Welcome, Magic players, to another edition of Aggro for Life, the show where only aggro decks are allowed. On today's show we have the returning champion Abzan Aggro facing off against the new kid on the block G/R Aggro (aka the return of G/R Monsters) as well as the Mono-Red who got a recent facelift with the addition of new cards to the format. Gerrard Fabiano missed the only aggro memo so they kicked him out of the top eight down to ninth place, but other than that, everyone else was on the same page.

All joking aside, aggro decks had as strong a showing as any event I’ve ever seen before. In the nearly fifteen years I’ve been playing I think we would have to go all the way back to Mirrodin block to see a winners metagame breakdown like this. Certainly there were multiple different aggro decks, but that doesn’t account for the lack of controlling strategies. There are plenty of good removal spells in the format but the absence of a four-mana board wipe is definitely noticeable from these results.

Aggro in Standard

Let’s start off with the best of the best, at least for this past weekend, G/R Aggro.

It seems like CVM has honed his list into a sleek precise tool forged to remove your opponent from the game. Not only does it have some of the best cards in the format, but he managed to diversify his card selection in the process too.

He squeezed in a couple of Ashcloud Phoenixs to fill out his dragon air force, but he also was able to include Xenagos, the Reveler as a way to not only diversify his threats, but also ramp into the big boy Dragonlord Atarka. It seems like Xenagos, the Reveler is poised for a spike yet again if this deck stays tier one.

This R/G Monsters-esque build has a couple Roasts, which I think is the perfect number for your maindeck in this format. It also has the dynamic duo of Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix that we have come to love and hate. There is even Crater's Claws to finish off your opponents more quickly or remove a threat of theirs!

I know a deck is good when there are no obvious changes to be made. I wouldn’t change a single card from this maindeck. There is no obvious weakness to this deck either. It seems as if CVM really did think of everything when creating this deck. His maindeck and sideboard both seem set up to defeat any opponent that sits down across from him.

This deck is here to stay and it will only pick up steam from here. If you are looking for a great choice for your next event, play this deck, or build something you think can beat it because you will definitely be seeing lots of players jumping on this bandwagon.

Recently I have been pondering the possibilities of Atarka's Command with Dragon Fodder and Hordeling Outburst. Luckily other players have been thinking the same thoughts as well and having success with the combination of cards as well.

I like this list of basically Mono-Red much more than the previous all-in versions because most of the creatures are good on their own. In the Boss Sligh version of the deck, you were too dependent on amazing opening sequences. If you opponent could slow you down by a turn or two, that usually meant you couldn’t win. This deck feels more robust than that. If your opponent has running removal spells, you can still sequence your way to victory.

Additionally, I always feel like these decks need better sideboard construction. If I were going to play a deck like this, and I’ve been working on my own version, I would try to work in a transformational sideboard where I was able to take out some of my low end to mitigate the disaster status caused by all the black removal in the format as well as the new Seismic Rupture. You may only have nineteen lands in this version but having a couple more so you can support Outpost Siege seems like a win percentage booster from my perspective.

Regardless of how you want to build it, this style deck is exactly what the format is looking for. This deck gives you a clear pathway to defeating your opponent before they can cast all the cards in their hand. I would say that this deck probably has the highest game one win percentage of any deck in the format. If you can figure out what to do for game two and three, you’d be in business. My theory is that you need some powerful four drops to give yourself a way to win games that go past the first couple of turns.

Both of these red-green decks are on my list of decks to test this week so we will see what comes of that.

Although we did have a plethora of aggressive strategies littering the top of the standings this past weekend, there was one deck trying to stop the aggro with his innovative list. Gerrard Fabiano has been absolutely killing it lately putting up high profile finishes in multiple formats. Not only that, but he has been doing it with his own creative take on each format. While he has been playing mainly Courser-Caryatid strategies, this new deck is definitely different than what we’ve seen before.

Aggro decks are not the only ones allowed to utilize the card drawing power of Outpost Siege. Midrange strategies can put it to good use as well. After I saw this deck, I was surprised that no one had thought of it before. It seems straightforward to build Jund Midrange in this format but when you dive into actually building it, you are constrained by the other wedge cards getting in the way of your build. For example, this seems like a great Siege Rhino deck, but if you add Rhinos, you are a few short steps away from converting into an Abzan Midrange deck.

I’m not sure how many players will adopt this strategy. Gerrard’s decks seem difficult for other players to be successful with. I love the idea of Outpost Siege in a midrange controlling deck though and I could see that concept being ported over to another strategy.

