Riley Knight included my BW Tokens list as one of three “wild brews” ahead of the Mythic Championship. Here is the article: Article.
Riley Knight posts my list on Channel Fireball
Another 5-0 Competitive League
Hi All, I just went 5-0 for the third time in a MTGO competitive modern league with BW Tokens this year. I made one change since my Top 4 at SCG Syracuse last month: adding one Kaya for a Thoughtseize maindeck. You can find my Syracuse decklist here: Decklist. Here’s my current decklist:
Round 1 – Jeskai Midrange – Won 2-0
This matchup feels much better with Geist and without the more controlling cards.
In – 2 Duress, 1 Burrenton
Out – 3 Auriok Champion
Round 2 – Jund Traverse – Won 2-1
A bit of a different take on Jund, this version ran Traverse and Grim Flayer. A bunch of Tarmogoyfs after an Anger won my opponent game 2.
In – 2 RIP, Fatal Push, Burrenton, Wrath
Out – 2 Seize, 2 IOK, 1 Zealous (I didn’t see Bob so I took this out)
Round 3 – Grixis Death’s Shadow – Won 2-0
Happy, happy days to see this deck.
In – Halo, Push, EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Wrath (draw)
Out – 2 Zealous, 2 Sorin, 1 Seize
Round 4 – Mardu Pyromancer – Won 2-1
Selfeisek, the master himself. Game 1 he blindsided me with Blood Moon for the win. Blood Moon is the best way this deck or Mono-Red Phoenix to kill us. Thankfully, Mardu Pyromancer is one of BW Tokens’ very best matchups, and even against one of the top MTGO players, we’re heavily favored.
In – Burrenton, Push
Out – 2 Virtue
Round 5 – UR Kiki – Won 2-0
Game 2 I made a huge error not to run Burrenton out earlier. Anger of the Gods showed up promptly. Because of my misplay, the match went on until I had to fade a spell snare on the fateful turn displayed above. I got lucky and escaped.
In – Burrenton, Halo
Out – 2 BB
FINAL THOUGHTS
Similar to my string of 4-1s, good matchups all around, and no Tron, Amulet, or Whir. I haven’t faced Izzet Phoenix in my past 30 online matchups. Not sure if that’s an anomaly or if paper Magic is just behind. It’s always good to see Grixis Death’s Shadow and Jund, and you can expect to see those decks in paper tournaments. Mardu Pyromancer, not so much, but if Mardu Pyromancer and Mono-Red Phoenix ever rise to the top of Modern, BW Tokens will be as good as gold. It seems it already is for me.
Three Consecutive 4-1s on MTGO
Hi All, I went 4-1 in my last three consecutive MTGO competitive modern leagues with BW Tokens, for a total record of 12-3. I made one change since my Top 4 at SCG Syracuse last month. You can find my Syracuse decklist here: Decklist.
The change: I added one Kaya, Orzhov Usurper and took out 1 Thoughtseize maindeck. I haven’t been high on discard for some time and the nail in the coffin for me was Dominic Harvey still beating me in the Top 4 at Syracuse after I had removed ALL the win conditions from his Whir Prison hand. Since my version of BW Tokens is so slow, discard is not as good. Discard in this deck is theoretically used to slow the opponent down, but since my deck is slow as well, I can’t prevent a few top decks from spoiling my day. Adding Kaya makes the deck worse against its bad matchups, which I still win sometimes (I have a 5-4 record vs. Tron over nine total competitive Modern league games in 2019, which is insane), but makes the good matchups better.
If you’ve been reading my blog, you know where I stand on two different routes this deck can take. My version of BW Tokens (more controlling) plays Auriok Champion and Spectral Procession while another version (more aggro) runs 0 Auriok Champion and 4 History of Benalia instead of 4 Spectral. The idea with the aggro version is that it makes your bad matchups better (e.g., Tron, Amulet, Whir). To me, it makes sense to run more discard in this version, as you can close out games faster. However, it’s my belief that the aggro version of Tokens doesn’t significantly improve your bad matchups, and I’d much rather have Auriok and Spectral (and now Kaya) to make BW Tokens’ good matchups even better.
Round 1 – Esper Control – Loss 1-2
Game 3 I misevaluated what was better to jam into a Cryptic – Spectral or Kaya. I ran Spectral into certain death, but I should have saved the tokens for the next turn. Thief of Sanity stole that game.
Esper Control seems to be the next iteration of an answer to Izzet Phoenix, and so I expect to see more Esper moving forward.
In – 2 Duress, Lost Legacy, Fatal Push
Out – 4 Auriok
Round 2 – Storm – Win 2-1
I was stuck on 2 lands game 3, but I got there with a Kaya ultimate after my opponent made infinity goblins. Runed Halo (on grapeshot) and RIP also helped.
In – 2 Duress, 2 RIP, Lost Legacy, Push, Halo
Out – 4 Auriok, 2 Secure, 1BB
Round 3 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Win 2-0
This deck is your best matchup of all-time. You can lose to this deck, but I haven’t yet. I’m hopeful this deck can hang vs. Esper Control and continue to rise against Tron and Amulet.
In – 2 RIP, 2 Duress, 1 EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Push, 1 Halo (play around blood moon)
Out – 2 Virtue, 1 Sorin, 2 Seize, 2 BB, 1 Zealous
Round 4 – Affinity – Win 2-0
People can really hate on Tokens, but it has some incredibly lopsided matchups against top decks. Affinity isn’t close to a bye, but you’d be very happy to face it every round of a tournament if you could.
In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant, Halo, Burr, EE, Push, Wrath
Out – 4 Auriok, 2 Seize, 2 IOK, 2 Secure
Round 5 – Humans – Win 2-1
Auriok is not good here, but it’s not bad and can put in some work. This matchup is probably slightly un-favored because they get bigger so much faster. If you can kill a few early creatures, you’re favored.
In – EE, Push, Wrath, Halo
Out – 2 Seize, 2 Auriok
Round 6 – Dredge – Win 1-0
After decimating my opponent game 1, my opponent concedes before game 2. This matchup is usually excellent, but a fast start from Dredge can sometimes turn into a grave experience.
In – Runed Halo, 2 RIP, Burrenton, Lost Legacy
Out – 2 Seize, 2 IOK, 1 BB
Round 7 – Whir of Invention – Loss 0-2
I was about to win game 2 after a million turns, but a turn before I drew Disenchant for the win, my opponent drew Chalice and set it on 2. This matchup is as bad as it seems. I haven’t beaten it yet and I’m confident it’s worse than Tron.
In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant, 2 RIP, 1 Runed Halo (on Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas with RIP out), 2 Duress, 1 Lost Legacy (on Whir of Invention)
Out – 3 Sorin, 4 Auriok, 4 Path
Round 8 – 8 Rack – Win 2-0
Kaya is the nuts in the matchup. Shrieking Affliction and the Rack are a joke when she comes down.
In – 2 Disenchant, 2 Duress, Runed Halo, EE
Out – 4 Path, 2 Zealous
Round 9 – Grixis Death’s Shadow – Win 2-1
If there’s ever a matchup to feel confident when you get blown out game 1, it’s this matchup. After a perfect sequence of cards game 1 not involving temur battle rage, Shadow’s best win condition, I somehow lose to anglers and snaps. Game 2 and 3 my opponent plays multiple Kozelik’s Return (negating Burrenton!) and tons of Stubborn Denials, but BW Tokens is likely their worst matchup and even with their reinforcements and best cards against me, I escape with a win.
