The Pro Tour Infect Primer

TOM ROSS

2/12/15

#Premium#Modern#PTFRF#SCGHOU

Pro Tour Fate Reforged was last weekend, and I piloted Infect in Modern. Since I'm known to favor Infect, it wasn't particularly surprising that I chose the deck. What did surprise some was that so many members of The Pantheon decided on Infect as well. When a known control player like Andrew Cuneo and the best the game have ever seen in Jon Finkel and Kai Budde sleeve up your pet deck, it's quite an honor.

Since there were so many teammates playing the deck, I wrote a primer for Infect for the team to use as a resource when they needed. Included were tips and sideboarding advice, as much as I could get down the Thursday night before the Pro Tour without compromising myself on rest. Below is the sideboarding primer that everybody who was on Infect used for Pro Tour Fate Reforged. It begins with general loose notes about the deck then goes into the decklist then sideboarding and notes on the most popular matchups.

Notable things:

In general, you want to playGlistener Elffirst on the play andNoble Hierarchfirst on the draw. Against a deck with removal, if you have two copies of one, and one of the other, play the one you have an extra copy of.

Wild Defianceacts as a pseudo-Infect creature, enabling some keeps without an Infect creature.

I tend to sideboard out aBecome Immenseor two against decks withRemand.

You can useVines of Vastwoodon a variety of things involving their creatures. These include:

- Countering theirSplinter Twin.

- Stopping an equipment.

- An Amulet Bloom land from givingPrimeval Titanhaste or double strike.

- Modular trigger fromArcbound Ravagerfrom hitting its target.

However, it does not stopSpellskitefrom being able to redirect your spells onto it.

Dryad Arboris a 1/1 Mountain Dryad underBlood Moon.

Distortion Strikemustbe exiled if it resolves. Don't add it into your equation that turn regarding delving forBecome Immense.

Inkmoth Nexusdoes neither infect nor regular damage whenMelira, Sylvok Outcastis in play, so don't bother activating it.

Games slow down after sideboard. Most decks' plans are to kill everything you play while stranding you with pump spells. You side out pump spells in many matchups, and most oftenMutagenic Growth.

Twisted Imageis a card that's serviceable without a great target, but awesome if they have one, such as a sideboardedSpellskite. You often side in some number of them in the dark against everything as a hedge.

With the option to go up to 4Spellskiteand 3Wild Defiance, this opens the door to an "alternate win condition" when you have 2Spellskites and 1 Wild Defiance.Wild Defiancetriggers on becoming the target, not on cast like heroic, enabling a Hatred-esque combo kill.

InfectTom Ross165th Place atPro Touron 2/8/2015

Modern

Creatures (14)

  • 1Spellskite
  • 4Blighted Agent
  • 4Glistener Elf
  • 4Noble Hierarch
  • 1Dryad Arbor

Lands (19)

  • 2Forest
  • 2Breeding Pool
  • 4Inkmoth Nexus
  • 4Misty Rainforest
  • 4Verdant Catacombs
  • 1Wooded Foothills
  • 2Pendelhaven

Spells (27)

  • 2Wild Defiance
  • 2Apostle's Blessing
  • 4Become Immense
  • 4Might of Old Krosa
  • 4Mutagenic Growth
  • 4Vines of Vastwood
  • 2Distortion Strike
  • 4Gitaxian Probe
  • 1Sleight of Hand

Sideboard

  • 3Spellskite
  • 1Wild Defiance
  • 1Carrion Call
  • 1Dispel
  • 3Nature's Claim
  • 1Piracy Charm
  • 2Spell Pierce
  • 3Twisted Image

VSSplinter Twin

Out:

In:

This matchup is tough depending on how many "real" cards they have, which includeSnapcaster Mage,Vendilion Clique,Grim Lavamancer, and spells likeElectrolyze. They have a hard time actually pulling off a combo win throughSpellskiteand an open green mana, which could be yourNature's Claimor Vines of Vastwood. If you notice a high number of basicIslands, lean towards getting aForestearly in case they haveBlood Moon.

