Jan 8, 2013
My article yesterday showed you my Modern BUG Infect list I will be running at a PTQ this weekend. I appreciate all the feedback that everyone left. As promised, today I will be showing you the RG Tron list that my buddy Jeff will be running for your critique.
As a recap, the goal of the RG Tron list is to assemble the Urza Engine (Urza’s Power Plant, Urza’s Mine, Urza’s Tower) powered up as quick as possible. This is where the name Tron comes from – assembling Voltron. Clever. The accomplishes this by using artifacts and spells that let you search out lands from your deck. Once Tron is assembled, you generally play a Karn Liberated to take control of the game or Wurmcoil Engines. Finally, once you have complete control and enough mana you play Emrakul for the victory.
I played a few rounds with the Tron deck and it’s an interesting deck to play and play against. When you are playing the deck it just doesn’t feel that powerful. It always feels like you are playing from behind, and it feels like dropping Karn just isn’t enough. The funny thing is that the deck doesn’t mind getting a little behind at first because that Karn you drop really does instantly swing most games back in your favor. Playing against Tron you feel like you are always right on the brink of losing. The way the Tron deck ramps is very scary. As the Tron opponent you get the impression that you are going to be just one turn too late to win.
With that said, I really liked the Infect matchup against Tron. We didn’t keep too specific numbers on wins and losses, but it seems like Infect has a pretty favorable win percentage. I don’t know how Infect will play against the field though. Tron seems to post a few more wins and consistent Top 32s in the big events, but Infect has a decent share of wins. It may be that Tron makes up a bigger percentage of the overall meta though. I’m not real sure how the meta divides up on the different decks to be honest. Neither of these decks are “best decks in the format,” but they are both competitive and have a chance of winning. Our tournament should be fairly small, so we should be giving ourself a decent chance for a respectable showing.
Here is the RG Tron list as he has it sleeved up right now:
"Modern RG Tron"
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There might be a few changes incoming with this deck, but this is a fairly standard build for a Modern RG Tron list. When he first played the list it felt really complicated to me. Then I got a turn to pilot the deck and it is a lot more straight forward than I first imagined. It was really kind of a fun deck to play because you get to ramp out some incredibly powerful cards. A turn three Karn Liberated feels really unfair, and the deck is capable of doing that consistently. It’s definitely a hard deck to deal with. Playing against it with Infect I just had to combo off and kill him before he could land a Karn most of the time. If he got a Karn on the board he had a really good chance of taking the game away from me.
So what do you think? Two decks with a few tweaks to make. Two decks ready to sleeve up and stomp all over that Modern PTQ! Obviously I’m exaggerating a bit, but hopefully we are doing our homework well enough to make a good showing. Let me know your thoughts on this deck or the Infect deck from yesterday and any tips you might have for our first run at a Modern PTQ.
@GeoffersonSpin
Lead Editor for 60cards.com where I hack up articles like a ninja with a red pen. I love tribal decks and overvaluing bad cards. Find me on MTGO as gberunnin.
Was thinking something like Bonfire of the Damned, Banefire, Devil’s Play, Red Sun’s Zenith, etc. could be really good as a one or two of. Bonfire especially I could see being really good in this deck, as a board sweeper/finisher with a lot of tron mana. Maybe even Jiwari, the Earth Aflame since when Channeled it can’t be countered? Also, why Grove of the Burnwillows, and not Stomping Ground and/or Rootbound Crag? Also, is Oblivion Stone really fast enough? I know a guy running a list kind of like this with tron to power out Karn, but he’s also got Steel Hellkite in the mix, which is pretty sick right off, plus is a board sweeper.
I think the deck prefers to not play shocklands because you will be spending the first couple turns not doing much of anything, so you will take some damage from your opponent. Tron oftentimes will take the game over with little life left, and by that point you don’t care what your opponent’s life is at because you will soon be powering out an Emrakul. That’s why Burnwillows are little better I think.
Oblivion Stone is really pretty easy to get off with the Tron mana. It works a lot better than I would have anticipated.
Bonfire is an interesting option. As are your other suggestions. I really appreciate the feedback. We will definitely take a look at those options and see what works.