In – Halo, Push, EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Wrath (draw)
Out – 2 Zealous, 2 Sorin, 1 Seize
Round 10 – Affinity Frenzy – Win 2-1
In game 1, Zealous Persecution wrathing the board removed all doubt I need two of these maindeck and should not consider replacing one with Kaya. Aether Grid singlehandedly killed me game 2. You typically win games where they don’t have Grid, and lose games they do. Stony Silence did its thing game 3.
In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant, Halo, Burr, EE, Push, Wrath
Out – 4 Auriok, 2 Seize, 2 IOK, 2 Secure
Round 11 – Humans – Win 2-1
In – EE, Push, Wrath, Halo
Out – 2 Seize, 2 Auriok
This matchup always seems to be a sweat.
Round 12 – Boggles – Win 2-0
This match is favorable and is all about Rancor. You usually lose when they have Rancor. If they don’t have Rancor, Sorin destroys them with his ultimate.
In – Halo, 2 Duress, 2 Disenchant, EE, Push (for Kor Spiritdancer)
Out – 4 Auriok, 3 Path
Round 13 – Dredge – Loss 0-2
Kaya was too slow on the play game 2. My opponent had explosive starts both games.
In – Runed Halo (conflagrate), 2 RIP, Burrenton, Lost Legacy
Out – 2 Seize, 2 IOK, 1 BB
Round 14 – Naya Zoo Win 2-0
In – Burrenton, EE, Halo, Push, Wrath
Out – 2 Seize, 2 BB, 1 Zealous
Round 15 – Hollow One – Win 2-1
In – Halo, 2 RIP, Burrenton, Push, Wrath
Out – 2 Seize, 2 IOK, 2 Zealous
FINAL THOUGHTS
Some pretty good matchups here, and I dodged Tron and Amulet. Facing Whir once out of 15 games was about what I expected. No Izzet Phoenix was surprising.
Tokens will continue to be solid if Dredge, Shadow, and Affinity continue to be well-represented. Izzet Phoenix and Humans aren’t great matchups, but they aren’t bad, and hopefully Dredge and Grixis Death Shadow continue to rise in the meta to combat those decks.
1,000 Matches on MTGO
1,000 Matches on MTGO
On April 23, 2015, I played my first match on MTGO with Modern BW Tokens. On March 14, 2019, I played my 1,000th. All of the matches minus 10 (two 5-game friendly leagues, where I went 4-6) were what I would consider competitive: 8-player queues, 2-player queues, competitive leagues, PTQ preliminaries, and MOCS monthlies. All 80 of my 2019 matches were competitive league matches. While my decklist changed often and I didn’t record each individual decklist I ran online, my decklists closely matched what I played in Grand Prix around that time, so I’m providing all my Modern BW Tokens Grand Prix decklists below from 2015 on. While I sporadically ran some more unique online versions, such as splashing red for Blood Moon and main decking Slaughter Games, the majority of my decklists didn’t stray far from the lists I ran at the Grand Prix.
My 2019 decklist for each of the 80 competitive league matches stayed the same with the exception of swapping Wrath of God in for Damping Sphere in the sideboard. You might also notice my list is off by one card from my SCG Classic Top 4 and Grand Prix Toronto Day 2 list: I run 3 Arid Mesa online, 2 Mesa and 1 Heath in real life.
Here’s my updated list: Tokens
While I admit major limitations of this analysis including not providing complete decklists, my own subjective coding of matchup names, and no context of the metagame at the time of each match, I know of no other 1,000 game analysis from someone dedicated to playing Modern BW Tokens over a three and a half year period of time. A data-driven process should lend itself well toward supporting or rejecting certain assumptions and “feelings” about BW Tokens matchups or the deck in general.
First, results by year.
Modern BW Tokens Results by Year
| YEAR | # OF MATCHES | WINS | LOSSES | WIN% |
| 2015 | 265 | 148 | 117 | .558 |
| 2016 | 451 | 290 | 161 | .643 |
| 2017 | 148 | 59 | 89 | .399 |
| 2018 | 56 | 24 | 32 | .429 |
| 2019 | 80 | 47 | 33 | .588 |
| TOTAL | 1,000 | 568 | 432 | .568 |
Discussion
As you can see from the chart, my overall win rate for BW Tokens is 56.8%. This is a result I can stand behind. For someone like me, who isn’t a top-level player and doesn’t spend a ton of time playing Magic, going 56% vs. people who care enough to play MTGO competitively is what I would consider a success. Furthermore, my in real life Grand Prix win % with BW Tokens (not counting byes) is 56.4%, so my MTGO win % being higher feels like a win.
The real win came in 2015 and 2016. I went a whopping 64% across a whopping 451 games in 2016, leading me to conclude that BW Tokens was EXCELLENT in the meta in 2016 and that it’s been downhill since. However, all my recent yammering about how BW Tokens is favorable in the meta once again (see every blog post below) seems well-founded, as my win percentage over 80 games in 2019 (58.8%) is even higher than my overall win percentage. Based on my results, BW Tokens is in a better spot now than it has been since 2016.
Ok, here are the results by matchup. I’m including data for all matchups, but note many are just one or two matches, making it very hard to draw conclusions from such a small sample.
