The unbanning of Sword of the Meek has led to a lot of interesting questions about the Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek combo in Modern. What’s the best shell? Is it a U/B shell with Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas? Lantern Control? Perhaps some U/W or U/B Muddle the Mixture deck? Does Ancestral Vision fit into the deck? Is the combo even good? Or do the linear decks like Infect, Burn, and Affinity just race it? Gerry Thompson looked to answer some of those questions this weekend with an exciting take on U/W Thopters:

U/W Thopter Gifts ? Modern | Gerry Thompson

• Creatures (2)
• 1 Snapcaster Mage
• 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

• Spells (35)
• 2 Spell Snare
• 3 Gifts Ungiven
• 3 Muddle the Mixture
• 4 Path to Exile
• 4 Thirst For Knowledge
• 1 Unburial Rites
• 2 Supreme Verdict
• 4 Serum Visions
• 1 Detention Sphere
• 1 Oblivion Ring
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Talisman of Progress
• 3 Sword of the Meek
• 4 Thopter Foundry

• Lands (23)
• 2 Plains
• 3 Island
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Polluted Delta
• 1 Tolaria West
• 1 Watery Grave
• 2 Academy Ruins
• 2 Celestial Colonnade
• 2 Glacial Fortress
• 2 Hallowed Fountain
• 2 Mystic Gate
• 4 Flooded Strand

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Celestial Purge
• 1 Disenchant
• 2 Dispel
• 2 Gut Shot
• 1 Hurkyl's Recall
• 1 Negate
• 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
• 2 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
• 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1 Timely Reinforcements
• 1 Wrath of God

Buy This Deck

There are a number of very interesting things about this deck which may be indicative of how Thopter/Sword decks will be built in the coming weeks. First, notice the primary engine of the deck is Thirst for Knowledge backed up by Muddle the Mixture, rather than Ancestral Vision or Tezzeret. This lets you leave up mana on your opponent’s turn to utilize efficient interaction to prevent yourself from falling behind.

It’s also exciting to note the backup engine for this deck is Gifts Ungiven; a card which has been woefully absent from Modern for the last couple of months. In this deck, there are a couple of piles you can Gifts for depending on what you need to get done or what cards you have. The standard pile is going to be Thopter Foundry, Sword of the Meek, Academy Ruins, and Tolaria West. This pile ensures that, eventually, you will be able to set up the Thopter combo and lock up the game. Alternatively, you can set up Unburial Rites plus a giant monster, sweepers, or spot removal.

There a handful of other nuances it’s important to notice, such as the absence of creatures in the main deck and inclusion of Jace, Vryn's Prodigy in the sideboard. Most opponents will board out Lightning Bolts and other spot removal against Thopter Foundry, which means that your post-board Jaces will get an opportunity to run amok. It’s also important to notice the presence of Elspeth, Sun's Champion in the sideboard to function as a way to win through Stony Silence and stabilize the board against creature decks. It’s also exciting to note the power of Muddle the Mixture in a format where Collected Company/Chord of Calling decks are among the most popular in Modern.

All told, if Modern continues to tend toward more aggressive strategies, this seems like a spectacular way to beat up on both aggressive and midrange strategies. Sure, the deck is going to struggle against the bigger decks featuring cards like Cryptic Command and Karn Liberated, but those strategies seems to be dropping off, which puts this deck in prime position to demolish the competition.