The other reason why this is interesting is that Bitterblossom has since returned to Modern. "I know just the person for that job." A card I particularly like right now is Maelstrom Pulse, as it can kill expensive creatures, wipe up Lingering Souls, and gives insurance against unexpected cards like Batterskull. Inferno Twin Yet this entire time, a very functional replacement for Splinter Twin has been readily available. To clarify: For Goblin Sharpshooter + Splinter Twin to work, you need 1 other X/1 in play on either side (I'd recommend running 2 Forbidden Orchard):. By. In Part 1 of the Splinter Twin Modern Deck Primer, we discussed the basics of how these decks operate, how they want to win the game, and how they sideboard. The fewer Splinter Twins in the deck, the more likely you are to have relevant cards to win the fair way - yet your opponent still has to play like you could have a Twin at any time. Twin started out as an Extended deck. 1 Negate: 1 Comm. Three Twin decks made it to the top eight, Carsten Linden with Tarmotwin, Stefan Schütz with a regular Tempotwin version, and Patrick Dickmann with his take on a Spreadings Seas Twin deck. After ten games or so, either quit and move on to a new matchup, or search the web for a new deck list of Splinter Twin to copy and play against. Previously almost all Twin decks had four Deceiver Exarchs and only a few Pestermites. Jesse Hampton was the highest finisher, and also happened to have the most traditional deck list. Deathrite Shaman is banned, and Jund thus more susceptible to mana disruption, the plan makes Tron a bye, and UWR control has a hard time winning without its manlands. Especially Stoneforge Mystic and Jace, the Mind Sculptor don’t have adequate replacements in Modern. Aug 3rd League 2–2 Download; Buy; Source; Creatures 24. It means knowing your own deck well enough that you can handle the unexpected. Robert Berni (2013 GP Kansas City, 4th). For Abzan, I like two copies of Maelstrom Pulse, three copies of Abrupt Decay, and rounding out the rest with a mix of Path to Exile, Dismember, and Victim of Night. Many of my decks in testing contained three copies. Two major combos saw play for a while in formats like Extended with the Vampire Hexmage and Dark Depths combo (giving you a 20/20 indestructible, flying Marit Lage beater on the turn you played Vampire Hexmage) or the Sword of the Meek and Thopter Foundry combo engine that made a ton of 1/1 blue Thopters. Like Jesse Hampton, the top-finishing Splinter Twin player was piloting a relatively stock version of the archetype. To make a long story short, I miss Lightning Bolt! Splinter Twin: 4 Rare Lands (23) 1 Cavern of Souls: 1 Rare 2 Desolate Lighthouse: 2 Rare 4 Island: 4 Misty Rainforest: 4 Rare 1 Mountain: 4 Scalding Tarn: 4 Rare 3 Steam Vents: 3 Rare 1 Stomping Ground: 1 Rare 3 Sulfur Falls: 3 Rare Sideboard (15) 1 Grim Lavamancer: 1 Rare 1 Rending Volley: 1 Unc. Three Twin decks made it to the top eight, Carsten Linden with Tarmotwin, Stefan Schütz with a regular Tempotwin version, and Patrick Dickmann with his take on a Spreadings Seas Twin deck. 0. Splinter Twin. For this reason I have two important recommendations. However, I’d like to point out these Dragonmaster Outcasts in the sideboard. Faerie Twin - Splinter Twin by Samuele Estratti. Patrick Dickmann discusses the Splinter Twin archetype in Modern. You can beat Abzan by being very fast, as in the case of Burn or Infect. Unlike the other pillars, Affinity, Pod, and Rock, Twin has been successfully played in very different forms. The two main versions of Twin are UR Tempo Twin and RUG Tarmotwin, both of which are tempo decks. Having maindeck answers to cards like, is certainly useful, but this was only a side effect. [deck title= Jeskai Splinter Twin by Max Ansbro] [Creatures] *3 Deciever Exarch *3 Pestermite *2 Snapcaster Mage *2 Vendilion Clique (I was a bit startled to realize that it has actually been banned longer than it was ever legal.) Splinter Twin from Rise of the Eldrazi for . You’ll win even more games where they let it go unanswered! Peter Dun (6th at 2012 Grand Prix Lyon). Living the dream! These are all the Splinter Twin and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker infinite combos I know of. My conclusion was that Abzan was all-around just a little bit too slow to keep up with the pace of Modern. They served him well. Do not leave home without four Inquisition of Kozilek in your main deck. Turn 2 Grudge, turn 3 Deceiver Exarch plus Grudge into turn 4 Twin is almost unbeatable for Affinity. At only three mana, it’s more difficult for Burn to set up Skullcrack, and it’s less devastating when they do. Abzan seemed to also be playing a ton of close games, but now losing the majority of them! Teachings Twin A common belief right now is that Splinter Twin can answer the aggressive combo-style decks overrunning the format like Dredge or Arclight Phoenix decks. Splinter Twin from Rise of the Eldrazi for . Like so many G/B Modern players before him, he focused on discard spells, spot removal, and single threats capable of winning the game on their own. All-in Twin - Saheeli combo and Splinter Twin combo, for when you really need to win on T4. If you've ever played the old Splinter Twin decks before it was banned, you'll be right in your element playing Jeskai Saheeli. Today we’re going to look at another PTBNG deck list that performed quite well. 1st. With Inferno Titan Tempo Twin might now have a powerful way to punish Pod for not going wide. No Seriously, It's Splinter Twin If you've ever played the old Splinter Twin decks before it was banned, you'll be right in your element playing Jeskai Saheeli. For example if Estratti