Modern BW Tokens Results by Matchup
| Matchup | Matches | Win % |
| 8 Rack | 3 | 67% |
| Abzan Midrange | 21 | 57% |
| Abzan Blue Good Stuff | 1 | 0% |
| Ad Nauseam | 19 | 37% |
| Affinity | 50 | 70% |
| Allies | 2 | 0% |
| Altar of Brood | 2 | 100% |
| Amulet Titan | 11 | 27% |
| Bant Eldrazi | 11 | 9% |
| Bant Knigthfall | 8 | 13% |
| Bant Midrange | 1 | 100% |
| Bant Training Grounds | 1 | 100% |
| BG Deathcloud | 1 | 0% |
| BG Journey to Eternity Grave Titan | 1 | 100% |
| BG Rock | 4 | 75% |
| Big Red | 6 | 83% |
| Blue Moon | 6 | 66% |
| Boggles | 28 | 64% |
| BR Hangarback (Greenless Jund) | 1 | 100% |
| Burn | 67 | 58% |
| BW D&T/Deadguy Ale/Eldrazi | 13 | 46% |
| BW Tokens (Mirror) | 9 | 78% |
| CoCo Decks (non-counters) | 12 | 58% |
| Control – 4 Color | 1 | 100% |
| Counters Company | 4 | 0% |
| Cruel Control | 1 | 0% |
| Dark Naya Kiki Resto Midrange 62 card pile | 1 | 100% |
| Death and Taxes (not BW) | 9 | 56% |
| Death’s Shadow (non-Grixis) | 15 | 53% |
| Delver | 26 | 81% |
| Dredge | 25 | 64% |
| Eldrazi (non-Tron) | 6 | 67% |
| Eldrazi Tron | 15 | 20% |
| Elves | 16 | 63% |
| Enchantments | 6 | 67% |
| Esper Control | 7 | 29% |
| Esper Midrange | 1 | 100% |
| Faeries | 8 | 63% |
| Fiery Justice/Tainted Remedy 4 Color | 1 | 100% |
| Footsteps Combo – Protean Hulk Body Double | 1 | 0% |
| Four Color Creatures Fliers | 1 | 0% |
| Four Color Gifts Worm Harvest/Raven’s Crime | 1 | 100% |
| Genesis Wave – GR | 1 | 0% |
| Goblins | 10 | 90% |
| Goryo’s Vengeance (non Grishoalbrand) | 4 | 75% |
| Grishoalbrand | 5 | 80% |
| Grixis Control | 15 | 73% |
| Grixis Death’s Shadow | 13 | 85% |
| Grixis Pyromancer | 1 | 100% |
| Grixis Twin | 8 | 75% |
| GW Angels | 2 | 100% |
| GW Hatebears | 2 | 50% |
| GW Séance | 1 | 0% |
| Hardened Scales | 1 | 100% |
| Heroic BW | 1 | 100% |
| Hollow One | 4 | 50% |
| Humans | 15 | 47% |
| Infect | 38 | 53% |
| Izzet Phoenix | 6 | 33% |
| Jeskai | 20 | 60% |
| Jund | 38 | 79% |
| Kiln Fiend Combo | 3 | 67% |
| KCI | 12 | 75% |
| Kiki Evolution | 1 | 100% |
| Lantern | 21 | 38% |
| Living End | 18 | 33% |
| Loam – Bant Unburial Rites Gifts | 1 | 100% |
| Mardu | 10 | 90% |
| Merfolk | 20 | 40% |
| Mill – UB | 4 | 25% |
| Mono-Black | 4 | 100% |
| Mono-Green Aggro | 4 | 75% |
| Mono-Red Phoenix | 8 | 100% |
| Mono-White Aggro | 3 | 100% |
| Naya Aggro/Blitz | 4 | 100% |
| Naya Walkers Doubling Season | 1 | 0% |
| Norin the Wary | 3 | 67% |
| Ponza | 15 | 60% |
| Prison – BR | 1 | 0% |
| Puresteel Paladin Equipment Mono White | 1 | 0% |
| Rally the Ancestors | 4 | 100% |
| Red Deck Wins | 7 | 86% |
| Restore Balance | 4 | 50% |
| RG Tree Shamans | 1 | 100% |
| RG Valakut Breach | 5 | 20% |
| RG Vengevine | 4 | 50% |
| RW Aggro | 2 | 50% |
| RW Angels | 2 | 50% |
| RW Nahiri Control | 4 | 75% |
| Scapeshift | 17 | 47% |
| Slivers | 2 | 50% |
| Smallpox | 6 | 67% |
| Soldiers | 1 | 100% |
| Soul Sisters | 16 | 69% |
| Sphinx’s Tutelage | 1 | 0% |
| Spirits | 4 | 50% |
| Storm | 21 | 34% |
| Sultai Ascendancy – 4-Color (no red) | 1 | 100% |
| Sultai Midrange | 1 | 100% |
| Sultai Reclamation | 1 | 0% |
| Sun and Moon | 6 | 100% |
| Sword of Meek Tezzeret Esper Thopter | 1 | 100% |
| Temur/Temur Kiki | 3 | 0% |
| Temur Twin | 1 | 100% |
| Through the Breach | 2 | 50% |
| TitanShift | 7 | 29% |
| Treasure Hunt | 1 | 100% |
| Tribal Flames | 2 | 100% |
| Tron | 68 | 26% |
| Turns | 1 | 0% |
| UB Tezzeret | 2 | 50% |
| UR Possibility Storm | 1 | 0% |
| UR Prowess/Pyromancer | 3 | 100% |
| UR Twin | 8 | 63% |
| UW Control | 14 | 43% |
| UW Control (non-traditional) | 11 | 73% |
| Waste Not | 1 | 100% |
| Whir | 2 | 0% |
| Zombie Infestation | 2 | 100% |
| Zoo | 18 | 72% |
Here are the matchups best to worst, only including matchups over 10 matches or decks currently in the meta.
Modern BW Tokens Best to Worst Matchups
| Matchup | Matches | Win % |
| Hardened Scales | 1 | 100% |
| Mono-Red Phoenix | 8 | 100% |
| Goblins | 10 | 90% |
| Mardu | 10 | 90% |
| Red Deck Wins | 7 | 86% |
| Grixis Death’s Shadow | 13 | 85% |
| Big Red | 6 | 83% |
| Delver | 26 | 81% |
| Grishoalbrand | 5 | 80% |
| Jund | 38 | 79% |
| BG Rock | 4 | 75% |
| KCI | 12 | 75% |
| Grixis Control | 15 | 73% |
| UW Control (non-traditional) | 11 | 73% |
| Zoo | 18 | 72% |
| Affinity | 50 | 70% |
| Soul Sisters | 16 | 69% |
| Boggles | 28 | 64% |
| Dredge | 25 | 64% |
| Elves | 16 | 63% |
| Faeries | 8 | 63% |
| Jeskai | 20 | 60% |
| Ponza | 15 | 60% |
| Burn | 67 | 58% |
| CoCo Decks (non-counters) | 12 | 58% |
| Abzan Midrange | 21 | 57% |
| Death’s Shadow (non-Grixis) | 15 | 53% |
| Infect | 38 | 53% |
| Hollow One | 4 | 50% |
| Spirits | 4 | 50% |
| Humans | 15 | 47% |
| Scapeshift | 17 | 47% |
| BW D&T/Deadguy Ale/Eldrazi | 13 | 46% |
| UW Control | 14 | 43% |
| Merfolk | 20 | 40% |
| Lantern | 21 | 38% |
| Ad Nauseam | 19 | 37% |
| Storm | 21 | 34% |
| Izzet Phoenix | 6 | 33% |
| Living End | 18 | 33% |
| TitanShift | 7 | 29% |
| Amulet Titan | 11 | 27% |
| Tron | 68 | 26% |
| Eldrazi Tron | 15 | 20% |
| Bant Knigthfall | 8 | 13% |
| Bant Eldrazi | 11 | 9% |
| Counters Company | 4 | 0% |
| Turns | 1 | 0% |
| Whir | 2 | 0% |
Discussion
I’ve long considered Bant Eldrazi the worst matchup for BW Tokens, and that’s consistent here, as 9% is the lowest win rate against any deck I faced over ten times. I still haven’t beaten Whir Prison and I think that deck is looking to be Tokens’ new Bant Eldrazi. Beating Tron one out of four tries seems pretty good and clearly I’m doing something right to survive that often.
Surprises include the low win percentage vs. Izzet Phoenix (hopefully just an artifact of few matches, but it’s concerning) and Abzan Midrange. I’m not really sure about that one. I will say that I beat Lucas Siow on Abzan at GP Pitt in 2015, and if you’re beating Lucas Siow, you’re doing something quite remarkable, so I do like BW Token’s chances vs. Abzan regardless of the 57% here. Similar thoughts on Infect, what I perceive to be another great matchup, though I did get smashed by Blighted Agent both games en route to an 0-2 demolition at day 2 of GP Toronto 2019.