Aggro in Modern

Even though Standard takes center stage nearly every weekend, Modern is still a format I love and enjoy playing. Star City has a moderately sized Modern event every Sunday and it is still a Grand Prix format.

In addition, Wizards recently announced changes to the PPTQ format selection process. Now, stores will only be able to choose from two formats instead of three. Sealed will always be an option for these events, but as far as I can tell, it’s not a popular choice. Then, stores will have the option of Standard or Modern depending on what the upcoming Pro Tour format is going to be. Your format choices will match the format of the Pro Tour.

This means that since Standard isn’t an option for some seasons, tournament organizers will have to choose between Modern and Sealed. Modern isn’t going anywhere. If your deck got banned, start working on a new one because you are going to need it if you want to compete at the highest levels.

This is great for the financial side of Magic as well because it means that there will be more opportunities to make money with your cards. There are safe investments like Snapcaster Mage or Arcbound Ravager, but there will always be the long shots like Leonin Arbiter waiting in the wings to jump in price as well.

Modern as a format is in flux right now as well because there have been no big events for players to show off their newly updated strategies. All we have to go off of are local events and these SCG IQ’s that are not on camera. There were a couple of interesting decks to come out of the latest of those events though so let’s take a look at what a couple of players are doing to innovate in the format.

First up, we have G/W Hatebears. You may or may not be familiar with this deck, but it has been around for a while now. It is both not popular and also typically not successful, but it is based on the same concept as Death and Taxes in Legacy. Your goal is to play cheap creatures that disrupt your opponent’s game plan. The reason I bring this deck up now, is that if you notice, the core of the deck is the same as one of the breakout decks from the last Modern Pro Tour. The rest of the deck may be more tuned to look like Death and Taxes, but they end up being quite similar.

Now that we are in a post-Pod and -Cruise format, I think a deck like this could stick around as a major player in the format. After all, it’s in the same vein as podless pod decks.

This deck is a financial dream as well. Almost every card in the deck could increase in value if this deck picks up speed in the format. The only exception is Ignoble Hierarch and the fate of that mana accelerant depends solely on what happens with Modern Masters 2. If you see these cards in trade binders, pick them because they all have potential.

Although I don’t advise doing a lot of investing in Modern while MMA2 is still on the horizon, some deals are too good to pass up. For instance, finding any of these cards in a bulk bin or listed at a huge discount is worth the risk because of the low cost to invest. Recently, I bought a playset of Daybreak Coronets because it’s a card I’ve been wanting for a while now.

If I wasn’t able to purchase them for 30% less than the current price though, I would have shied away due to their possible, though unlikely, reprint in MMA2. We can apply this logic to nearly every card in Modern so tread lightly, but don’t ever pass on sick deals.

Now we get to the dessert of the article. Here we see the next generation of Birthing Pod decks being brought to life by, yes that’s right, Collected Company. This Dragons of Tarkir card has not been selling well for me, but that’s about to change.

All of those players with their Birthing Pod decks sitting on a shelf because they no longer have a legal Modern deck are now only a handful of cards away from having a sweet new deck to play with. Congregation at Dawn has already spiked up a couple dollars from its previous bulk uncommon status as proof of the movement of players towards this deck.

My friends and I have been theorizing about this deck since Collected Company was spoiled but our lists always included Chord of Calling as another way to find the right card for the job. Max here cut the Chord entirely though to bring life to something brand new.

One aspect you may not be familiar with is how Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit interacts with this deck. Basically, she is another cheap combo piece that functions the same way as Melira, Sylvok Outcast. Because you bolster every time a creature enters the battlefield, you can always add your counter to the persisted Kitchen Finks because its toughness will be tied with the lowest toughness you control. I think she would be a solid threat in this deck as well because boosting your utility creatures power and toughness puts them way above curve.

This deck still has access to all the best creatures that shut down your opponents’ strategies and can use Congregation at Dawn to find any of them you need, but you also have the ability to set up your Congregation with combo pieces you need to gain infinite life. In a midrangey format like Modern has become, this deck seems very well positioned to take over a prominent spot.

Well that’s all for today Magic players. If you like aggro, now is your time to shine. There are lots of viable options for aggro in Standard and Modern. Which one will you choose? If you have thoughts on how either of these formats will adapt to the recent influx of aggro, let’s start the discussion in the comments below.

Until next time,
Unleash the Force!

Mike Lanigan
MtgJedi on Twitter
Jedicouncilman23@gmail.com