• STORE
  • EVENTS
  • ARTICLES
  • DECKS
  • BUYLIST
  • HELP
  • GAME CENTER
  • NEWSLETTER
Advanced Search
Deck Builder
  • LOGIN /
     REGISTER
  • CART
    #
  • WISH
    LIST
  • Magic Singles
    • English
    • Foil English
    • Non-English
    • Foil Non-English
    • Scanned & Graded Cards
    • Misprints and Rarities
    • Wholesale Lots
  • Magic Sealed Product
    • Booster Boxes
    • Booster Packs
    • Box Sets
    • Bundles & Fat Packs
    • Duel Decks
    • Introductory Products
    • Multiplayer Products
    • Non-English Products
    • Tournament/Starter Packs
  • Gaming Supplies
    • Ultimate Guard®
    • Apparel
    • Binders
    • Books & Fat Pack Guides
    • Boxes & Bags
    • Clothing
    • Collectibles
    • Deck Boxes
    • Life Counters & Dice
    • Miscellaneous
    • Playmats
    • Sleeves
  • Specialty Items
    • Creature Collection
    • Gift Cards
    • Lithographs
    • Next Level Library
  • Digital Products
    • Complete Commander
    • Next Level Library
    • OMG: Official Miser's Guide
    • Tha Gatherin'
  • We Buy

Video Daily Digest: The Angriest Swans

Ross Merriam
9/18/17
#Select  #Modern  #MTGO  #SCGDFW  #DailyDigest 
  •  

A while back, I wrote an article advocating for players to put more lands into their decks. Today's deck's designer really took that message to heart because they are playing a whopping 42 lands. That's the same number that the original Lands deck in Legacy ran, and even they've cut down a few over the years.

But here the land count is rather appropriate because each one is very likely a Shock, as the rest of the cards include four copies of Seismic Assault and three of Molten Vortex. You can combine either of these effects with Swans of Bryn Argoll to create an easy draw engine. The combo with Seismic Assault is so powerful that you will often draw enough extra lands to end the game on the spot.

Should you not be so lucky, Treasure Hunt can prime the pumps quite effectively, drawing about 2.4 cards on average. Or you can go big with Day's Undoing, mitigating the downside of ending the turn with the ability to throw a few Shocks around so you don't fall too far behind.

We've seen these pieces put together before, especially the combo of Swans of Bryn Argoll and Seismic Assault, but it's only recently that we've had this level of redundancy, to the point where you're not including any sub-par cards in the maindeck. Every card is a cog in the engine or a Swan Song, the most efficient way to protect an engine that can answer 2/2 fliers when it's unplugged.

You might expect a ridiculous number of basics with such a high land count, but there are enough utility lands and multicolor lands to make the manabase work double duty. The acceleration from Gemstone Caverns and the mana fixing from Cascade Bluffs for your RRR enchantment are the most important of the bunch, but don't underestimate the scry from Temple of Enlightenment or the occasional attack from Wandering Fumarole.

After sideboarding you get a little bit more interactive, and the easy part is that you can trim lands without hurting your core that much, especially Gemstone Caverns when you're on the play. You won't be as explosive, but you'll be a lot more resilient with some targeted disruption, and as the game goes long, your redundancy should take over, even with an increased land count.

Seismic Swans
axel_foley (5-0)
0th Place at Test deck on 9/18/2017
Modern
 

Creatures (4)

  • 4 Swans of Bryn Argoll

Lands (42)

  • 5 Island
  • 11 Mountain
  • 4 Cascade Bluffs
  • 2 Shivan Reef
  • 4 Spirebluff Canal
  • 4 Steam Vents
  • 2 Swiftwater Cliffs
  • 4 Temple of Epiphany
  • 2 Wandering Fumarole
  • 4 Gemstone Caverns

Spells (14)

  • 3 Molten Vortex
  • 4 Seismic Assault
  • 2 Swan Song
  • 1 Day's Undoing
  • 4 Treasure Hunt

    Sideboard

  • 1 Laboratory Maniac
  • 3 Leyline of the Void
  • 1 Molten Vortex
  • 2 Ceremonious Rejection
  • 1 Echoing Truth
  • 1 Mana Leak
  • 1 Spell Pierce
  • 1 Swan Song
  • 2 Anger of the Gods
  • 1 Shattering Spree
 
 


  •  
#Select  #Modern  #MTGO  #SCGDFW  #DailyDigest 
« Previous Article
The Ixalan Finance Review, Part 3
Next Article »
The Ixalan Flavor Review

About Ross Merriam

Ross has been playing competitive Magic for over ten years and has been a fixture on the SCG TourĀ® since 2012. With a highly analytical approach, he stresses playing fundamentally sound Magic with a preference toward proactive strategies. Always ready and willing to teach, his quest to achieve competitive success will help guide your own path to improvement.

