2019 Challenger deck reviews

The 2019 Challenger decks are here! As with last year’s offerings, these are built around proven, winning decks, and will be competitive at an FNM level right out of the box. Let’s check them out. 

https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/challenger-decks-2019-03-18

UNITED ASSAULT

4 Dauntless Bodyguard
4 Healer's Hawk
4 Leonin Vanguard
4 Skymarcher Aspirant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Adanto Vanguard
4 Benalish Marshal
1 Hunted Witness
3 Pride of Conquerors
3 Conclave Tribunal
2 Legion's Landing
2 History of Benalia
21 Plains

Sideboard
1 Conclave Tribunal
3 Baffling End
3 Knight of Grace
2 Tocatli Honor Guard
2 Make a Stand
1 Remorseful Cleric
3 Shield Mare

This mono-White gem is based on LSV’s 2nd place finisher, and the main deck is damn close to what he put together. All that’s missing are 2x Legion’s Landing and 2x History of Benalia - both of which are like $6-$8 cards. There’s not a whole lot of cash value in this deck, but it looks like a really solid list that’s going to win you some prizes at your LGS on a Friday night. 

LIGHTNING AGGRO

4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Ghitu Lavarunner
4 Runaway Steam-Kin
4 Viashino Pyromancer
4 Goblin Chainwhirler
1 Rekindling Phoenix
2 Lava Coil
1 Banefire
4 Shock
4 Lightning Strike
4 Wizard's Lightning
2 Experimental Frenzy
22 Mountain

Sideboard
4 Fight with Fire
4 Lightning Mare
4 Diamond Mare
3 Fiery Cannonade

Again, we have another solid foundation without a ton of cash value, although the Rekindling Phoenix is sitting around $18 as I write this. The big holes here, are obviously Light Up the Stage, and Skewer the Critics. Another $10 or so will get you those cards. You could chose to add another Phoenix or two, but I’m not sure that’s necessary for the deck to run well. Last year’s Challengers had an RDW entry, and so does this years. Both are powerful, effective decks, that will leave you time to snack between rounds. 

DEADLY DISCOVERY

1 Vraska, Relic Seeker
4 Merfolk Branchwalker
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Wildgrowth Walker
4 Seekers' Squire
2 Jadelight Ranger
3 Ravenous Chupacabra
1 Plaguecrafter
2 District Guide
3 Golgari Findbroker
2 Find // Finality
4 Cast Down
3 The Eldest Reborn
2 Woodland Cemetery
4 Golgari Guildgate
1 Overgrown Tomb
2 Memorial to Folly
8 Forest
6 Swamp

Sideboard
4 Duress
2 Arguel's Blood Fast
3 Golden Demise
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Kraul Harpooner
2 Murder

The Golgari deck brings us our first, and only Planeswalker of the bunch, and oddly enough, it’sthe 6 CMC version, and not her cheaper 4-drop sister. We’ve also got our first and only Shock Land, along with a pair of Checklands. There’s some good value here, but upgrading this particular deck will be more expensive than with the first two. At a minimum, you’re going to want another pair of Jadelight Rangers, and perhaps a Vraska, Golgari Queen. You may also want 2-3 Assassin’s Trophy for removal. Then you’re going to want to smooth out your mana base with 2-3 more Overgrown Tombs, and 2 Woodland Cemeteries. More value to start, but definitely way more cost to bring it up to spec. 

ARCANE TEMPO

4 Goblin Electromancer
4 Crackling Drake
2 Murmuring Mystic
1 Arclight Phoenix
2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
4 Chart a Course
4 Lava Coil
1 Beacon Bolt
4 Opt
4 Radical Idea
4 Shock
2 Dive Down
1 Blink of an Eye
1 The Mirari Conjecture
3 Sulfur Falls
4 Izzet Guildgate
8 Island
7 Mountain

Sideboard
1 The Mirari Conjecture
1 Beacon Bolt
3 Negate
3 Entrancing Melody
3 Fiery Cannonade
2 Shivan Fire
2 Disdainful Stroke

Well, if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, here it is. MSRP on these is $30, and as I write this, Arclight Phoenix is selling for $30 on the low side. Channel Fireball and Star City Games both have them listed as “Out of Stock” at the moment. Probably waiting to see how the pricing shakes out over the next few days. The Niv-Mizzets are like $12. The Sulfur Falls are around $10, The  Mirari Conjecture, and Entrancing Melodies are around $3 apeace, hell even Cracking Drake is like a $1. This deck is PACKED with value. 

