As the Standard RCQ draws near a close I have been reinvigorated to play my favorite format – Modern. While I have been playing my fair share of Dimir Frog, it’s shelved for the time being due to a negative matchup against the new hotness – Jeskai Blink.
While I may be sad to temporarily abandon Psychic Frog, I’m happy to see Jeskai Midrange be near the top of the food chain. I was a Jeskai Midrange gamer back in the glory days of Modern and it feels great to be back.
Vinnie Fino took down the Houston Regional Championship a couple week ago with a clean list of Jeskai Blink:
This is the new stock build of Blink decks at the moment. The proactive red shell of Ragavan and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker plays well here as the treasures can hard cast the abundance of five-mana threats in the mid game. Ragavan plays well with Quantum Riddler as it helps clear your hand early to draw extra cards.
Phelia is also featured as it can blink Fable, Teferi, and Quantum Riddler. It can also temporarily remove annoying lock pieces such as Vexing Bauble or permanently deal with Construct tokens from Urza’s Saga. I’ve also found it helpful to clear blockers out of the way for Ragavan. Nice work, pup!
Consign to Memory is the best way to cheat out a quick Quantum Riddler in this version of Blink because it can also Stifle an opposing nonland permanent from returning with Phelia making it a one-mana removal spell. This is a great card to build synergies around as it also happens to line up well against most combo and big mana decks. Jeskai decks typically are very good at interacting with creatures, but fall short against more linear strategies.
A key area to practice with Jeskai Blink is finding strange cases to utilize Consign to Memory in game one. Typically Consign is a sideboard card meaning the use cases are narrow, but impactful.
Another draw to this version of Blink is that centering around Boros means you can play two Arena of Glory to haste Phlage. Arena is awesome in this deck because you can even use the red mana to haste two creatures on the same turn. It’s also possible to haste a non-escaped Phlage and Consign the sacrifice trigger out of nowhere.
Jeskai Blink is also supplanting Esper because of the Obsidian Charmaw transformational sideboard plan. Phelia and Ephemerate threaten to quickly lock out Tron opponents while Azorius-based midrange and control was historically weak to big mana strategies.
Quantum Riddler is here to stay as a 4/6 with flying threatens to end the game and is difficult to remove. It encourages pitch-based interaction such as Solitude, Force of Negation, and Subtlety without running the risk of flooding. A great place to be in Modern.
Three Mystical Dispute is becoming common in Blink sideboards because it counters Riddler and Teferi in the mirror while also serving as additional interaction against Belcher. Affinity also has plenty of blue payoffs in Kappa Cannoneer and Pinnacle Emissary.
MisplacedGinger has been tearing up MTGO Challenges with this version of Jeskai Blink. I highly recommend watching his recent streams to learn how to play the deck well.
JESKAI WIZARDS TAKES DOWN A MODERN CHALLENGE
The Quantum Riddler scam shell is very powerful in Modern so it’s natural for many flavors to emerge. I stumbled upon a wizard-based version from Ziofrancone used to win a Modern Challenge that spoke to me:
This deck leans more heavily on Blue and White with a touch of red for Phlage, Flame of Anor, and Obsidian Charmaw in the sideboard.
The wizard shell interested me because Thundertrap Trainer synergized well with Flare of Denial for permission in such a fast Modern format. Ephemerate is also a great hit with Thundertrap Trainer as it can dig deep for the high impact spells.
Wrath of the Skies is high impact, but can be clunky at times. Thundertrap allows me to play fewer copies while being more likely to be found. Wrath of the Skies misses Kappa Cannoneer in most cases, but a manaless Solitude makes it easier to pay the ward. You can also wait until the end of turn and replicate consign to get around the ward ability and stifle Solitude’s evoke trigger to kill two birds with one stone.
Ragavan and Phelia are strong in linear matchups, but can fall short against spot removal making Jeskai Wizards preferable in more grindy situations. Snapcaster Mage and Thundertrap Trainer have plenty of value on the battlefield, but also replace themselves.
No More Lies is a cool counter that hasn’t taken off in Modern, but I have been impressed. Counterspell would be a great tool in the arsenal, but Plains is the best basic in the deck. In the later turns it can pitch to Solitude or exile a Phlage.
I have preferred No More Lies to Spell Snare lately because Quantum Riddler is a common threat to spend early turns developing. Jeskai decks are now tapping out more on their own turn thanks to Phlage and Quantum Riddler meaning I want to guarantee I will have a target for a counter if I’m holding up mana.
Lorien Revealed gets the nod over additional mana sources because it’s a hit with Thundertrap Trainer. Trimming the 23rd and 24th land means there’s only room for one Arena of Glory, but it didn’t play well with No More Lies regardless.
MY TAKE ON JESKAI WIZARDS:
I appreciate the original take on Jeskai Wizards emphasizing a host of different threats as they all have diminishing returns, but Quantum Riddler and Phlage are a cut above the rest. Cutting Snapcaster Mage reduces the amount of blue wizards for Flame of Anor and Flare of Denial.
Force of Negation keeps a high amount of free interaction to hit off of Thundertrap Trainer while not leaning as heavily on having a wizard on the battlefield. I found three Flare of Denial to be too much because I didn’t want to sacrifice the trainer to make Ephemerate and Flare of Denial stronger. Trainer is often killed on sight even with a smaller emphasis on the otter synergies. Good value.
A cool line with Flare of Denial is warping a Quantum Riddler to gain access to a blue creature to force through your next spell.
The third No More Lies helps with having enough ways to counter Quantum Riddler with just two Flare of Denial. A strike against Spell Snare is there aren’t many ways to win the game involving a two-drop. While I can trade one-for-one it’s more often hitting a setup card which isn’t worth the risk of the counter lining up well. Goryo’s Vengeance is a notable exception.
The additional Ephemerate provides more upside to the Thundertrap Trainers with fewer Flares and Flame of Anor. Just two Ephemerates left me wanting more.
March of Otherworldly Light has impressed me over additional Prismatic Ending. It exiles Urza’s Saga and more expensive threats at the expense of costing more; a solid role player.
I cut the second Surgical Extraction or first Ghost Vacuum for a Soul-Guide Lantern. A small change, but I didn’t like siding in Ghost Vacuum against Boros Energy alongside Wrath of the Skies to deal with Phlage. Graveyard decks will also move away from their core strategy in game two so I would like a more noncommittal hate piece. No More Lies also takes care of mid game Phlage escapes.
Quantum Riddler is the truth. It feels good to cast and a more defensive shell means it can adapt with the metagame. In the future I plan to test more Riddler decks; very fun play patterns.