My support of Auriok Champion was vindicated. Great matchups vs. the red decks are clear from the results above. While Auriok Champion may cost me some matches vs. combo and control, I’ll take my 58.8% this year and continue focusing on winning my good matchups.
GP Toronto 2019
| 4 | Concealed Courtyard |
| 4 | Marsh Flats |
| 2 | Arid Mesa |
| 4 | Plains |
| 1 | Swamp |
| 4 | Godless Shrine |
| 1 | Fetid Heath |
| 2 | Shambling Vent |
| 1 | Vault of the Archangel |
| 1 | Windswept Heath |
| 4 | Auriok Champion |
| 4 | Lingering Souls |
| 4 | Spectral Procession |
| 2 | Bitterblossom |
| 2 | Hidden Stockpile |
| 2 | Secure the Wastes |
| 3 | Sorin, Solemn Visitor |
| 4 | Intangible Virtue |
| 2 | Zealous Persecution |
| 4 | Path to Exile |
| 3 | Thoughtseize |
| 2 | Inquisition of Kozelik |
| 60 | |
| 2 | Rest in Peace |
| 1 | Burrenton Forge-Tender |
| 3 | Stony Silence |
| 2 | Disenchant |
| 2 | Duress |
| 1 | Runed Halo |
| 1 | Lost Legacy |
| 1 | Fatal Push |
| 1 | Engineered Explosives |
| 1 | Damping Sphere |
| 15 |
GP Hartford 2018
| 4 | Concealed Courtyard |
| 4 | Marsh Flats |
| 2 | Arid Mesa |
| 4 | Plains |
| 1 | Swamp |
| 4 | Godless Shrine |
| 1 | Fetid Heath |
| 2 | Shambling Vent |
| 1 | Vault of the Archangel |
| 1 | Windswept Heath |
| 4 | Auriok Champion |
| 4 | Lingering Souls |
| 4 | Spectral Procession |
| 2 | Worship |
| 2 | Hidden Stockpile |
| 2 | Secure the Wastes |
| 3 | Sorin, Solemn Visitor |
| 4 | Intangible Virtue |
| 2 | Zealous Persecution |
| 4 | Path to Exile |
| 3 | Thoughtseize |
| 2 | Inquisition of Kozelik |
| 60 | |
| 2 | Rest in Peace |
| 1 | Burrenton Forge-Tender |
| 3 | Stony Silence |
| 2 | Disenchant |
| 2 | Duress |
| 1 | Runed Halo |
| 2 | Lost Legacy |
| 1 | Fatal Push |
| 1 | Engineered Explosives |
| 15 |
GP Charlotte 2016
| 4 | Marsh Flats |
| 2 | Arid Mesa |
| 5 | Plains |
| 1 | Swamp |
| 4 | Godless Shrine |
| 1 | Isolated Chapel |
| 2 | Fetid Heath |
| 2 | Windbrisk Heights |
| 1 | Vault of the Archangel |
| 2 | Shambling Vent |
| 4 | Auriok Champion |
| 2 | Thoughtseize |
| 1 | Worship |
| 3 | Sorin, Solemn Visitor |
| 4 | Lingering Souls |
| 4 | Spectral Procession |
| 4 | Intangible Virtue |
| 2 | Zealous Persecution |
| 4 | Path to Exile |
| 1 | Murderous Cut |
| 4 | Inquisition of Kozelik |
| 2 | Secure the Wastes |
| 1 | Anguished Unmaking |
| 60 | |
| 2 | Rest in Peace |
| 1 | Burrenton Forge-Tender |
| 3 | Stony Silence |
| 1 | Disenchant |
| 2 | Duress |
| 1 | Runed Halo |
| 1 | Nevermore |
| 1 | Zealous Persecution |
| 1 | Ratchet Bomb |
| 1 | Timely Reinforcements |
| 1 | Relic of Progenitus |
| 15 |
GP Pitt 2015
My Deck Featured on TCG
Hi All, Corbin Hosler of TCGPlayer.com featured my deck for his 3/18/19 weekly “Mining Modern” article, both writing about my deck and playing three rounds on MTGO (and winning all three). You can find the link to the article and video here: Mining Modern – White-Black Tokens.
Another 5-0 MTGO Competitive League
Hi All, on 3-12-19 I went 5-0 in another competitive modern league with BW Tokens. The list is nearly identical to the one I ran at SCG Syracuse earlier this month.
Here’s the decklist: SCG Syracuse Decklist
You can also check out my deck guide, prior league reports, and paper 2019 tournament reports below.
Round 1 – Tron – Mono Green – Win 2-1
I’m on a heater against Tron – while I went 3-2 overall in my prior league, I was 2-0 vs. Tron, bringing my record against it in the last 10 games (this league and last) to 3-0. I got very lucky in game 3 of this match as my opponent was stuck on 2 lands with my stony silence preventing them from drawing cards.
My two prior games (league before) played out a bit differently. In the first match, during game 2 my opponent mulled to 4 while I mulled to 5. I attacked with Shambling Vent about seven times to win. Game 3 they had infinity lands and I somehow faded any action. In the second match of the last league, my opponent mulled to infinity games 1 and 3.
Tron is a horrible matchup and we need to get lucky to win, and sometimes we do.
In – 3 Stony Silence, 2 Disenchant, 2 Duress
Out – 4 Auriok Champion, 1 Bitterblossom, 2 Zealous Persecution
Round 2 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Win 2-1
Game 2 I unfortunately played right into Blood Moon, which is probably that deck’s primary win condition against BW Tokens. The match is just so horrifically bad for them that they need to get lucky to win.
In – 2 RIP, 2 Duress, 1 EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Push, 1 Halo
Out – 3 Seize, 2 Bitterblossom, 2 Virtue, 1 Sorin
Some people have taken issue with my removing 1 Sorin, but I think it’s fine to do so. Sorin is great, but drawing multiples early in the game is one way for Mono-Red Phoenix to steal a game by going under you. This seems counterintuitive, but there have been several games where I’ve had two Sorins in hand early with little action and I’m generally not happy about it. I think two is the perfect number after sideboard.
Round 3 – Dredge – Win 2-1
How I won game 2 is a still a mystery to me. I mulled to 5 and was ready to concede when somehow on the back of one Auriok and two spirits, Sorin came down and helped me stabilize. My opponent having all 4 Nature’s Claims in their yard was instrumental as Runed Halo and Stockpile put in work. Game 3 I also got very lucky as my opponent was unable to trigger a Bloodghast on turn 2 and passed the turn with about 15 cards in the yard. My turn 2 RIP won that game.
In – Runed Halo, 2 RIP, Burrenton, Lost Legacy
Out – 3 Seize, 2 IOK
Round 4 – Grixis Deaths’ Shadow – Win 2-1
Game 1 my opponent played two Temur Battle Rages, yes, two, the card they need to win the matchup. Games 2 & 3 went a lot better for me.