had played against Sam Black’s Blazing Shoal deck those Dispels sure would have come in handy although Pact is better as combo protection. It’s a bad feeling to be eliminated from a tournament because you fetched the wrong land on turn 1. It might have been a reasonable plan back then anyway, but I wouldn’t try it in the age of Tarmotwin. Especially since Abzan players will be loading up on Path to Exiles to beat Splinter Twin and Infect, a 2-mana, must-kill-immediately creature is very appealing. Naya Twin deck by 49547681. Restoration Angel is good with Wall of Omens, and also combos with Kiki-Jiki. Some players will remain dedicated to their combo, while others will morph into a more controlling deck. Thoughtseize can round out the rest, depending on how many slots you choose to dedicate to hand disruption (I recommend seven to nine between main deck and sideboard). No Seriously, It's Splinter Twin. Test against it, and have it in mind throughout any Modern tournaments you play. It's been some time since the card was banned, and we have had a lot of cards printed since. Baker Neenan - 02.12.2020. In the next upkeep your Deceiver Exarch taps their only land, and on your fourth turn you kill them. Sticking Teferi means, that the opponent can only interact with the combo on-board, and especially for Kiki-Jiki plus Exarch there are just very few ways to do that. Vito's Revenge: Splinter Twin Returns To Standard! Twin on Sharpshooter, make a Sharpshooter, shoot the other X/1, untap both twins; Make a Sharpshooter, shoot 1 on enemy with the second sharpshooter, have third sharpshooter shoot itself, untap 2 sharpshooters Unfortunately, in our testing gauntlet, Abzan surprisingly proved to be a bit of a punching bag. That’s not even to mention the activated ability, which comes up more than you might expect, especially when the B/G mirror is prone to dragging on for so long. In Part 1 of the Splinter Twin Modern Deck Primer, we discussed the basics of how these decks operate, how they want to win the game, and how they sideboard. ChannelFireball - Magic: The Gathering Strategy, Singles, Cards, Decks. The other two Abzan players in the Top 8, Eric Froelich and Jacob Wilson, addressed this problem by playing with Noble Hierarch. Pro Tour Philadelphia Deck Tech: Splinter Twin with Josh Hakakian - … Dickmann is a true master with Twin, and in his hands this deck is very powerful, but if you haven’t played a thousand games with Twin yet, then you will probably make mistakes, and this deck is not very forgiving to your own mistakes. Yet others will be trying to steal games away from you with Blood Moon. On the other hand it might be a very good choice in a metagame full of other combo decks. Latest Sets. 1 I never tried this build, so I am not quite sure how good Boomerang is on the draw, but against aggressive decks it seems like a resonable proxy for removal. And as anyone who played Modern during Twin’s heyday knows, having access to a game-winning, turn four combo is extremely powerful. (60 cards, 24 distinct) - Misty Rainforest, Scalding Tarn, Snapcaster Mage, Cryptic Command, Batterskull, Blood Moon, Vendilion Clique By comparison, the core of Affiinity is probably something like 50 cards. Dickmann goes for the set of Pestermite here as they are so much better in the beatdown role. What did take me by surprise however was seeing a Splinter Twin deck, not just in the event, but in the top 8! EDH Recommendations and strategy content for Magic: the Gathering Commander Today we’re going to look at another PTBNG deck list that performed quite well. Jace Control with Twin I won’t linger on this as Pro Tour Philadelphia was just a few weeks away. 1x Dross Scorpion. However, a problem remained that Abzan doesn’t have access to a good turn-one removal spell. In the next upkeep your Deceiver Exarch taps their only land, and on your fourth turn you kill them. Splinter Twin from Modern Masters 2015 for . Against all three of them, I will take out as much combo, as possible and play a tempo / control game since most of the time Splinter Twin will be the worst card in your deck. Set: Rise of the Eldrazi Type: Enchantment Aura Rarity: Rare Cost: {2}{R}{R} Enchant creature Enchanted creature has "{T}: Create a token that's a copy of this creature, except it has haste. This might have been a great plan in theory, but unfortunately Jund players had just gotten access to Deathrite Shaman. Suppression Field, Negate, Dismember, Combust, Nature’s Claim, and Torpor Orb (just to name a card in each color) all do the trick. At it’s core this is a combo deck, and a good one at that. Against all three of them, I will take out as much combo, as possible and play a tempo / control game since most of the time Splinter Twin will be the worst card in your deck. Birthing Pod is gone, but B/W Tokens, Soul Sisters, and Affinity still exist! "I know just the person for that job." The deck has a reasonable beatdown plan as we saw, but having the ability to tap six lands and win the game no matter what the board state looks like is very impressive. When players are forced to leave Abrupt Decay mana open every turn for the entire game, it’s easy to wear them down with Cryptic Commands and Snapcaster Mages. That said, I am definitely experimenting with a more token-heavy take on this, using an instant-speed token generator on turn three (Warping Wail rocks here) to set up a turn four Polymorph. Del Moral Leon’s deck featured a few controlling elements like Cryptic Commands and Electrolyzes, but for the most part it was rather dedicated to winning with the combo. I am not giving you a deck list because the conclusion from this deck challenge is that to use Splinter