Not really though I can see why others might not feel the same. The clock is fast enough that Leak has stayed relevant for longer than usual in Path decks, and Titan is the kind of deck that needs to answer threats permanently when it uses a counter. However with Visions increasing in popularity Remand might be right in all circumstances. I’ve tried Geist before and have never been happy with him maindeck since there are so many creatures running around and really hate using sideboard space on him since if you want that to be your plan, you really need all four and that’s a little too much space for my taste.

Have you not been disappointed with the full playset of Leak?

DnT is pretty good against those decks (Thalia really stifles Infect’s speed, Finks is great against Burn, Ghost Quarter is great against Tron) but I also struggled against those three when working on Thopters. Burn couldn’t beat the combo but beat the rest of the deck, I never had enough removal for Infect, and Tron was Tron vs Slow decks. I don’t think there’s room in any Thopter shell to beat all three, so I think you have to ditch Tron and focus on the other decks.

Thanks Roland! I know that Inspector seems odd for Modern, but it works. White doesn’t get much card draw or cantripping and even if clues are a bit inefficient they’re worth it here. Back in the Treasure Cruise era Militant was the pick without question but her ability isn’t that relevant these days. A resurgence of Snapcaster Mage or Grixis would definitely change my mind but with Abzan Company and Jund sitting atop the metagame it’s not good enough. I was playing Familiar (and even tried Mana Tithe in that slot!) and it’s just too low impact right now. If Storm or Grishoalbrand were bigger that’d be a different story but since it doesn’t grow like Cursecatcher, I’d leave it at home.

1. The Wall is intriguing, though the mentioned interactions tend to be more cute than effective. If you’re going to go that route I think you need to build around it and plan for a midrange strategy rather than the more aggro strategy I’m running. This is mostly because Ghost Quarter is pretty common right now and really blanks the Wall and it’s still not that hard for the aforementioned decks to just swarm around the Wall.

2. It is a bit clunky, but as a 2-of it’s a great long game card. Having extra blinks for all your ETB effects is great, as is removing blockers. I’m not taking full advantage of it like Jim Davis, but it is still a solid card.

3. Yes. And also yes it is a holdover from Legacy but you really do need additional 2 costs for Vial and I wasn’t happy with the other options. I’ve tried everything from Spirit of the Labyrinth to Samurai of the Pale Curtain in that slot and none were very impressive. Avenger’s flying makes it the more reliable offensive creature once in play, so until something more disruptive that flies is printed I’m sticking with Avenger.

I also like all 3 of the decks that you’ve presented here, but I’m most intrigued by the Death & Taxes one. Like you, I have long pined for the deck to be good in Modern, and I think the shell you’re presenting is quite reasonable and likely a step in the right direction. I know you brought up other versions of the deck, but I feel that overall I’m going to side with the one with the more consistent manabase. I think that Thraben Inspector is an intriguing choice for a 1-drop, though I’m not quite sure where it stacks up against the more canonical Dryad Militant and/or Judge’s Familiar (my experiences with Cursecatcher make me favor the Familiar, but then again D&T doesn’t have pump – I’d love to hear your opinions on this). A few more questions, though, if I may:

1. I’ve seen some discussion on Wall of Resurgence + Blinkmoth Nexus as a way to fend off “go wide + big” aggro decks (a 0/6 with a 3/3 that can become a 4/4 flier is a pretty good defensive package for 2W). It can also turn around and impose a potent flying clock on the opponent. Do you think this is something worth considering to shore up those Allies/Humans/Merfolk matchups? How about Wall + Darksteel Citadel for an indestructible blocker, or Wall + Mutavault for a 5/5 beatstick (which could have first strike thanks to Blade Splicer)?

2. How has the Eldrazi Displacer in the main performed? I’ve tested with it a bit online, and without Eldrazi lands to cast and activate, it always felt a tad clunky. I freely admit to not being very seasoned with it, however, so I’d like to hear your thoughts.

3. Has Serra Avenger been good? It has a good rate and flying + vigilance is very attractive against the likes of Affinity, but the fact that you can’t use it to press the offensive without Vial has made me a tad leery of it. I feel like its continued inclusion is somewhat of a holdover from days where the creature selection was more limited, but I freely admit I could be wrong on that. What say you?