In – Halo, Push, EE, Burrenton, Wrath
Out – 2 Zealous, 2 Sorin, 1 Seize
This is another situation where people may disagree with my removing Sorin. Sorin is generally a win more card in this matchup. First, it’s a prime target to get stubborn denied. Sorin is best when you’re racing. You’re not racing Shadow. They’ll play one giant threat, which you will chump block forever (while fading Temur Battle Rage), and you’ll eventually overwhelm their board. Sorin is clunky when you have multiples in hand, is easily countered, and wasting an entire turn doing nothing is not where you want to be in this matchup, which is already insane.
Round 5 – Humans – Win 2-1
After losing to Humans twice in my least league, I get my revenge. A Runed Halo on Thalia’s Lt. (see below) along with a much needed Virtue nets me my second recent 5-0 with BW Tokens.
In – EE, Push, Wrath, Halo
Out – 3 Seize, 1 Auriok
Final Thoughts
Tokens continues to do just fine for me. It’s not insane or broken, but it’s a great fair deck to play in the current meta. It has game against all seven top decks on MTG Goldfish – Izzet Phoenix, Dredge, Burn, Hardened Scales, Tron, Humans, and Death’s Shadow. It’s great against Izzet, Dredge, Burn, Scales, and Shadow, fine vs. Humans, and Tron, a horrible matchup, is still winnable, as evidenced by my recent success.
With the conclusion of this match, my total games played with BW Tokens on MTGO since Fall 2015, when I began preparing for GP Pitt, comes to 990. When I hit 1,000 games, I will compile my results by matchup and by year and post them here. Stay tuned.
SCG Classic 4th Place
BW TOKENS MODERN SCG CLASSIC TOURNAMENT REPORT
Introduction
I placed 4th at the SCG Syracuse Modern Classic on March 3, 2019 with BW Tokens, making top 8 of the 229 player event through a grueling 9 swiss rounds. I played the same deck I played to a 10-4-1 finish at GP Toronto last month.
The tournament report is below, but first I wanted to highlight two themes that emerged during the tournament.
- Auriok Champion is insane. In my opinion, BW Tokens needs to play 4 Auriok Champion maindeck if it wants to be competitive. As I mentioned in my deck guide and 5-0 MTGO league post (both below), I’m a firm believer in 4 Champions and I would never have made top 4 of this event without them. Tokens is already an underpowered deck and to eschew Auriok because it’s bad in half your matchups is just making BW Tokens a worse deck overall. Your bad matchups stay bad and your good matchups get much worse. If Auriok Champion is good in the matchup, the matchup is superb. She is the primary reason BW Tokens is good in the current meta. Not playing her is just giving your opponents a better chance to beat you.
Auriok Champion allows me to beat much better players than me in Modern. Since many of the best players are currently on decks weak to Auriok Champion, I’d be foolish not to take this opportunity to close the gap. If you’re not playing Auriok Champion and still aren’t convinced, perhaps the tournament report will change your mind. I believe the only way BW Tokens top 8s a major tournament is through 4 Auriok Champions and getting lucky with matchups.
- Hidden Stockpile over performed. I initially wasn’t too high on stockpile, but I must say, it plays incredibly well to the midrange strengths of the deck. Further, I played against Detention Sphere, Deputy of Detention, and Maelstrom Pulse in four matches this tournament, and three times Hidden Stockpile turned a board wipe into a three-mana fatal push. I also found a Disenchant in my final match through the card selection effect. All in all, I’d never leave home without two maindeck. Hidden Stockpile was a star for me this tournament.
Tournament Report
Here’s my decklist: BW Tokens
Round 1 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Win 2-0
After telling my friend that I’m hoping to face Phoenix nine times today, I sit down at my first match to stare down a turn 1 soul-scar mage. A turn two Auriok Champion from me in both games is simply game over for my opponent. The games went long, but there was never a moment in either match where it didn’t feel as though my opponent had absolutely 0 chance of winning.
For how bad Tokens can look when losing to Tron or diddling around vs. Whir Prison, any snapshot of this match would have looked similarly embarrassing, just the other way around. BW Tokens is a serious deck in a world of Mono-Red Phoenix and Auriok Champion is the harbinger of the apocalypse in the matchup.
Sideboarding:
In – 2 RIP, 2 Duress, 1 EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Push, 1 Halo
Out – 2 Virtue, 1 Sorin, 3 Seize, 2 BB
Bitterblossom seems good, because it can block Phoenix, but it’s really only good against the Izzet Phoenix version. Against Mono-Red, the ways you die are that you don’t draw Auriok Champion, they burn you out quickly, or they tick up Shrine of Burning Rage to an astronomical number. Bitterblossom helps their game plan, while not really advancing yours in an overly meaningful way, so they come out. At the same time, this matchup is so good it probably doesn’t matter how you sideboard, but there will certainly be times when casting Thoughtseize or BB hurts you more than helps. I wouldn’t board in Disenchant for the Shrine, but wouldn’t fault anyone who did, as it’s easy to kill because they constantly tap out.
Round 2 – Jund – Win 2-0
My incredible draw of insane matchups and good luck continues as my Jund opponent mulls to 6 both games. He attempts to pulse my tokens, but my Hidden Stockpile saves the day. My lifepad is a great indication of how this matchup typically goes, as I never drop below 20 in either game and gain an incredible amount of life.
In – 2 RIP, Fatal Push, Wrath, Burrenton
Out – 3 Seize, 2 IOK
Round 3 – Jeskai – Loss 1-2
My incredibly favorable matchups cease as I’m paired against Jeskai Control, a matchup that’s probably 40-60 favoring Jeskai. Electrolyze really hurts me the entire match and we’re deep into a back and forth game 3 involving an insane amounts of Cryptic, then Snap + Cryptic. On turn 3 of extra turns, I decide to go for an all-out attack into my opponent’s two cards with an active and flipped Search for Azcanta and tons of mana. He could double helix me and I wouldn’t have enough to kill him so I decide to go for it. He activates his Search and finds…Detention Sphere. Ok. He nonchalantly taps four mana and Settle the Wreckage arrives. I was at 2 life and would have died next turn anyway; however, I surely could have played differently the past few turns around Settle and preserved my life. It’s hard for me to backtrack my sequences as we were rushing near the end of the game, and we were the last match so I don’t hang around to chat with my opponent. This one hurt because I had so many opportunities to win but literally got Cryptic Commanded to infinity and beyond that game.
In – 2 Duress, Lost Legacy, Burrenton
Out – 4 Auriok
True to form, when Auriok Champion is not great, the matchup is not great.
Round 4 – BR Hollow One – Win 2-0
I know my opponent from my local store and he’s on his usual weapon of choice. Fortunately, Auriok Champion is INSANE in this matchup and so after a quick game 2, I’m feeling lucky once again to have seen a great matchup.
In – Halo, 2 RIP, Burrenton, Fatal Push, Wrath
Out – 3 Seize, 2 IOK, 1 Virtue
Round 5 – Humans – Draw 1-1
Auriok is just ok in this matchup, but Tokens is generally favored. Not so game 1 as I get run over by a steady stream of little then suddenly huge dudes. Game 2 involves me Wrathing the board, then slowly and surely overwhelming my opponent. Game 3 I make the biggest mistake of my tournament, at least one that I notice. With both of us nursing anemic battlefields, including his Deputy of Detention holding my Hidden Stockpile and his Kitesail holding my Secure the Wastes, I draw Wrath of God. Instead of Wrathing and creating an incredibly favorable position with Hidden Stockpile (with revolt trigger coming) and Secure in hand with literally TONS of land, I decide to hold it until he further develops his board. The very next turn, he plays a Sin Collector. WHAM. I immediately realize my incredible mistake and watch as my tournament goes down the train. However, the silver lining is that Sin Collector does nothing to improve his anemic board and after not drawing anything relevant on both sides, we go to time and I’m happy to still be live (possibly) for Top 8.
