch 2: Abzan Collected Sacrifice (Pioneer)
 
Sketch 3: Abzan Horse Rallier (Pioneer)