Twin on a creature once per turn just does not work right now. If you only have time to familiarize yourself with one Modern deck, it should be Abzan. This and Inquisition being mostly a dead card against aggressive decks make this deck a bad choice when Nacatls run rampant. In the end, while the combo is a central element to all these decks, some of these decks play very differently. This Faerie/Twin Hybrid is particularly interesting as Mistbind Clique has a bunch of powerful applications in Twin. Splinter Twin featured a list of flash creatures that would increase tempo with or without the Splinter Twin aura itself. In between Portaro and Lippi had done well with Twin at GP Torino, but their deck was only a streamlined version of their Pro Tour deck. I suppose the main deck is best equipped for a metagame of midrange and control decks, but with access to black and red the very best sideboard options to fight aggro and combo are also available. From my experience, the most challenging part of playing against Splinter Twin is that you never quite know how they’re going to sideboard. A few cards in this deck have changed since the Pro Tour, but the concept is state-of-the-art for Twin decks. Alternatively, you can fight it by chocking your deck full of powerful mid- and late-game topdecks, as in the case of Urzatron or Scapeshift. Modern is a constructed format that allows expansion sets, core sets, and Modern Horizons; from Eighth Edition forward, save for the Modern ban list.1 The modern format thus encompasses all cards that have been printed in a core or expansion set using the modern card frame (plus some others from Time Spiral). The Splinter Twin deck has a devoted core of followers. Overtesting against one build can lead you into dangerous habits and subtract from your ability to expect the unexpected. Successful decks run four of these, but tempo pilots keep looking for excuses to run fewer. Straight U/R Twin, Tarmo Twin and due to recent additions to modern, mainly Grixis Fetchlands, but also Tasigur, the Golden Fang and Kolaghan's Command - Grixis Twin. Splinter Twin is not the quickest combo, it can pull of a turn four win without any ramp at all but in my experience is much more of a turn six sort of deck. 4 years ago. A problem with this approach is that the mana base is not as good as you would like it to be. Twin decks only have a comparatively small core of 10-12 combo pieces, which leaves a lot of room to flesh out the rest of the deck. That said, I am definitely experimenting with a more token-heavy take on this, using an instant-speed token generator on turn three (Warping Wail rocks here) to set up a turn four Polymorph. Throughout Modern’s history it has remained a small, but noticeable—and often quite successful—portion of the field. In addition to Lightning Bolt, red offers Thundermaw Hellkite. While Mark has done well so far with this deck, rogue approaches always benefit to some extent from the opponent not knowing what is going on. There are many, many more decks to discuss in Modern. When we’re talking about a deck whose main weakness is being slow, paying 4 life on turn one against an aggro deck isn’t an appealing option. Reid Duke burst onto the competitive scene in 2011 by winning the Magic Online Championship at Worlds, and has since grown to become one of the most widely respected players in Magic. Samuele Estratti (1st at 2011 Pro Tour Philadelphia), Samuele Estratti won Pro Tour Philadelphia with this combo-oriented Splinter Twin version. Where Thoughtseize is nearly uncastable against Burn, Inquisition of Kozilek and Duress are some of the best cards you can have! Aim for a well balanced sideboard that gives you reasonable game against aggro, combo, midrange, and control. Splinter Twin constructed deck list and prices for the Magic the Gathering TCG. This deck will in all likelihood cast its spells most of the time, however it will have to pay some extra life as the lack of good fetchlands lets you pay more often for shock lands. Hellkite, while it might not be objectively as good as Siege Rhino, is also an appealing curve-topper in a format in which Lingering Souls is one of the defining cards. Nonetheless, Kitchen Finks can be a fine consideration in small numbers for Abzan as well, especially with Burn being among the top decks right now. Of course with 20% of this Standard deck being on the Modern banned list, there is no easy port for this deck. For many players, Splinter Twin was the face of the Modern format, and successfully piloting a Splinter Twin deck to victory was seen as a great display of skill. After 2011 Worlds it took more than a full year for another innovation in Twin to have a real finish. An easy swap between Thoughtseize and Inquisition will change your greatest liability into a great strength in one of the format’s more important matchups. This is an interesting approach that we have not seen since, although the viability might depend in part on Punishing Fire being a good discard for Thirst for Knowledge. The deck was ultimately deemed too strong for the format, and it died with the ban of Splinter Twin in the first weeks of 2016. Another GP Top 8 in Madrid in 2012 soon followed, where he brought the Legacy Omniscience deck to the forefront of the format. The other innovative list from KC is the first real UWR Twin by Casey Swanson. - Monoblue Infect by Samuel Black. Here's a list I'm testing for reference: The full set of Snapcaster Mage and Lightning Bolt is another essential part to that strategy. What makes Twin so dangerous is that it’s largely a normal, well-balanced deck that simply has the threat of winning the game out of nowhere. It's possible, but there's not really any way to know. The mana and time spent creating a token Wurmcoil Engine is far better spent casting two Wurmcoil Engines. The deck was ultimately deemed too strong for the format, and it died with the ban of Splinter Twin in the first weeks of 2016. Jund needs Kitchen Finks more than Abzan because it does not have Lingering Souls to play a similar role as a buffer against Liliana. This side of the Atlantic the next relevant Modern event happaned at the Bazaar of Moxen. I can only guess what the exact reasons were, but I suppose a well prepared field and inexperienced pilots were at least two of the main reasons. 