In – EE, Push, Wrath, Halo
Out – 3 Seize, 1 IOK
Round 6 – BG Rock – Win 2-0
Auriok to the rescue! In yet another favorable matchup, Hidden Stockpile saves my tokens from a Maelstrom Pulse and my opponent can’t get anything going against my army of flying tokens. Similarly to the Jund match, my lifepad matches how lopsided this match feels, though I do fall to 16 at one point in game 1.
I was playing this matchup online recently, and used my singleton IOK on turn 1 nabbed a Golgari Charm. Most Rock decks currently don’t play this card sideboard, which improves the matchup, but alas, some do.
Gerry Thompson picked this deck today (March 7th) as his deck choice for Modern Regionals this weekend, a good sign that BW Tokens is still well-positioned.
In – 2 RIP, Fatal Push, Wrath
Out – 3 Seize, 1 IOK
Round 7 – Mono-White Eldrazi – Win 2-0
My first bad matchup arrives and so I know I need to get lucky when I Seize turn 1 and see the 2 mana Thalia and a Reality Smasher. His holding 4 lands is the start of that luck. Game 1 he draws into and plays about twelve more lands (probably pretty accurate) and I play out 3 Auriok Champions and we sit there with Thalia staring at the 3 Champs for about 10 turns of draw, go until I finally draw some Lingering Souls. He doesn’t draw anything and that’s that. Game 2 goes about the same way. I play a turn 2 Stony Silence so he can’t play EE (he later tells me he has no EE, but rather Declaration in stone – hello, Hidden Stockpile!) and Worship. Fortunately, he doesn’t draw any of the cards that can actually affect the game and I path two reality smashers on the way to a too-quick victory.
My friend David Napolitano, who also had a charmed run to the top 8, sitting next to me, looks up between one of his many games vs. Dredge, sees that my opponent is gone, and offers me kind words on a good tournament run, assuming there’s no way I could have dispatched an opponent this quickly with my deck. Sometimes things just break your way.
I haven’t played this matchup often, so my sideboarding isn’t well developed.
In – Push, Halo, Wrath, 2 Disenchant (if your opponent has multiple EE, I can’t fault Stony since Disenchant can’t nab a fresh EE before it’s activated, but if you also see Chalice, Disenchant seems best)
Out – 4 Auriok, 1 IOK (Zealous also seems ok to take out – both can deal with a Thalia)
Matches where Auriok comes out are tough, so I’m very fortunate to have gotten lucky here.
Round 8 – Hardened Scales – Win 2-1
It’s a win and in for my opponent as I’m paired up. Fortunately, this matchup is one that’s still great even if Auriok is bad. Game 1, however, proceeds in the typical way I lose this matchup – my opponent resolves a Walking Ballista. Typically this can be ok, but my draws of infinite tokens include no Virtues or even a Zealous that would likely have won me the game. Game 2 and 3 go better, and Game 3 is a real sweat, probably the most intense and fun game of the day. I nab my opponent’s Ballista before it gets out of hand. He goes all in with another Ballista to stop my swarm of creatures and eventually plays to the plan of attacking me with a gigantic Inkmoth. This is exactly how I drew it up, as the Runed Halo that’s been sitting in my hand comes down and my creatures are just too much for him.
In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant, Halo, EE, Push
Out – 4 Auriok, 3 Seize, 1 IOK
Round 9 – Concession
I look at the standings and find myself 9th going into round 9, the only 19 pointer with eight 21 pointers ahead of me and the 18 pointers starting in 10th place. The great news is that my breakers are 7.9% higher than the 8th place 21 pointer, so despite my 6-1-1 record, I’m probably something like 99% to make top 8 with a win here.
I look at the pairings to find myself playing against 10th place, the top 18 point opponent. As I sit down, the four top tables instantly draw. My opponent, knowing he can’t make top 8 and that a win will probably get me in, graciously concedes so I can wait 50+ minutes to see if my 7.9% tie-breakers hold! Thank you!!! Spoiler alert: They do and I squeak into 8th place!
Quarter-finals – Grixis Deaths’ Shadow – Win 2-0
During the Round 9 slip-signing, Edgar Magalhaes asks if I’m the Tokens player. He notes the top 8 probably isn’t looking great for Tokens. Of course, I know what Edgar is playing (Amulet Titan) and that matchup is bad anyway you look at it, even without one of Canada’s very best Magic players in the pilot seat. The other seven top 8 decks include: Whir, Amulet, Ad Nauseam, Jeskai (my round 3 opponent), Humans (my friend Dave), Tron, and Grixis Death’s Shadow.
Wouldn’t you know that I got paired against Grixis Death’s Shadow.
My opponent, the first seed, a great player, has no idea what I’m playing. Neither do a row of his teammates cheering him on behind him. They lean forward when he leads with a turn 1 seize. A bunch of whispers commence when I turn over a bunch of white cards. No Auriok Champion yet, but she doesn’t fail me. She arrives both games, and while my opponent is clearly an excellent player, the power of BW Tokens and Auriok Champion in particular is just too much for his deck to overcome. Even at the end of game 2, when my opponent has a 12/12 Death’s Shadow and is drawing for a Temur Battle Rage, I’m on 30 life (thanks to Auriok and Sorin). The reason BW Token is a fine deck to play is showcased in this match. Death’s Shadow and Mono-Red Phoenix are all-you-can-eat buffets for Auriok Champion and I was fortunate to face both decks once this tournament.
In – Halo, Push, EE, Burrenton, 1 Wrath (draw)
Out – 2 Zealous, 2 Sorin, 1 Seize
Semi-finals – Whir Prison – Loss 0-2
Similarly to last round, this match looks and plays out incredibly lopsided. The problem is, this time I’m on the embarrassing end. Game 1 I’m feeling OK when I turn 1 and turn 2 discard his two Whir of Inventions to leave him with NOTHING in hand. However, he has 7 more ways to win the game (4 Bridges, 2 more Whirs, 1 Inventor’s Fair), not to mention 2 Tolaria Wests to tutor the Inventor’s Fair. Playing an Ensnaring Bridge is literally game over for BW Tokens. Soon after he natural draws the card leaving me with no way to win. Game 2 I lead with a turn 2 Stony Silence, which is OK because it shuts off the Welding Jar on the battlefield so I can Disenchant his first Bridge. My meager army attacks a few turns, but it’s not enough. One more bridge arrives, and while I’m Wrathing my entire board to feed Stockpile in search of my second Disenchant, he drops a third Bridge and I concede.
