The combination of Eldrazi and Affinity has forced Modern to become a very linear format, where a deck’s success depends on its ability to interact efficiently along a number of very specific axes. Efficient creature removal and the ability to interact favorably with non-basic lands is crucial, and Pascal Maynard may have a Jeskai brew capable of doing it all without giving up too much against the rest of the field:

Jeskai Spreading Seas ? Modern | Pascal Maynard

• Creatures (8)
• 2 Restoration Angel
• 2 Vendilion Clique
• 4 Snapcaster Mage

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Ajani Vengeant

• Spells (26)
• 1 Sphinx's Revelation
• 2 Electrolyze
• 2 Lightning Helix
• 2 Remand
• 2 Spell Snare
• 3 Cryptic Command
• 3 Mana Leak
• 3 Path to Exile
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Spreading Seas

• Lands (25)
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Plains
• 3 Island
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Sulfur Falls
• 2 Arid Mesa
• 2 Flooded Strand
• 2 Steam Vents
• 3 Tectonic Edge
• 4 Celestial Colonnade
• 4 Scalding Tarn

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Stony Silence
• 2 Negate
• 2 Supreme Verdict
• 2 Lightning Helix
• 1 Aven Mindcensor
• 1 Dispel
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
• 1 Gideon Jura
• 1 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
• 1 Timely Reinforcements

Buy This Deck

On the surface, this doesn’t look substantially different from other Jeskai control decks we’ve seen in the past. Snapcaster Mage plus Lightning Bolt and Path to Exile form the core of the deck’s removal and card advantage suite, backed by Restoration Angel as games go longer. Vendilion Clique helps to give more interaction against control and combo decks, and the density of flash threats backed up by Celestial Colonnade and Lightning Bolt means this deck can close games out quickly while still leaving up interaction on opponent’s turns.

If the overall plan is to leave up mana and bury your opponent in Cryptic Commands and Snapcaster Mages, it’s easy to look at Spreading Seas and wonder what it’s doing there. The secret is Spreading Seas gives you an efficient way to attack powerful non-basic lands without giving up cards. You can shut off Inkmoth Nexuses and Eye of Ugins to make your opponent play fair, you have the ability to lock opponents out of key colors for the early turns of the game, and you incidentally get to hate on various Urzatron variants.

It may not seem like much, but this Aura is incredibly well-positioned in the current Modern format, and as a consequence, decks happy to be playing Spreading Seas, such as merfolk, are poised to make a big comeback. That’s where this style of deck comes in. You gain all the same advantages as the other Spreading Seas decks, but have Snapcaster Mage plus removal spells to fight against both Affinity and Merfolk. If the format plays out the way many players expect, with Eldrazi and Affinity fighting for the top spot and Merfolk trying to beat up on both of them, then this Jeskai Control deck may just be the perfect metagame call.