But much like the Golgari deck, it’s going to cost you quite a bit to bring up to full power. You need 4 Phoenix to make this a really competitive deck. The solution? Buy Four of them! Seriously, if you can get these for MSRP, buy four. It’s well worth the money. Arclight Phoenix is on a TEAR in Modern right now, and buying 4 of these gets you a long way toward building the Modern version. Even if the deck gets nerfed - most likely with a ban of Faithless Looting, the rest of the deck is still worth it, and Phoenix probably will still be seeing play in some way or another for a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it even show in Legacy. This is a golden opportunity to spend $120 and get yourself 80% of the way into Modern. That is a bargain. 

Overall, I think Wizards did a great job, here. I would have liked to have seen multiple copies of Arclight Phoenix and maybe one or two Assassin's Trophy in their respective decks, but that's really just asking for extra value in what's an already value-packed product. 

Honestly, It might be hard to get the Arcane Tempo deck for MSRP. I'm hoping that the fact that these will be available on Amazon for a reasonable price, will keep the price from bloating too far out of whack, but Star City Games already has them listed at $50. You may have to shop around.

I’m Tweeting now @23rdPlayable. I’m also occasionally streaming on Twitch as 23rdPlayable. And, as always, you can find me on Facebook in the MTG Arena Players group, where I’m a mod. 

Have fun, Play on, and Be kind to one another. 

New Horizons

Modern Horizons is coming out this summer. In case you don't know, this is going to be a supplemental product which will contain reprints from pre-Modern sets (before original Mirrodin and 8th Edition), and some new cards. The kicker is that all of the cards printed in this set will be Modern legal. There's tons of speculation on what might get reprinted, so here's my thoughts on the matter. 

Category 1 - No fucking way

Here's the cards that I think will categorically not be moved into Modern. 

True-Name Nemesis: Look, even R&D has admitted that this card is a mistake. It's oppressive in Legacy, and would be a stone cold terror in Modern. 

Brainstorm: This is a no brainer. Ponder and Preordain are already banned in Modern. No Way they redo Brainstorm. 

Hymn to Tourcah: Random discard effect can be extra punishing because they can easily strip lands from your hand. Not gonna happen. 

Chaos Warp: MARO has talked several times about how this is off-color mechanically for Red. 

Wasteland: Aside from the obvious power-level issues, I think they've hit a good balance between the need to deal with non-basic lands and not making land destruction too efficient with Field of Ruin. 

Leovold, Emissary of Trest: Much like Deathrite Shaman, I think Leovold just does too much, too efficiently. Granted, without Force of Will for protection, he's a little more fragile, but I think the power level is still just too high.

Armageddon: Again, efficient land destruction is just not what Wizards wants to do, basically ever again. I wouldn't ever expect to see this in Modern. 

Sylvan Library: As much as I'd love to have this little enchantment in Modern, the complexity of how it functions is just way too messy. It's possible that we could see a Modern version of it, one that just lets you look at the cards, instead of actually drawing them. 

Sinkhole: As I've mentioned, Wizards frowns on cheap land destruction. They're disinclined to even print it at 3 CMC anymore. We won't be seeing this card anytime soon. 

Natural Order: In a format where Birthing Pod, and Green Sun's Zenith are both banned, we're not going to get something as powerful as Natural Order. Sorry Elves. 

Ancient Tomb: Fast mana is a problem. It always has been. It's the primary reason why cards like the Moxen, Black Lotus, and Sol Ring are banned or restricted in various formats. 

City of Traitors: Did I say that fast Mana was a problem yet? Fast Mana is a problem.

Category 2 - Highly Unlikely

This category is for cards that I can't entirely rule out, but in my judgment won't be making the transition. 

Counterspell: Sadly, I think this is just too efficient for Wizards to push into Modern. They've long since settled on 3 CMC for unconditional, and 1-2 CMC with restrictions for countering spells. 

Force of Will: This is an interesting one. Yes, you can cast it for nothing, but it's not “free”. The life loss matters, and the card disadvantage is real. It's a necessary evil in Legacy and Vintage, to keep combo decks under control. But I'd guess it's still a little too much for Modern. 

Flusterstorm: I’ve been going back and forth on this - between no fucking way, and highly unlikely. In the end, I can’t rule it out entirely, because it is slightly conditional, but it’s still too damn efficient to push into Modern.  

Cabal Therapy: If nothing else, I think the preview of the card Cabal Therapist signals petty clearly that the namesake won't be in the set. It's likely we'll see similar takes like this on other cards like this, though. 

Swords to Plowshares: Path to Exile holds the White, 1 CMC removal spot. It's strictly worse than Swords, and I really can't see them reprinting it. This may see a similar treatment to Cabal Therapy, where there’s a creature (or perhaps Enchantment) which will give you this effect.

Smokestack: This is a tough one to assess. At first blush, I think it's a little complicated. It strongly benefits players who are deeply familiar with the rules, and how to stack things in their favor. That being said, this is a format that includes cards like Knowledge Pool and Eye of the Storm. Regardless, I think that we're not likely to see this in Modern any time soon. 

