Top Deck Games
Modern League (Season 11)
October 2021
Mono-Red Burn
Main Deck
7 Mountain
4 Arid Mesa
4 Sunbaked Canyon
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Fiery Islet
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Flame Rift
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Skewer the Critics
4 Skullcrack
4 Searing Blaze
Sideboard
4 Roiling Vortex
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Smash to Smithereens
3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 1 Mono-Green Tron (win)
RD 2 UW Shark Control (win)
RD 3 Rakdos Tempo (win)
RD 4 Yorion Esper Control (win)
RD 5 Jeskai Prowess (win)
RD 6 Esper Chalice Control (win)
RD 7 Blue Living End (loss)
RD 8 Esper Reanimator (win)
RD 9 Mono-Blue Merfolk (loss)
RD 10 UR Murktide-DRC-Pilferer (win)
RD 11 Elementals (win)
RD 12 UW Spirits (win)
RD 13 Jund Ragavan (win)
RD 14 Jund SagaVan (win)
RD 15 Hammer Time (win)
RD 16 RW Hammer Time (win)
RD 17 GB Elves (win)
RD 18 Dredge (win)
RD 19 Humans (win)
RD 20 *unable to play
RD 21 *unable to play
RD 22 *player dropped
RD 23 *player dropped
Q: vs. Elementals (win)
S: vs. Esper Reanimator (win)
F: vs. Spirits (win)
RD 1 vs. Mono-Green Tron
Game one: The opposing player mulled to two cards in hand. Not a very good way to open the round but a win is a win no matter how it is.
Game two is here.
out: 4 Searing Blaze and 3 Lava Spike
in: 4 Smash to Smithereens and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
*I did not see much in game one. So I thought he's on like muscle tron or anything like that. That's why brought those Bridges in.
*I took out three Lava Spike because I expected Chalice of the Void for one from him. So I'd rather have those three to cast bolt spells (Rift Bolt and Skewer the Critics) in hand than a useless duck.
RD 2 vs. UW Shark Control
Game two: Two Skewer the Critics, and Eidolon the Great Revel were among the cards in my hand.
I was trying to figure out what is the best route to take. Is it A.) attack + two Skewer the Critics dealing eight damages this turn or B.) attack and summon Eidolon of the Great Revel?
I swung the Zendikar goblin to help me determine which route to take. Goblin Guide's trigger revealed Counterspell. Okay. With that, I summoned the red enchantment creature instead of calling those bolts in this turn.
It looked like I made the right call because the opponent had no spot removal. Yes, he was denying the resolution of my red spell but, at the same time, he was taking two damage off the Eidolon the Great Revel's trigger. So mathematically speaking, he's only denying one point of damage per counterspell.
out: 4 Lava Spike
in: 4 Roiling Vortex
*This kind of deck fights burn with gain life, Chalice for one, Teferi, Time Ravaler (trying to deny you of whatsoever end of turn shinanigan you have in your sleeves), Solitude, Timely Reinforcement, Sunset Revelry, and Kor Firewalker are just some of the cards that I can think of. Hence Roiling Vortex.
RD 3 vs Rakdos Tempo
I think all-in-all, my one-drop army only dealt six damages. Burn spells probably contributed nine. What really helped me to victory was his land drops. Fetch into shock taking two and dropping shocklands paying two life points for him to enjoy it immediately.
out: 4 Skullcrack and 3 Goblin Guide
in: 4 Relic of Progenitus and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
*The deck has Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger and Lurrus of the Dream-Den so I think it is best to bring in those Relics of Progenitus.
*Bridges were also there for some mid to late-game defense versus his army.
*Took out three Goblin Guides because his deck has a ton of creature removals. Plus the opposing deck does not run that much land.
RD 4 vs. Yorion Esper Control
Eidolon of the Great Revel, bolt spells, and Roiling Vortex's anti-life gain ability dictated the tempo of the game.
out: 3 Goblin Guide and 4 Rift Bolt
in: 4 Roiling Vortex and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 5 vs Jeskai Prowess
In our final game, my one-drop army took care most of the team's scoring load. I dedicated my bolt spells to his creatures.
out: 3 Goblin Guide
in: 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 6 vs Esper Control
I managed to win this round despite him summoning a turn-two Chalice of the Void for one. Here's how: (i) self-inflicted damage from his lands; (ii) Eidolon of the Great Revel's trigger, and (iii) Skewer the Critics not being one-drop spell.
out: 4 Rift Bolt and 4 Searing Blaze
in: 4 Roiling Vortex and 4 Smash to Smithereens
RD 7 vs. Blue Living End
This is really a bad match-up for burn. Blue Living End's speed is way too fast for team burn to handle.
out: 4 Searing Blaze, 4 Rift Bolt, and 3 Sullcrack
in: 4 Roiling Vortex, 4 Relic of Progenitus, and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 8 vs. Esper Reanimator
Prismatic Endings took care of my early beaters while Chalice of the Void (on one) kept my Lightning Bolt and Lava Spike at bay. Luckily, Eidolon of the Great Revels, Skewer the Critics, and Flame Rift were there to finish what team one-drop army had started.
out: 4 Searing Blaze and 3 Lava Spike
in: 4 Relic of Progenitus and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
*I forgot to bring in Smash to Smithereens in this game.
RD 9 vs Mono-Blue Merfolk
Team Mono-Blue had a Cavern of Souls and two Chalice of the Voids, for one (summoned on turned two) and for two (summoned on turned four) out on the table. I am a merfolk player myself so I simply conceded instead of wasting each other's time and energy.
out: 4 Goblin Guide and 3 Skullcrack
in: 4 Smash to Smithereens and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 10 vs UR Murktide-DRC-Pilferer
Game one is here.
