Micahel J Flores Archives - Top Level Podcast

Clever Lumimancer
W
Creature – Human Wizard
Magecraft – Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell, Clever Lumimancer gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
0/1

So many turn-two kills with Clever Lumimancer in Modern…

Start with a first-turn Clever Lumimancer.

Play your second land and a Manamorphose (2), and another Manamorphose (4). What are you going to do with all that mana? Certainly not cast Mutagenic Growth (6, then 8). An Assault Strobe will put your Human Wizard to 10, dealing 20!

There are lots of ways to get there with Ground Rift on turn two as well! The red-white build of this Storm-esque Red Deck in Modern has tons of “free” spells. In addition to Mutagenic Growth you get things like Gut Shot and the back side of Lava Dart as well.

Never has “the Lava Spike” deck needed Lava Spike less… To be so fast.

Don’t like white? The Blue Burn in Modern has something new for you, too!

The blue-red version of Modern Burn is a bit less fast than red-white… But also has a ton of play. Expressive Iteration is a nice card to set up Lightning Bolts and land drops (or both at the same time!) Look for this card to be best buddies with Sprite Dragon and Vapor Snag.

Weirdly enough, Expressive Iteration seems less desirable in the legitimately “blue” blue-red decks. It’s not great with permission (and might be a liability for deck with more expensive curves or especially kill conditions). So, unlikely the returning Counterspell plays much with this one.

Monastery Swiftspear likes lots of these teammates, though. Patrick thinks maybe even Counterspell itself!

And More Modern Strixhaven

How to play Silverquill Silencer in Humans
Witherbloom Command in Golgari Midrange… One at least
The return of Temur Delver… Now with Expressive Iteration!
Why Sedgemoor Witch is a more exciting Modern card than Standard card

Intrigued? Listen up:

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Breaking Kari Zev’s Expertise

Kari Zev’s Expertise is already format-warping. Years from now, when we look back on Aether Revolt, it will likely be the case that what we remember most about the set is how badly it helped players to cheat.

Cheat on costs, that is.

Kari Zev’s Expertise is at this point the most prominent example of how Aether Revolt can break — really break — the rules of Magic to gain a massive advantage. Dan Ward was the first person to innovate Kari Zev’s Expertise in Modern (though he lost in the finals of his Regional Chapionship, to Mike’s apprentice Roman Fusco playing the Inspiring Vantage Burn deck).

How Does the Kari Zev’s Expertise Combo Work?

Dan played Simian Spirit Guide, so he could pop off the Expertise against a second turn beatdown card (say a Grim Flayer). Threatens can be good cards in and of themselves, but this one also gives you the opportunity to play a two mana card for free.

The most important two mana card you can play is Breaking // Entering:

Note two things about these cards:

Kari Zev’s Expertise specifically says the word “card” (as opposed to “spell”).
The “Breaking” half of Breaking // Entering costs two. Bingo! You can play the card Breaking // Entering for free even though if you had flipped this over with a Dark Confidant, you’d be eating eight.

When you are casting Breaking // Entering this way, you never give the opponent a chance to use Relic of Progenitus or Extirpate. If you separately cast Breaking and then Entering, the opponent would have a chance to respond, but entwined this way, it is just one giant beating.

Ward’s deck still had Goryo’s Vengeance, Cathartic Reuinion, and other traditional enablers.

All That and Fatal Push!

Fatal Push is going to continue to be highly effective in Modern… A card (for once not Rare or worse) on the order of Path to Exile. One of the reasons that Ward’s deck seemed so reliable is that he lacked the small creatures that make Fatal Push such an effective defensive card.

Pro Tour Journey Into Nyx Champion Patrick Chapin and Resident Genius Michael J. Flores go over not just a number of ways to cheat costs in Modern, but run down ideas for other archetypes like Burn, Grixis Control, or Abzan Company. Check it all out in this week’s episode!