2 Pyroclasm: 2 Unc. Event: MTGO Standard Premier #2 - 7/10/11 Aware of the fragility of the Ascension plan, they had brought a backup plan in their sideboard and even main deck. 6/15/2010: If the ability is activated during a turn’s end step, the token will be exiled at the beginning of the following turn’s end step. Max Ansbro piloted a Blue Red Splinter Twin list splashing white all the way to the elimination rounds. Patrick Dickmann (3rd at Pro Tour Born of the Gods). Even more surprisingly all four decks looked quite different from each other. They sure look a lot like poor man’s Scapeshift to me. One of the problems of combo-oriented Twin decks is that the combo can be attacked from so many different angles. The reason why Splinter Twin Combo isn't played in Legacy is because the heavy amount of removal doesn't make it such a solid choice vs. Modern. This means that a deck could be dead for months only to become the next breakthrough deck again. Boomerang Twin Of all the innovative Twin decks, Noah Swartz’s take stands out. Grixis Twin The idea is a bit older, and I know for a fact that Grixis Twin existed at GP Torino that I mentioned previously. Except, of course, for the times when it’s suddenly turned completely on it’s head! Rarity, #: R, 129 Card Type: Enchantment Description: Enchant Creature Enchated creature has "T: Put a token that's a copy of this creature onto the battlefield. Luis Scott-Vargas (3-1 in Modern Daily Event). The first Twin decks here are mostly of historical interest. Tempotwin had the game plan of attacking the opponent with Pestermites while hindering them from executing their own gameplan by forcing them to respect the combo kill. 1x Rime Tender. Twin decks like this were in vogue for a short time. Note: Archaeomancer, Possessed Skaab, Anarchist, Eternal Witness, Izzet Chronarch, and Mnemonic Wall require a Time Warp effect to go off. While Patrick Dickmann is often credited with designing Tempo Twin, two of these decks at GP KC were obviously built with a non-combo win firmly in mind. In 2015 — when Twin was arguably at its best — there were seven non-Splinter Twin decks still holding 5% or more of the top-8 meta for the year. Leagues last for roughly a month. Noah Swartz (4-1-1 at 2011 Worlds). This might not be too surprising considering Twin’s results at Worlds. These are all the Splinter Twin and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker infinite combos I know of. Matt Nass (6th at 2011 GP Pittsburgh, Standard). Along the same lines, I strongly recommend reconfiguring your discard spells to better fight the Burn deck. The first successful deck that is actually dedicated to winning with Splinter Twin comes from Matt Nass. But in other cases, the win turn is higher. What I want to talk about is what a Twin shell might look like today. The next innovation to Twin happened about half a year later at Grand Prix Kansas City. Sang Mun Bang (24th at 2011 GP Singapore, Standard). As if that weren’t good enough, Tarmogoyf as a blocker is one of the most powerful plays against aggressive decks. The problem with this deck is that it is exceedingly fragile. In particular, it doesn’t copy the ability granted to the enchanted creature by Splinter Twin. After that, he overcame Pro Tour first-timer Justin Cohen's devastating Amulet Bloom deck in the finals, securing the trophy, $40,000 USD, Platinum Pro status, and an invitation to the 2015 World Championship. Exile that token at the beginning of the next end step." Any of these decks would be good choices for upcoming tournaments, particularly if you have to the time to practice and make the decklists your own. Splinter Twin; Splinter Twin. Rarity, #: R, 129 Card Type: Enchantment Description: Enchant Creature Enchated creature has "T: Put a token that's a copy of this creature onto the battlefield. Rarity, #: R, 165 Card Type: Enchantment Aura Description: Enchant creature // Enchanted creature has "T: Put a token which is a … The decision of which to play is close, but I currently fall on the Dark Confidant side of things. Aside from the mainstream versions several alternate versions have been tried: Grixis Twin as a combo-oriented approach, other tempo-oriented versions with Spreading Seas or Faerie Hybrids, and finally control oriented versions such as Grixis Teachings Twin and UWR Kiki Control, that doesn’t really use Splinter Twin, but has a similar combo finish. If you’re attending Grand Prix Vancouver, or have another Modern event coming up, this is the time to learn the format, choose a deck, and get a big edge over the competition. I believe it may well be worth it to trade in your powerful top-end card (Siege Rhino) in favor of the most efficient removal spell in the format. Which brings us to Antonio del Moral Leon’s sideboard, which features an odd assortment of cards. Choose Printing (2 Total) Sign up to add this card to your Inventory, Wishlist or Tradelist, and to start creating decks with it. This is because you just need 1 Pestermite, 1 Splinter Twin, 2 Mountain, 1 Island and any other fourth land in your opening hand to guarantee lethal on turn 4. At Grand Prix Minneapolis Shain McLaren made Top 8 with a deck that doesn’t have any Splinter Twins. For the entire history of Modern, it went without saying that these G/B decks played four copies of Dark Confidant. One way to fall miserably behind in a B/G mirror is to get a single creature Edicted by Liliana’s -2, leaving you with no way to attack her on the following turn. Dismember isn’t great either. 