The worst part about this matchup is that, unlike Tron or Living End, I literally have no gameplan to beat Whir. It’s not feasible to try to race because it just takes too long and he has plenty of time to find a way to get a Bridge into play. Dispossess or a Lost Legacy effect that can hit artifacts is really needed here. Stony Silence, Lost Legacy (on Whir), Disenchant, and Duress are just laughable vs. the deck. I’m really stuck with what to do here. Nevermore is a never play due to Whir so going back to Memoricide might be where I need to be. Or adding a green source and including Assassin’s Trophies? Perhaps Vindicate will return in Modern Horizons…. I could really use some help with what on earth to do about this matchup.
I did have a sideboard guide during the event and as I was looking at it during this match, I just shook my head with how poorly it seemed to line up.
In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant, 2 RIP, Halo (on Ipnu Rivulet – ew), 2 Duress, Lost Legacy (on Whir)
Out – 3 Sorin, 4 Auriok, 4 Path
This matchup also highlights why I’m so low on discard spells. Even with the best possible disruptive start I could anticipate game 1 (two discard spells), my opponent easily drew into Bridge while I couldn’t do anything about it.
Final Thoughts
While I admit I was incredibly lucky with such favorable matchups, these are the matchups I expected and the matchups which are highly represented in the meta currently. There is no better time to play BW Tokens than right now. However, there is just no way to consistently beat Tron and Whir Prison with Tokens, but the fact that the deck (so long as you include Auriok Champion) is just bonkers versus the majority of the metagame, in my opinion, makes up for that weakness. Tron is still beatable as are many of your bad matchups (maybe not Whir!), but you have to beat a few bad matchups to win a tournament and I managed to plow through one bad matchup before losing to another.
The top 8 of GP Los Angeles, occurring at the same time as this Classic, had more favorable matchups for Tokens, but regardless, the metagame will likely hold for now around Phoenix, Dredge, Burn, Grixis Shadow, Jund/Rock, Affinity/Scales, Tron, and Whir. BW Tokens is a great deck choice currently because it’s so good in most of those matchups. The reason it’s so good is because of Auriok Champion. I’m hopeful the Champion and I will get to share more good times together before the meta drastically changes.
Shout out to Dave, Scott, Greg, and everyone else who supported me and wanted to chat about Tokens during the day.
75% win rate on MTGO
Hi All,
I’ve gone a total of 15-5 in four straight competitive modern leagues with BW Tokens since GP Toronto earlier this month. While my last two leagues at 3-2 were disappointments from my 5-0 into 4-1 start, winning 75% of my matches is a fine place to be. Here’s my decklist:
Here’s a breakdown of my matchups:
Affinity Frenzy 1-0
Blue Moon 0-1
Burn 1-0
Deaths Shadow 3-0
Dredge 0-2 (It’s tough to lose a great matchup – I mulled and/or didn’t draw my 3rd land in both matches)
Grishoalbrand 1-0
Izzet Phoenix 1-0
Mardu Pyromancer 1-0
Mono-Red Phoenix 4-0
Mono-White Eldrazi Taxes 0-1
Tron – Mono Green 1-0
Whir 0-1
Zoo 2-0
FINAL THOUGHTS
There’s no better sign that Tokens is great right now than facing Grixis Death’s Shadow and Mono-Red Phoenix a total of 7 times out of 20.
4-1 MTGO League: How to Beat Tron
Hi All, it’s 2-25-19 and I just went 4-1 in my second Magic Online Competitive Modern League with BW Tokens since going 10-4-1 with Tokens at GP Toronto two weekends ago (see my tournament report below).
I beat Mono-Green Tron the last two times I played against it – in Round 10 at GP Toronto and in Round 4 of this league. Please join me as I share the secrets to beating our worst matchup.
Round 1 – Mono-White Eldrazi Taxes – Loss 0-2
Game 1 I’m on the draw and turn 1 IOK him to reveal both Thalias, Eldrazi Displacer, and pure gas. I take the displacer, but really all three of those cards are pretty bad for our deck. If I had been on the play, things might have been different, but he kills me quickly. Game 2 I mull to 6, play two Virtues, no tokens, and die with no fourth land.
In – Fatal Push, Runed Halo, Wrath of God
Out – 3 Auriok Champion
While I sang Auriok’s praises in my last league, realistically she comes out in a lot of our matchups. It might seem good to keep her to help us race, but she’s never attacking and a terrible blocker vs. Reality Smasher.
Round 2 – Izzet Phoenix – Won 2-0
Game 1 I dominate. Game 2 I keep a one-lander with Burrenton, Halo, and 2 Paths – why not, I’m just play-testing, after all. I path a turn 2 Thing in the Ice and whiff on two draw steps before playing Runed Halo on Phoenix and eventually drawing into gas. Vault of the Archangel buys me enough time to assemble the army. My opponent eventually draws Anger, wipes my board, but Secure the Wastes does its thing and comes to the rescue for an enormous attack next turn.
In – 1 Burrenton (for Anger of the Gods), 1 Fatal Push, 1 EE, Wrath (on the draw)
Out – 2 Zealous Persecution, 1 Sorin, 1 Thoughtseize
I might take another Thoughtseize out for that Sorin, but I think nabbing a Thing in the Ice turn 1 is good enough to leave it in.
Round 3 – Affinity Frenzy – Won 2-1
The new Affinity is tougher than the 2012 version because of Ghirapur Aether Grid. If they have it, they probably win. If they won’t, we probably win. Game 2 they had it.
In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant (save for the Aether Grid if you can!), 1 Runed Halo, 1 EE, 1 Push, 1 Burrenton (for Whipflare or a Galvanic Blast or one Aether Grid activation, blah)
Out – 4 Auriok, 3 Seize, 2 IOK
Secure the Wastes can certainly go so you might put in Wrath and 1 IOK (to nab the grid!) instead. I like Hidden Stockpile b/c it can block Etched Champion and help you find cards you need.
Round 4 – Mono-Green Tron – Won 2-1
Like Round 10 of GP Toronto, I get smashed game 1, but win the sideboard games. Check out my GP Toronto tournament report below for that match. My match here in Round 4 plays out a bit differently. Here are screenshots of how I won these games.
HOW TO BEAT TRON
It’s my opinion that we would mutilate our deck to add 4 ghost quarters or fulminator mages or any such things, and Tron would still beat us most days. I’m happy with my current configuration. The way you beat Tron is:
- Accept the reality that you will lose most games.
- Open the door to winning when one of these things happens:
- They stumble on mana. Race!
- You turn 1 discard spell them into turn 2 Stony Silence (nab Nature’s Claim on the play or draw or Expedition Map on the draw).
- They don’t have Nature’s Claim, they don’t play Expedition Map turn 1 (if you’re on the draw), and you turn 2 Stony Silence.
- They draw a bunch of green cards with no Forests or eggs to cast them and never assemble Tron. Race!
I believe Discard + Stony Silence is what you want. It keeps the rest of our deck intact and allows you to steal some games. You probably only need to beat Tron once in a big tournament, and while the games you lose look horrifically lopsided, you have a fair chance to get lucky and steal a match as I’ve done twice in a row now.
Some folks advocate for Ghost Quarters with Surgicals, but I think good old Stony Silence is what the doctor ordered.