@RossHunneds Twitter
Read more by Ross Merriam


ORGANIZED PLAY
  • THIS WEEK
  • NEXT WEEK
  • +
  • THIS Saturday, April 28
  • Atlanta OPEN
  • IQ Danbury, CT - Gamers Gambit
  • IQ Frederick, MD - Tournament City Games
  • THIS Sunday, April 29
  • Atlanta OPEN
  • Atlanta Modern CLASSIC
  • Atlanta Standard CLASSIC
  • Atlanta Legacy CLASSIC
  • IQ+ New Holland, PA - Six Feet Under Games
  • IQ Newington, CT - Tabletop Shop
  • Saturday, May 5
  • Baltimore OPEN
  • Sunday, May 6
  • Baltimore OPEN
  • Baltimore Modern CLASSIC
  • Baltimore Standard CLASSIC
  • Baltimore Legacy CLASSIC

SCG TOUR ® EVENTS

  • Apr 28 - 29: Atlanta OPEN
  • Apr 29 : Atlanta Modern CLASSIC
  • Apr 29 : Atlanta Standard CLASSIC
  • Apr 29 : Atlanta Legacy CLASSIC
  • May 5 - 6: Baltimore OPEN
  • May 6 : Baltimore Modern CLASSIC
  • May 6 : Baltimore Standard CLASSIC
  • May 6 : Baltimore Legacy CLASSIC
  • May 19 - 20: Louisville OPEN
  • May 20 : Louisville Modern CLASSIC

  • Complete SCG Tour® Schedule | Coverage Archive
1 CALEB W SCHERER 175
2 BENJAMIN NIKOLICH 169
3 JONATHAN ROSUM 167
4 JIM I DAVIS 156
5 TODD STEVENS 148
6 DANNY JESSUP 147
7 ZAN SYED 143
8 DYLAN DONEGAN 141
9 COLLINS MULLEN 130
10 PIETER TUBERGEN 125
11 BRENNAN M DECANDIO 118
12 ANDREW JESSUP 105
13 KEVIN JONES 102
14 JODY M KEITH 97
15 KAZU NEGRI 96
16 JULIAN JOHN 95
DECKLISTS
  • STANDARD
  • MODERN
  • LEGACY
  • 4/07 Invi Qualifier Durham, US
  • 4/07 Grand Prix Seattle, US
  • 3/25 SCG Classic Cincinnati, US
  • 3/24 Grand Prix Kyoto, JP
  • 3/24 SCG Team Open Cincinnati, US
  • 3/10 Grand Prix Madrid, ES
  • 3/10 SCG Classic Dallas, US
  • 2/24 Grand Prix Memphis, US
  • 2/18 Invi Qualifier Medford, US
  • 2/18 SCG Classic Indianapolis, US
  • 2/10 Invi Qualifier Glassboro, US
  • 2/03 Preliminary PTQ Roanoke, US
  • 1/28 SCG Classic Philadelphia, US
  • 1/27 SCG Team Open Philadelphia, US
  • 1/21 SCG Classic Dallas, US
  • 1/20 SCG Team Open Dallas, US
  • 1/06 Grand Prix Santa Clara, US
  • 12/17 Invi Qualifier Clarksville, US
  • 12/16 Invi Qualifier Port Charlotte, US
  • 12/03 SCG Classic Roanoke, US
View More Standard Decks - Search Decklists
  • 4/15 Invi Qualifier Cary, US
  • 4/15 Invi Qualifier Niles, US
  • 4/14 Invi Qualifier Moore, US
  • 4/14 Invi Qualifier Columbia, US
  • 4/14 Invi Qualifier Roanoke, US
  • 4/14 Grand Prix Hartford, US
  • 4/14 Invi Qualifier Columbia, US
  • 4/14 Grand Prix Sydney, AU
  • 4/08 Invi Qualifier Bernardsville, US
  • 4/08 Invi Qualifier Falls Church, US
  • 4/08 SCG Classic Milwaukee, US
  • 4/07 Invi Qualifier Denton, US
  • 4/07 Invi Qualifier Lexington, US
  • 4/07 Invi Qualifier Kingsport, US
  • 4/07 Invi Qualifier Toronto, US
  • 4/07 Invi Qualifier Glassboro, US
  • 4/07 SCG Modern Open Milwaukee, US
  • 3/31 Invi Qualifier Bernardsville, US
  • 3/25 Invi Qualifier Middletown, US
  • 3/25 Invi Qualifier Falls Church, US
View More Modern Decks - Search Decklists
  • 4/08 SCG Classic Milwaukee, US
  • 4/06 Grand Prix Seattle, US
  • 3/25 SCG Classic Cincinnati, US
  • 3/24 Grand Prix Kyoto, JP
  • 3/24 SCG Team Open Cincinnati, US
  • 3/10 Grand Prix Madrid, ES
  • 3/04 SCG Classic Worcester, US
  • 3/03 SCG Open Worcester, US
  • 1/28 SCG Classic Philadelphia, US
  • 1/27 Invi Qualifier Columbia, US
  • 1/27 SCG Team Open Philadelphia, US
  • 1/21 SCG Classic Dallas, US
  • 1/20 SCG Team Open Dallas, US
  • 1/07 SCG Classic Columbus, US
  • 1/06 Grand Prix Santa Clara, US
  • 11/19 SCG Classic Baltimore, US
  • 11/18 SCG Team Open Baltimore, US
  • 10/29 SCG Classic Washington, US
  • 10/28 SCG Open Washington, US
  • 10/22 Invi Qualifier Bristol, US
View More Legacy Decks - Search Decklists

 

Connect with us

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive content, sale notifications, and more!

Need help?
Contact Us
Help Center
Organized Play
SCG Tour
Schedule
Leaderboard
Coverage
Coverage Archives
In-Store Programs
Invitational Qualifiers
Game Night
Prerelease Playmats
Organizers
StarCityGames.com
About Us
Careers
Game Center
5728 Williamson Road NW

Roanoke, VA 24012


© 2018 StarCityGames.com®
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Statement | Refund & Return Policy