Entomb: Just too damn efficient. 

Exhume: Again, just too damn efficient. Both Entomb, and Exhume are deeply, deceptively powerful. I don't see Wizards fueling Reanimator on that level in Modern. 

Phyrexian Tower:  Did I say that fast Mana was a problem yet? Fast Mana is a problem.

Volrath's Stronghold: Recurrent reclamation seems a little too good for Modern. I don't think we'll be seeing this one. Sorry Nic Fit lovers. 

Category 3 - Possibles. 

I hesitate to actually try and predict what cards will be reprinted. However, I think these are some that could, and in some cases should see printings. 

Daze: I think this is the one counter spell that's at just the right power level to make it in. You're setting yourself back on lands, which is highly relevant in Modern, and it would definitely shake up the format. 

Baleful Strix: This card is deceptively powerful, and would give Sultai a great push in Modern. 

Pernicious Deed: This would be an excellent reprint. Flexible, but slow and restrictive enough to not be overpowering. A lower-cost, more limited version of O-Stone. 

Karakas: The applications for this card are very narrow, and it's Legendary to boot. I think this would be a safe reprint, and a nice addition to Modern Death & Taxes. 

Rishadan Port: Much like Karakas, the applications for this card are very narrow. It really only suits one type of play strategy, and one that's not super strong in Modern right now. 

Council's Judgment: A solid piece of removal that gets around Hexproof and Protection, but not too efficient at 3 CMC and restrictive in color at 1WW. Strong, but not too strong. 

Fireblast: Maybe you think Burn is too strong already, but I don't. A great closer for decks that sometimes just need that little extra to bring it home. Sacking two lands to cast it, again, while cheating mana costs, is by no means “free”. 

Chain Lightning: Burn is still just shy of Tier 1 in Modern. Recently, it's gotten a boost from Skewer the Critics. Would adding another 3 for 1 push it into a winning position? 

Goblin Welder: Boy this is an interesting one. I don't think that it really has a deck at the moment, but it could easily make one happen. It's very fragile, with only 1 toughness. I'd love to see what kind of decks people brew around it. 

Nevinyrral's Disk: This card is slow, and I don't think it does a better job than Oblivion Stone, which is an analogous card and Disk would be in direct competition for that slot in those decks. Probably safe to reprint, but also probably wouldn't affect the meta much if it was. 

Stifle: Another really interesting case. This is not an effect Wizards does often, and these days it only appears in the 3-4 CMC range. Trickbind doesn't see play at 2 CMC, but would dropping to 1 make it relevant? Hard to say. 

Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast: Solid sideboard tech, but rarely worth running in the main, unless you're in something like Painter's Servant. I think that both this, and it's Blue cousin could see a printing. 

Oubliette: Oh, Oubliette. Pauper's holy grail. It's a more restrictive version of Oblivion Ring, and Banishing Light, neither of which see any significant play. There's no way it's too powerful for Modern. I actually think there's a good chance we'll see this one, if for no other reason than to plaquate the Professor a bit. 

Vindicate: I think there's a very good chance we will see this printed forward. The only possible reason it might be held back is because it can hit Lands. 

I'm going to group the next three together. Wirewood Symbiote, Quirion Ranger, Birchlore Rangers: These are all very deck-specific cards. Like Burn, Elves had been just shy of a solid Tier 1 deck for a long time. Without Glimpse of Nature and Natural Order, I think it's still a manageable threat. If there's an Elf draft deck in the set, then I think these three are possible. If not, it's hard to see them printing them in a set without context. 

Likewise, these three. Goblin Matron, Goblin Ringleader, Goblin Lackey: Ringleader could certainly see a reprint. I don't think Matron is too powerful, but I'm dubious that it will make the cut. I can't imagine that Lacky will be in. The power level/mana cheat is just too damn high. 

Astral Slide: This would be so much fun in Modern. it would allow for brewing a whole new series of decks. Hopefully, they'd include it with Eternal Dragon and a few other, older Cyclers. 

Psychatog: This would be another really fun card. I don't think it would make all that much of a splash in the Meta, but it's a great bit of nostalgia. 

Veteran Explorer: Is this too abusable? I'm not sure. Without Phyrexian Tower or Cabal Therapy to pair with it, it's hard to say how good it would be. 

Well, that's about it for now. Thanks for taking the time to read through my crazy little list. What cards do you think I'm missing? What do you think I got wrong? 

I’m Tweeting now @23rdPlayable. I’m also occasionally streaming on Twitch as 23rdPlayable. And, as always, you can find me on Facebook in the MTG Arena Players group, where I’m a mod. 

Have fun, Play on, and Be kind to one another.