In – 3 Stony Silence, 2 Duress, 2 Disenchant
Out – 4 Auriok Champion, 2 Zealous Persecution, 1 BB
Runed Halo just gets blown up, don’t play it. I used to run Lost Legacy, but they would just draw into another win condition. Damping Sphere seems ok, but they can still race you to 7 mana and annihilate you before you kill them.
Round 5 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Won 2-1
This matchup is insane – it reminds me of Mardu Pyromancer. Game 1 I mull to 4 on the play and concede in response to Monastery trigger. Games 2 & 3 are over almost as quickly as game 1.
In – 2 RIP, 2 Duress, 1 EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Push, 1 Runed Halo
Out – 2 Virtue, 3 Seize, 1 Sorin, 2 BB
I think I’d leave Wrath out on the draw because we’re already so good here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Beating Tron always feels awesome and I highly recommend it.
Auriok Champion was not the star she was in my 5-0 League – she came out in 3 of my 5 matches here. However, nothing beats knowing she’s in your deck when you sit down across from a great matchup. Tokens has bad matchups that you need to win, and Auriok gladly sits on the sidelines while our sideboard cards put in some work.
5-0 MTGO League: Auriok the Champ
Hi Everyone – it’s 2-23-19 and I just went 5-0 in my first Magic Online Competitive Modern League with BW Tokens since going 10-4-1 with Tokens at GP Toronto two weekends ago.
You can find my GP Toronto decklist here: BWTokens
I’m “Klezmer” on MGTO and you can find the decklist here: 5-0 List
The list is a carbon copy of my GP Toronto deck with the exception of +1 Wrath of God -1 Damping Sphere in the board. It’s pasted above.
the list is a carbon copy of my GP Toronto deck with the exception of +1 Wrath of God -1 Damping Sphere in the board. It’s pasted above.
You can check out my deck guide and GP Toronto report below. If there is anything for me to add to that deck guide, it’s that Auriok Champion is lights-out in the current meta and I think BW Tokens lists should be running 4. Auriok Champion was the reason I went 5-0 in the league.
Round 1 – Bushwacker Zoo – Won 2-1
This one was rough because I stumbled on lands games 1 & 2. Burrenton and Auriok really helped and Zealous Persecution is lights-out vs. this deck. I’ll say it again – playing BW Tokens also comes with the advantage of people not knowing how to play against you. Both this opponent and my first Grixis Shadow opponent made big mistakes that aren’t completely intuitive if you don’t know Tokens well. This opponent sacrificed his Legion Loyalist early to get in a few more points of damage. Loyalist is the single most important card in this matchup that should certainly be saved for an alpha attack for lethal.
In – 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender, 1 Wrath of God, 1 EE, 1 Fatal Push, 1 Runed Halo
Out – 3 Thoughtseize, 2 Bitterblossom
A NOTE ON BITTERBLOSSOM
There’s quite a debate about the correct number of maindeck Bitterblossoms on the MTG BW Tokens facebook group, so I’m going to chime in. I stand behind what I wrote about Bitterblossom in my deck guide below. I like 2 maindeck and think 4 is too many. Regardless, they need to come out in this matchup.
There’s an argument to be made for losing 1 life a turn to chump block a bigger creature. However, Bitterblossom is SLOW. Terrifically slow. And just as importantly, the opponent’s bigger creature will remain to attack next turn while yours dies. Fast red decks such as Zoo, Burn, and Mono-Red Phoenix want to win out of the gates – they are built to kill FAST. Bitterblossom is giving those decks a free lightning bolt (notably burn). The cost of 1 life a turn versus aggro decks is just too much. Take Bitterblossom out! Trust me. Since red decks are a bigger portion of the meta currently, I am 100% convinced you cannot run 4 maindeck. Mono-Red Phoenix is new so different versions might slow down enough to want BB, but the versions that play Swiftspear and Soul-Scour Mage are bad news bears for Bitterblossom. TRUST ME. Take it out.
I’ll use my Herb Brooks analogy again since yesterday was the anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. Herb Brooks didn’t pick the best players for his USA squad – he picked the right players. The same is true of Magic deck-building. If you played the most busted BW Tokens cards in a vacuum, you’d play 4 Bitterblossom and 4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. However, BB and Gideon are laughable when you compare their power levels to the most busted Modern cards in a FAST, turn 4 format. You have to consider the meta. If the meta favors long, grindy matchups, then 4 BB and 4 Gideon get the green light. But you must consider who you’ll be playing and how the games will play out. There’s a very real cost to playing BB and Gideon in this format.
Round 2 – Grixis Death’s Shadow – Won 2-0
Awhile back I read someone’s GP Top 8 report with Grixis Death’s Shadow commenting that BW Tokens was the deck’s worst matchup. The deck won GP Toronto two weeks ago so it’s a good time for Tokens. Like Zoo, Auriok Champion is just busted here. The best ways for Grixis to win are if you stumble on mana, if you stumble on drawing threats/chump blockers, or if they use Temur Battle Rage. Game 1 my opponent discarded a Battle Rage to a Looting and I couldn’t have been happier to see a copy of their one win condition out of their hand.
In – 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender (for Anger of the Gods), 1 Fatal Push, 1 EE, 1 Wrath (on the draw)
Out – 2 Zealous Persecution, 1 Sorin, 1 Thoughtseize
REGARDING DISCARD SPELLS
You could take more discard out here as it helps them ramp into Gurmag Angler. I’m low on discard spells vs. midrange anyway. They’re HORRIBLE top decks and Death’s Shadow runs out of cards fast. Your best discard targets are usually Stubborn Denial or Battle Rage.
Round 3 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Won 2-1
Auriok Champion is busted again. My opponent was shrewd and found a way to win game 2 out of nowhere. Runed Halo was good because game 3 my opponent played Shrine of Burning Rage, which you really can’t kill with anything. Bringing in Disenchant is just bad. Don’t do it.
Both my Mono-Red opponents played fast, burn-heavy versions, encouraging me to use IOK and Duress. In slower versions I’d like to take the hand disruption out.
In – 2 RIP, 2 Duress (I left one out on draw), 1 EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Push, 1 Runed Halo. Out – 2 Virtue, 1 Sorin, 3 Seize, 2 BB
Round 4 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Won 2-1
This deck is good – my opponent killed me on turn 4 game 1. But if BW Tokens draws well, we’re good in this matchup.
Round 5 – Grixis Death’s Shadow – Won 2-0
This matchup is all about fading Battle Rage and sideboard Anger of the Gods. Also, Auriok Champion is just the nuts – play 4 of them!
FINAL THOUGHTS
So for a reality check, I played against 5 incredibly favorable matchups. However, Mono-Red Phoenix and Death’s Shadow are hallmarks of the current format, and you should expect to play against them in any tournament, so the decks I played weren’t a huge surprise. BW Tokens is great against these decks and Auriok Champion is by far the best card against them.
Everything I wrote about Auriok Champion below in my deck guide I stand behind 100%. Auriok Champion is the glue that holds this deck together. Auriok takes Tokens from decent in our favorable matchups to lights-out in our favorable matchups. By not playing Auriok Champion, you are giving up percentage points in your best matchups and your bad matchups are still just as bad.
NEWS FLASH: The Modern meta is currently incredibly favorable for BW Tokens.
Also, Auriok Champion is the truth.