Modern Mondays: The Evolution of Bant Auras

After not doing so well with my Red/White Burn deck, I decided to try out an Auras deck. Initially it was going to be Naya where I would use Wild Nacatl, Kird Ape, Ajani Vengeant, and Lightning Helix as part of a destructive force that would utilize Unflinching Courage, Ethereal Armor, Rancor, Madcap Skills, etc. Needless to say, this did not happen.

Instead, I thought about going with Green/White Auras. That's a typical Modern Deck, people play it all the time, and if you've been playing for the past few years, you have the cards. Of course, I started after Dark Ascension so most cards I have are from around that time. During my search for enchantments, I came across Invisible Stalker. It can't typically be touched (unless sacrificed, countered, or discarded) and it is the perfect building block to wreak havoc on an opponent once you strap on a few enchantments. So here's the original deck:

Bant Auras

Creatures x4 Gladecover Scout x4 Fleecemane Lion x4 Invisible Stalker x3 Kor Spiritdancer Land x4 Hallowed Fountain x1 Glacial Fortress x1 Temple of Enlightenment x4 Temple Garden x1 Sunpetal Grove x1 Temple of Plenty x4 Breeding Pool x2 Plains x2 Forest	Enchantments x2 Aqueous Form x2 Curiousity x4 Ethereal Armor x2 Forced Adaptation x4 Rancor x2 Alpha Authority x3 Detention Sphere x4 Unflinching Courage x2 Leyline of Sanctity
Sideboard x2 Pithing Needle x2 Azorius Charm x2 Negate x2 Simic Charm x2 Spirit Mantle x2 Dissipate x1 Detention Sphere x2 Mistcutter Hydra

So I can tell you I went 2-2 at FNM (with this 3/28) with this, and it should have been 1-3, but one of my opponents after beating me 2-0 voluntarily disqualified himself after I saw him unsideboard a Nevinyrral's Disk and pointed out it was not legal in Modern. The other game I won was against one of the owners of Red Battle Games who had a Green/White Midrange deck (I think?). I lost to White Weenies and a Bogles deck.

I noticed some mistakes... Leyline of Sanctity should be in the sideboard. Fleecemane Lion can easily be destroyed before it can be made monstrous, and lastly my favorite... When your only blue mana source is destroyed, a Path to Exile later on should allow you to find a basic Island.

    

I love the Bucket Island, but this art is just too cool. Actually, I love all Zendikar land art...

Of course my deck essentially is a Bogles deck without the Bogles. I'm also missing the totem armors/umbras, Spirit Mantle in the main deck, Daybreak Coronet (which in all honesty, I will not pay $30 for a single card right now, and it's just too expensive right now, otherwise I would love a playset), and other things.

Cue the Star City Games March Madness Sale, and I pick up the things I wanted... 1x Spirit Mantle, 2x Hyena Umbra, x2 Spider Umbra, 4x Slippery Bogle. You might be asking about the lack of playsets of things. I can get a Spirit Mantle out of the Savage Auras Planechase 2012 deck along with a Hyena Umbra. I also have two Spider Umbras and a single Hyena Umbra I obtained from a Rise of the Eldrazi Fat Pack I opened a year ago.

Of course I also picked up other things from that sale (Poison Counter die, playmat tube for my second playmat, EDH things), I managed to completely ignore that I needed a Tainted Peak for an EDH deck, but I'll rectify that soon enough. Anyway, back to the deck.

With my new and improved deck, let's see what I can do now...

Bant Bogles

Creatures x4 Slippery Bogle x4 Gladecover Scout x4 Invisible Stalker x3 Kor Spiritdancer Land x4 Hallowed Fountain x1 Glacial Fortress x1 Temple of Enlightenment x4 Temple Garden x1 Sunpetal Grove x1 Temple of Plenty x4 Breeding Pool x2 Plains x1 Island x1 Forest	Other Spells x2 Path to Exile x3 Think Twice Enchantments x4 Ethereal Armor x4 Hyena Umbra x4 Rancor x4 Spider Umbra x4 Spirit Mantle
Sideboard x2 Pithing Needle x2 Azorius Charm x1 Negate x2 Simic Charm x2 Dissipate x2 Detention Sphere x2 Leyline of Sanctity x2 Mistcutter Hydra

Well, this version didn't work out to well, or else I probably would have done better. I did get to put out a Leyline of Sanctity on turn 0 against burn/control, but other than that, this was not a great deck. Time for some more revisions... This time, let's make it look a bit more like a G/W Midrange Modern deck.

G/W Bogles

Creatures x4 Slippery Bogle x4 Gladecover Scout x4 Silhana Ledgewalker x3 Kor Spiritdancer Land x4 Temple Garden x1 Sunpetal Grove x1 Temple of Plenty x2 Razorverge Thicket x1 Stirring Wildwood x2 Tectonic Edge x1 Dryad Arbor x4 Plains x4 Forest	Other Spells x2 Path to Exile Enchantments x4 Ethereal Armor x4 Hyena Umbra x4 Rancor x4 Spider Umbra x4 Spirit Mantle x1 Gift of Orzhova x2 Unflinching Courage
Sideboard x2 Pithing Needle x2 Glaring Spotlight x2 Silence x1 Torpor Orb x1 Rest in Peace x1 Stony Silence x2 Nevermore x2 Dismember x2 Leyline of Sanctity

So the deck is pretty much built now to rival most decks at my local FNM. I have basic lands, I have land destruction, I have hexproof creatures that opponent's creatures can't block. My sideboard is built to stop opponents.

  

Against Bogles (mirror match), I've included Glaring Spotlight and Dismember (and Silence too) for stopping opponents playing enchantments. I don't have any direct damage abilities, but I can at least cause their creatures to be vulnerable or use the Dismember to wipe out a creature early, or even just Path to Exile the creature, thus eliminating the auras attached to it.

    

Against Affinity (which is the other main weakness), I have Torpor Orb, Silence, Stony Silence, and Nevermore.

Against any direct damage deck, I still have Leyline of Sanctity, and I can even use Nevermore now.



So I unfortunately did not make it against a Bogles mirror match or an Affinity deck as I had hoped, but I went 2-2 with it, with my losses being a 1-2 and a 0-2. The 1-2 was against Mono Blue Tron with Spellskite to steal auras. The 0-2 was against a fast white/black tokens/sacrifice deck that was close the first game and I didn't draw the land I needed the second game.

    

Overall, I think this deck will work pretty well and the only changes I would consider is taking out Silhana Ledgewalker (for maybe Witchstalker) and somehow getting more removal like Path to Exile into the deck. Tectonic Edge is also not as awesome as it is cracked up to be and could stand to not be in this deck. Dryad Arbor I never saw and the one time I saw it was the game I needed one green mana and I can't tap it that turn.