Game two: Damages off his lands helped me win the game.
out: 4 Skullcrack, 2 Goblin Guide, and 1 Skewer the Critics
in: 3 Ensnaring Bridge and 4 Relic of Progenitus,
RD 11 vs Elementals
RD 12 vs Spirits
There were multiple combat situations wherein I only attacked Monastery Swiftspear/s without any prowess triggers despite holding bolt spells because I opted to use those bolt spells defensively instead of aggressively. And it worked. Timing is king in these kinds of matches. Win.
vs. Elementals
out: 3 Rift Bolt and 4 Lava Spike
in: 3 Ensnaring Bridge and 4 Roiling Vortex
vs. Spirits
out: 3 Goblin Guide
in: 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 13 vs Ragavan Jund
While three Goblin Guides were doing most of the scoring load, the opponent was drawing bricks. And by the time he started drawing removals, it was too late because his life point was with two-bolt spells away. Flame Rift and Skewer won me the round.
out: 4 Skullcrack
in: 4 Relic of Progenitus
RD 14 vs SagaVan Jund
Game two is here. In the deciding game, my life point total was still at fourteen while he's at seven.
The opponent retrieved his Lurrus from the companion zone to hand. And expected him to summon the 3/2 black-white cat on his next turn. But I was wrong. He called Wrenn and Six first unto the table first. Used Wrenn and Six's +1 ability. Picked a fetch from his graveyard - dropped and cracked it for Stomping Ground paying two life points (bringing him down to four) into Lurrus of the Dream-Den. Brought Mishra's Bauble back to life and cracked it targeting me. My top deck - Flame Rift. Win.
out: 4 Skullcrack
in: 4 Relic of Progenitus
RD 15 vs. Hammer Time
The player conceded because of a personal errand.
RD 16 vs. RW Hammer Time
I was expecting some turn two or turn three hammer shinanigan but such did not occur. I took advantage of his slowness by killing his unequipped creatures with fire.
out: 3 Goblin Guide and 4 Lava Spike
in: 4 Smash to Smithereens and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 17 vs. GB Elves
I won game one.
Game two was interesting because we ended up draw. How? Because of Flame Rift. I had no choice but to do it because if the opponent gets another turn, I'll be dead to his elven community.
Ensnaring Bridge was the MVP in game three because it single-handedly stopped the elven community from attacking. Win!
out: 3 Goblin Guide
in: 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 18 vs Dredge
Game one: Early Creeping Chills plus Nacromoebas triggering Prized Amalgams were too much for my Goblin Guide and Lightning Bolts to handle.
Game two: The opponent had an opening Leyline of Sanctity. So I had no choice but to clear his board with burn spells then race for the win with red creatures.
Game three: The opponent began the turn with an Arid Mesa into Sacred Foundry into Shriekhorn. NO LEYLINE OF SANCTITY! SWEET!
The opponent amassed a great number of cards in his graveyard just turns after dropping Shriekhorn. On my turn, I summoned Relic of Progenitus and immediately cracked it as soon as it landed on the table giving him no room to respond.
The opponent summoned another Shriekhorn and in two turns he was able to refill his graveyard. I topdecked another Relic of Progenitus. Summoned it. And cracked it as soon as it hits the table. After that second hate, the opponent was not able to recoup. I eventually won the game with Monastery Swiftspear plus bolt spells acting as removal for any potential blockers.
out: 4 Lava Spike and 3 Skewer the Critics
in: 4 Relic of Progenitus and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
RD 19 vs 5-c Humans
The opposing player conceded because of personal errands.
RD20 and RD21
I was not able to play my last two rounds because of personal errands.
Quarters vs Elementals
Just like what I did in rounds 11th and 12th, I opted to use my bolts defensively rather than utilize them to power up my offense. Timing is king in games like this.
out: 4 Lava Spike and 3 Rift Bolt
in: 4 Roiling Vortex and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
Semis vs Esper Reanimator
Burn spells and one-drop creatures did great but it was the trio of Eidolon of the Great Revel, Relic of Progenitus, and Smash to Smithereens who got me to the finals.
out: 4 Searing Blaze, 4 Lava Spike, 1 Rift Bolt, and 2 Goblin Guide
in: 4 Relic of Progenitus, 4 Smash to Smithereens, and 3 Ensnaring Bridge
Finals vs Spirits
Game one: My hand on my last turn: two Searing Blazes and a land. I had Monastery Swiftspear on my table together with three lands. I checked his life points: nine then checked on his table: tapped lands and a Skyclave Apparition.
I dropped my land. Fired my first Searing Blaze targetting the Apparition. Stack that spell. Prowess triggers. Then fired my second Searing Blaze. Prowess triggers anew. The opponent took six. 3/4 Monastery Swiftspears attacked. Win.
Game two: On my last turn, my table had lands, creatures, and an Ensnaring Bridge. And I only had one card in hand. On his side of the table, lands and two Mausoleum Wanderers and a Supreme Phantom. Both life points were pretty low, mine was at two and his was at seven.
I thought I had control of the situation. But I was so wrong. He summoned Suspend targetting his Supreme Phantom. Then swung both of his 1/1 Wanderers for the win. Nice.
Game three is here.
out: 3 Flame Rift
in: 3 Ensnaring Bridge
Thank you for reading!