6/15/2010: If the ability is activated during a turn’s end step, the token will be exiled at the beginning of the following turn’s end step. After the recent bannings and Antonio del Moral Leon earning a Pro Tour title with the deck… The pure combo versions are nearly extinct as of now although there is no reason why we should not see a resurgence of that approach at some point. That plan may have better chances to succeed these days, though. Such a deck could definitely be strong, but it lacks the surprise value of Twin and thus the major tempo advantage that made Twin so good. If you know more please post them in the comments. Previous incarnations of the deck—Jund with either Bloodbraid Elf or Deathrite Shaman—played tons of close games, but always won the majority of them. When Splinter Twin came out of Rise of the Eldrazi there was no Pestermite in Standard and Deceiver Exarch hadn’t been printed yet. Straight U/R Twin, Tarmo Twin and due to recent additions to modern, mainly Grixis Fetchlands, but also Tasigur, the Golden Fang and Kolaghan's Command - Grixis Twin. (Jund also lacks the life gain of Siege Rhino). 2 Spellskite, 2 Dispel, 2 Pact of Negation and 1 Disrupting Shoal main plus 1 Deprive and 2 Spellskite doesn’t look like it can be the best configuration in the vacuum. 4 Splinter Twin Land (24) 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Scalding Tarn 4 Sulfur Falls 1 Stomping Ground 3 Steam Vents 1 Desolate Lighthouse 1 Tectonic Edge 1 Mountain 5 Island It played a lot of counter magic, and it demanded your opponent to have removal or counter spells of their own or else Splinter Twin’s combo with Deceiver Exarch would go off consistently. This deck is not as focused on the combo itself. He loves control decks, but the decks he builds are always very clunky and never seem to work for anybody else, yet he is regularly successful with them. [[Splinter Twin]] is a completely safe unban in my opinion. The token is exiled at the beginning of the next end step regardless of who controls it at that time, or whether Splinter Twin or the enchanted creature is still on the battlefield at that time. Asatas on WOMBO COMBO!!! "I know just the person for that job." Several other Twin decks has a 7-2 result, the most interesting of these by Mark Tobiasch. In Part 1 of the Splinter Twin Modern Deck Primer, we discussed the basics of how these decks operate, how they want to win the game, and how they sideboard. By Jim Davis. His teammate, Alessandro Portaro also Top 8’d with Twin. Set: Rise of the Eldrazi Mana Cost: Card Type: Enchantment - Aura Description: ... Theme Deck Set Planechase Planechase 2012 Welcome Deck 2016 Welcome Deck 2017 Battlebond Legendary Cube Prize Packs Treasure Chest Jumpstart Game Night 2019. Shortly before the Pro Tour, I sat down with my teammates and wrote down a list of Modern decks. We named deck after deck—I reached the bottom of the page and had to turn to the next one in my notebook—28 different decks in all! In a format where most players damage themselves with their lands the sequence of end of turn Bolt, Snapcaster, flashback Bolt, untap attack with Snapcaster often means that opponents lose half their life out of the blue. Just a few weeks later Peter Dun Top 8’d Grand Prix Lyon with a Grixis Twin deck. This is a nice simple bog standard list for Splinter Twin. The removal package keeps the combo in check, and Restoration Angel is one of the most annoying cards for combo decks. It only takes 30 seconds to sign up. Nevertheless this is the first real finish for the deck. To find a game sign up and then create a game in Constructed, Specialty, Freeform Tournament Practice with "Penny Dreadful League" as … 'Splinter Twin' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite! I don’t know how well this deck would fare if opponents were prepared, but for the time being this seems like an approach worthwhile of exploration, especially for Control mages looking for a Modern deck. Consequentially Anger of the Gods was not as strong in Tempotwin as in Tarmotwin. Living the dream! However, the deck has other qualities that give it quite a lot of game in the matchup. So there you have my picks for the most important decks to beat in Modern. Here we have a Teachings control deck, that makes use of the best combokill in the format. Keranos, God of Storms, Threads of Disloyalty, Anger of the Gods, Blood Moon, and Jace, Architect of Thought give him the option to move partially away from his combo toward a more normal U/R Control deck. Pro Tour Philadelphia Deck Tech: Splinter Twin with Josh Hakakian - Duration: 9:52. This is a nice simple bog standard list for Splinter Twin. In Part 1 of the Splinter Twin Modern Deck Primer, we discussed the basics of how these decks operate, how they want to win the game, and how they sideboard. More interesting are the three Spreading Seas. Siege Rhino is a fantastic card, but Lightning Bolt plays a critical role in the archetype where Rhino is a little more replaceable. Both of these decks are interesting, but two other decks –the ones that made it to the Top 8– had even more ingenious alterations. Next time I’ll cover some more of the most important ones, but remember that Modern