Bitterblossom was banned for several years in Modern because of how overpowered Faeries was in its Standard formats. Faeries absolutely dominated Time Spiral-Lorwyn Standard and was a powerful force in the Lorwyn-Shards of Alara metagame as well, even after the printing of cards like Volcanic Fallout and Great Sable Stag. Unfortunately, despite many iterations, Faeries hasn’t really taken off in Modern, even after Bitterblossom was unbanned. But Kaladesh may have exactly the card that Faeries has been looking for.

Blue-Black Faeries - Modern | Danker, 5-0 Modern League

• Creatures (10)
• 4 Spellstutter Sprite
• 3 Mistbind Clique
• 3 Vendilion Clique

• Spells (26)
• 4 Ancestral Vision
• 4 Bitterblossom
• 4 Inquisition of Kozilek
• 4 Smuggler's Copter
• 3 Spell Snare
• 1 Murderous Cut
• 2 Cryptic Command
• 2 Dismember
• 2 Smother

• Lands (24)
• 4 Island
• 1 Swamp
• 4 Darkslick Shores
• 4 Mutavault
• 4 Polluted Delta
• 4 Secluded Glen
• 2 Creeping Tar Pit
• 1 Watery Grave

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Collective Brutality
• 2 Countersquall
• 1 Disfigure
• 1 Dispel
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Grafdigger's Cage
• 2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 4 Leyline of the Void

Buy This Deck

This deck has picked up a lot of exciting tools in recent months. The unbanning of Ancestral Vision makes the game plan of trading cards while Bitterblossom helps you stay ahead much more palatable. The issue with that plan has always been that Ancestral Vision isn’t good with Snapcaster Mage and you don’t really have anything you can do with copies that you draw too late to suspend.

Smuggler's Copter changes all of that. Previously, some faeries lists were trying to play Swords. Sword of Feast and Famine was the most common, letting you make big plays on your turn while leaving up mana on your opponent’s and granting you protection from Tarmogoyf. Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Light and Shadow were also reasonably common. The issue was that efficient removal like Lightning Bolt and Abrupt Decay frequently allowed opponents to Time Walk you and force you to play from behind. Smuggler's Copter isn’t as powerful as the Swords, but you don’t need it to be. This is a card that plays well with Bitterblossom, allows you to loot away excess lands and Ancestral Visions, and keeps the evasive pressure up. Critically, it only costs two mana to get going rather than five. This gives you another turn two play besides Bitterblossom that can put you in the driver’s seat in the early game, which is huge for this deck.

Given the speed of the format, Spellstutter Sprite is a card I’d be excited to play with, and I can’t wait to see if Smuggler's Copter gives Faeries the boost it needs to become a real player in the Modern metagame.