is about choosing a balanced deck and being prepared for everything. As a result, Twin players usually couldn’t blindly jam the combo – they had to try and manoeuvre into a better position over several turns. He has three Pro Tour Top 8s, a runner-up finish at the 2013 World Championships, and five Grand Prix wins to his name. 3rd - 4th. Inquisition Kozilek is the perfect way to protect your combo against all these cards as long as people’s answers are not super-plentiful. So we all know that Splinter Twin is banned, and this thread wasn't created to talk about Twin at all. Such a deck could definitely be strong, but it lacks the surprise value of Twin and thus the major tempo advantage that made Twin so good. The first time that Splinter Twin was played to some success at a major tournament was at Pro Tour Amsterdam. Unlike Splinter Twin decks, which at least retain value on the whole because of their mana base and other format staples, if Affinity gets gutted at some point in the future, all that will remain is a pile of 71 unplayable artifacts which slot into no other deck. Exile that token at the beginning of the next end step." 2nd. SHOP. Instead it plays the control role reasonably well with Wall of Omens and twelve removal spells. (I was a bit startled to realize that it has actually been banned longer than it was ever legal.) Pestermite and Exarch are out here, but Restoration Angel and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker do the same thing, a mana more expensive but with individually more powerful cards . Twin as an archetype is thus only loosely tied together by the use of the Splinter Twin combo, but features a wider array of strategies than the other pillars of the format. In 2016, a full year with Splinter Twin banned, seven decks once again held that same 5% or more of the top-8 meta. However, the Modern format hadn’t found an equilibrium state between deck representation and adequate sideboard hate back then. This balance is exactly the right way to play Splinter Twin. (Philly Top8 decklists). On the other hand turn 4 Shatterstorm on the draw might just not be good enough, especially in a time when Affinity players often had 4 Galvanic Blast and 3 Shrapnel Blast. on the play is devestating. They never had access to more than a single mana apiece. This deck is certainly not for every metagame, but if you like Twin you might want to remember this version. Jund has a hard time executing its own game plan while being a land down and under the constant threat of being combo’d out. It’s generally one of the cards you’re happiest to see in your opening hand. Although Twin’s results were bad overall, a lot of innovation between PT Philly and Worlds took place. The current Modern format rests on four pillars, Pod, Affinity, Rock, and Twin. And we’ve only scratched the surface. Theros: Beyond Death Singles Sealed Product. I absolutely love Kitchen Finks right now. Thoughtseize is the best way to achieve this goal, but other ways include cheap, instant-speed removal spells like Path to Exile, Dismember, and Slaughter Pact, or flash creatures like Vendilion Clique and Restoration Angel. Today we’re going to look at another PTBNG deck list that performed quite well. Against other decks, that don’t impact the board early on –like other Twin decks and Scapeshift– bouncing their land might be solid even on the draw as the amount of lands in play restricts when they can go off. Jund should be even lower on Abrupt Decays because Lightning Bolt also matches up poorly against Siege Rhino and Tasigur. Twinning Mistbind Clique itself can result in a soft lock if enough Faeries are around, and Mistbinding them at the end of their turn can protect the combo. We also looked at a sample deck list from Pro Tour: Born of the Gods called “Tempo Twin”. 1x Sunstrike Legionnaire. Splinter Twin on Deceiver Exarch could be broken up by cards that just about any deck played. Imagine your opponent starts with a tapped land or something like Serum Visions, and you Boomerang their one land on your second turn. Instead he is on the regular UWR control plan, and uses Kiki-Jiki as a miser’s chance to catch opponents off guard to win on the spot. Imagine your opponent starts with a tapped land or something like Serum Visions, and you Boomerang their one land on your second turn. The tier 1 deck I want to look at this week is Splinter Twin. Shortly thereafter the last World Championship as we knew it was held in San Francisco. If you have a lot of lands then you just need to protect this one card to win. In some matchups having Boomerang on the play is devestating. Asatas on WOMBO COMBO!!! Today we’re going to look at another PTBNG deck list that performed quite well. The other reason why this is interesting is that. Exile that token at the beginning of the next end step." This is not even to mention other builds of Twin like TarmoTwin and W/U/R Twin! If you don’t care just skip ahead to the “Modern Era” section. If the opponent brings enchantment hate for Pyromancer Ascension or leaves in creature removal for Tarmogoyf then the plan falls apart. In theory you can get the whole combo off Mystical Teachings, digging for Exarch, Teferi, and finally Kiki-Jiki. I wouldn’t know what to do with this in Modern right now, but this card certainly has a powerful effect, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it again some time. Back then it might have been there mostly to keep Jund players under control. Duel … Kitchen Finks is great at preventing this. They only get to replay their land, probably still don’t have a play, and discard. Twin won the first big Modern tournament, Pro Tour Philadelphia, and has been a pillar of the format ever since. A reliable combo deck that is fairly easy to draft and fit within a broad and established shell. Combos like Ad Nauseam plus Angel’s Grace or Faithless Looting plus Goryo’s Vengeance have a lot of strengths, but they’ve largely fallen out of favor because they lack resilience to Thoughtseize. So, I think the best thing to do is to test the obvious things we would see if Twin … It can generate extra value with (excess) Splinter Twin by using it on Wall of Omens. In fact, I’d say it’s the only deck that you’ll definitely need to beat if you’re looking for a strong finish in a Modern tournament. This leads to a deck that has two solid game plans, and thus makes Tarmotwin the most robust Twin version to date. From there, he quickly trumped Hall of Famer Jelger Wiegersma in the semifinal mirror match pitting Splinter Twin against Splinter Twin. I also recommend diversifying your removal, and not overdoing it on Abrupt Decays. Ironically, Deceiver Exarch plus Splinter Twin is exactly the sort of two-card combo that I recommended avoiding. 1x Midnight Guard. This is true especially for the blue red versions of Twin. Throne of Eldraine Singles Sealed Product. Pyromancer Ascension with Twin morph plan Inferno Titan might not be the perfect maindeck card, but it in a field with lots of Pod decks –basically what you would expect at the top tables of an American Grand Prix– having Inferno Titan in the sideboard might be a good choice indeed. Losing Punishing Fire certainly reduces the deck’s flexibility, but replacing this with Gitaxian Probe might strengthen the combo plan. I think it's most likely that the best Twin deck would still be Izzet, or a 3 color build similar to the 2015 builds but with new cards. It usually won’t come down until turn 4 or so, but the fact that you can cast it and a second spell in the same turn make it miles better than just an Erhnam Djinn. I am not giving you a deck list because the conclusion from this deck challenge is that to use Splinter Twin on a creature once per turn just does not work right now. If you know more please post them in the comments. We’re fresh off of a change to the banned list and a major Modern event in Pro Tour Fate Reforged. The tier 1 deck I want to look at this week is Splinter Twin. Finally a couple of days ago LSV played a Daily with a version of Twin that was mainly supposed to be a joke at Efro’s expense. Created By: _YS. With all the cantrips in the main deck they could easily assemble this combo postboard, and thus attack the opponent from a different angle than preboard. (You sacrifice the Sword of the Meek, and then when the 1/1 hits, it returns to … With Dreadship Reef Mark’s deck is well equipped to fight a counterwar over Teferi. Rock and Pod have some flexibility in deck construction at least in theory, but somehow large parts of the deck lists always seem to be the same. Tasigur, the Golden Fang is also quite good. Mark Tobiasch (7-2 for Top 16 at the 2014 Bazaar of Moxen). 6/15/2010 If the enchanted creature is copying something else when the ability resolves (for example, if it’s a Renegade Doppelganger), then the token enters the battlefield as a copy of whatever the enchanted creature is copying, plus it has haste. Nevertheless KC suddenly had four Twin decks in the top 16. Splinter Twin is not the quickest combo, it can pull of a turn four win without any ramp at all but in my experience is much more of a turn six sort of deck. Sea Twin It’s strange to me that it’s now become so marginalized as a card! Splinter Twin Like all Splinter Twin decks, this deck has as its gameplan, an infinite combo. Playing 27 lands seems excessive to me, and I am not sure that the three Mistbind Clique are adequately supported, but nevertheless this is very clearly the first Tempo Twin deck on Pro Tour level. On the other hand the existence of Abrupt Decay hurts this deck as all plans are susceptible to this card. Having at least one proactive early play is helpful, and I do recommend this approach if Abzan is your deck of choice. I suppose this plan mainly worked for them, because most of the Ascension hate would have been aimed at the graveyard back then. After the recent bannings and Antonio del Moral Leon earning a Pro Tour title with the deck, it could reach an all-time high in popularity. has since returned to Modern. Three months later Marcel Kachapow made it to the finals of Grand Prix Prague with almost the same deck list. Several other Twin decks has a 7-2 result, the most interesting of these by Mark Tobiasch. 3rd - 4th. For the uninitiated, Splinter Twin is in reference to an infinite combo deck that originated in Standard all the way back in Rise of the Eldrazi/New Phyrexia. You play five matches per run. Splinter Twin would get to enjoy their opponent playing slower while they continued to make full aggro/tempo plays, but our hypothetical Cannonade deck can't do the same thing. Max Ansbro piloted a Blue Red Splinter Twin list splashing white all the way to the elimination rounds. At the 2012 Modern Pro Tour Return to Ravnica, just one year after Estratti’s triumph, and only one and a half years from now, Twin was basically off the radar. Rarity, #: R, 165 Card Type: Enchantment Aura Description: Enchant creature // Enchanted creature has "T: Put a token which is a … For the most part David’s deck is just a generic all-in combo version of Twin. ... Every deck can run away with a game, but midrange decks are more prone to scraping across the finish line, while decks with a two-card combo can lean on that power level to win while sitting on several dead cards. The Japanese pros Mihara, Kaji, and Nakajima included Thirst for Knowledge and multiple Spellskites. The mana and time spent creating a token Wurmcoil Engine is far better spent casting two Wurmcoil Engines. You may enter any number of times but only one deck at a time. Splinter Twin is a blue/red combo deck for the Modern format (as of Jan 18th 2016, Splinter Twin has been banned in Modern format, rendering this deck unplayable). We immediately notice that the Splinter Twin deck has 7 and 6 card hands that will always win on turn 4. Blood Moon is a deadly card, and should absolutely be treated as such. Fortunately, the corollary to that is that most decks will have at least decent game against them. Instead it employs Kiki-Jiki for basically the same shenanigans. Being well prepared for a Modern tournament doesn’t necessarily mean building and testing against such an outrageous number of different archetypes. We also looked at a sample deck list from Pro Tour: Born of the Gods called “Tempo Twin”. Your top priority for beating Splinter Twin should be to make sure you don’t fold to Blood Moon. Simon Görtzen (2010 PT Amsterdam, Extended). You’ll win a majority of games where your opponent Paths your turn 2 Dark Confidant. Of course, not having a banned list also beefs up Twin combo by allowing access to actual Splinter Twin (still banned at the time of this writing), alongside Kiki-Jiki, Deceiver Exarch, and Pestermite. We also looked at a sample deck list from Pro Tour: Born of the Gods called “Tempo Twin”. Splinter Twin The combo forces opponents to be careful, which raises your chances of getting into the late game where you will be a huge favorite. Shaun McLaren (3rd at Grand Prix Minneapolis). The last thing you want is to overload on hate cards like Spellskite and Torpor Orb only to lose to a player who brought in Keranos, God of Storms and Batterskull. The token is exiled at the beginning of the next end step regardless of who controls it at that time, or whether Splinter Twin or the enchanted creature is still on the battlefield at that time. Three Abzan decks made the Top 8 of Pro Tour Fate Reforged. McLaren’s deck is not a tempo deck, though. [deck title= Jeskai Splinter Twin by Max Ansbro] [Creatures] *3 Deciever Exarch *3 Pestermite *2 Snapcaster Mage *2 Vendilion Clique - Counter-Cat by Josh Utter-Leyton. 1x Captain of the Mists. Next, you need to be able to progress your game plan without leaving yourself vulnerable to the combo. As many of your removal spells as possible should be able to kill Tasigur, the Golden Fang, which can otherwise dominate the mirror match in a stall. Another thing that I find interesting is that Estratti realized even back then that Ancient Grudge is just better in the matchup against Affinity than Shatterstorm. For the evolved Twin decks I will try to explain what makes them special and under which circumstances they might thrive again. Izzet Charm is new, but so obvious as to be essentially a non-innovation. First, focus on versatile sideboard cards like Duress and Thoughtseize. The protection package looks a bit rough around the edges. ChannelFireball - Magic: The Gathering Strategy, Singles, Cards, Decks. Twinning Mistbind Clique itself can result in a soft lock if enough Faeries are around, and Mistbinding them at the end of their turn can protect the combo. A bad matchup against Infect or Urzatron is a small strike against a deck, but not necessarily a dealbreaker. Followed by a in Depth Deck Tech on the original Modern combo deck Splinter Twin. There’s still nothing like turn 1 Inquisition of Kozilek into turn 2 Dark Confidant! It was essentially a combo control deck that relied on flash creaturesShop Now, and though the primary goal was creating infinite creaturesShop Now to win on the spot, it often w… Mark is not well known outside of Germany yet, but here he has made himself a name for a style that resembles that of Guillaume Wafo-Tapa. The list was meant to feature all of the decks that we, “wouldn’t be surprised to play against,” in the tournament. His deck is among the successful decks of the tournament (6-4 or better) although David went 5-5. One good result for Affinity might have people bring endless Shatterstorms and Ancient Grudges only to be dumped for Torpor Orbs and Spellskites after a good result for Twin. And it’s not that figuring out if you want to play Noble Hierarch over Birds of Paradise in Pod or Terminate over Abrupt Decay in Jund doesn’t have its merits, yet Twin has displayed a higher versatility so far, going beyond exchanging cards in a specific role on a one for one basis. The main difference between the two decks was that Portaro also harnessed the power of Punishing Fire. From there, he quickly trumped Hall of Famer Jelger Wiegersma in the semifinal mirror match pitting Splinter Twin against Splinter Twin. 6/15/2010 Otherwise, be sure to include them in your testing gauntlet, and be prepared to face them in your next Modern tournament. Throughout Modern’s history it has remained a small, but noticeable—and often quite successful—portion of the field. 1x Battered Golem. It doesn’t make sense from a format design standpoint to have a deck like Splinter Twin exist, because it becomes incorrect to play a dedicated combo deck with the same turn four restriction. Replacing Ponder and Preordain with Serum Visions and Sleight of Hand is a downgrade, but it might not render the deck unplayable. 4 Splinter Twin. At it’s core this is a combo deck, and a good one at that. 7 decks containing both Omnath and Uro (1 copycat, 6 standard) 4 decks containing Uro and not Omnath (1 Rec, 1 control, 1 midrange, 1 Titan) 7 Titan (4 GW, 3 Amulet) 6 Tron (3 Mono-G, 2 Eldrazi, 1 Mono-U) 5 Scourge (4 RB, 1 Jund) 4 Prowess (3 Mono-R, 1 UR) 4 Taxes (3 …