VS Jeskai Control

Out:

In:

This matchup was much tougher before maindeckWild Defiancebecame a thing.Become Immensealso helps a ton when it comes to winning the inevitable fight on your main phase through their various removal and countermagic spells. This is whereCarrion Callshines, as it works triple-duty to tax their one-for-one removal, gain extra use from theirPath to Exiles when they ramp you, and to make them act during their own end step allowing you to untap and do big things. Keep in mind that they typically have fourTectonic Edge, so at times you will want to keep your land count below four whenInkmoth Nexusis your primary plan.

VS Zoo

Out:

In:

Likely the worst matchup. If they haveNoble Hierarch, you want some number ofTwisted Imageas well.Become Immenseis hard to fire off and terrible in multiples. You need to be fairly defensive early, and blocking with aGlistener Elfon their first attack to shrink their creature on future attacks happens often.Pendelhavenis one of your most important cards in the matchup, and I often keep hands that have one, even if the hand doesn't have blue mana.

VS Infect

Out:

In:

Blighted Agentis definitely the most important card in the matchup. The other Infect creatures trade off regardless of whoever has the most pump spells, so overall, pump spells aren't very good here.Vines of Vastwoodare used defensively a lot when you're on the draw and offensively when on the play. After sideboarding, both decks become more reactive and take out their burst damage elements so you're more often safe to add to the board and have to accept the possibility of dying on the spot if they have the kill.

VS Abzan Midrange

Out:

In:

This is the deck to beat, and we're pretty pre-boarded against it, so there isn't much to change here. If they're showing up withBirds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, or Doran in addition toSpellskite, you're golden. If you seeDarkblastorDismember, consider the strength ofWild Defianceas well as sideboarding in the third copy. If they haveDark Confidant, bring inPiracy Charmover a pump spell. If they're playingNoble Hierarchor you seeSpellskitein game 2, sideboard in theTwisted Images as well and shave some pump spells.

VS Amulet Bloom

Out:

In:

I think this deck is strong and expect it to show up more than others would expect. They suffer from inconsistency and are generally a bit slower than Infect. There is little interaction and you hope to turn 3 them before they turn 3 you. This is one of the few matchups remaining that hasSlaughter Pact, so be mindful of it.Amulet of Vigoris a huge threat so going up to three copies ofNature's Claimis necessary to fight it. Sometimes they show up with countermagic likeSwan SongorDispelas well. Additionally, they can have other targets, likeEngineered Explosivesor a reactive enchantment like Seal of Primordium, providing more targets for your narrowNature's Claims.

VS Affinity

Out:

In:

You're faster, and they can't deal withBlighted Agentvery well. After sideboard you stifle their development by usingTwisted Imageon theirOrnithopters andSignal Pests, and lord forbid,Spellskites. Here is whereApostle's Blessings protection from artifacts comes into play the most. The biggest way for them to beat you is withCranial PlatingonEtched Championso you may sometimes need to block withInkmoth NexusorSpellskite. YourSpellskites prevent them from using modular fromArcbound Ravager, but it is a may effect so you won't gain the counters from it.

VS Scapeshift

Out:

In:

A perfect matchup. They're slow and don't have enough interactive parts to stop you. Don't bother trying to stay above eighteen life, as you need to put enough pressure on them at all times before they do their combo thing. Remember that you can redirect all Valakut triggers ontoSpellskiteeffectively making it only do 66% of its damage. This means thirteen life is the key point to stay at, or eleven if you can reliably keep up a blue mana to pay forSpellskitenaturally. Once they hit eight lands, that life management plan goes out the window, but hopefully the game has ended by then.

VS. G/W Hexproof

Out:

In:

You're a bit faster than them, and Hexproof is another deck with little answer toBlighted Agent. They're known for gaining tons of life from Daybreak Coronet and such, which thankfully is irrelevant against Infect. Remember that removing the first aura from a Bogle after they've enchanted it withDaybreak Coronetwill make it fall off. Not really worth bringing inDispelagainst onlyPath to Exile.Spell Pierceis also super-reactive and overall weak.

VS Burn

Out:

In:

Bring in the thirdWild Defianceon the play and take out anotherMutagenic Growth. If they haveGrim Lavamancer, bring inPiracy Charm. Eidolon of the Great Revel is their best card against you, so go up to the full three copies ofNature's Claim. In a pinch they can be used on your ownInkmoth Nexus,Wild Defiance, orSpellskite, which is especially useful in response to aSmash to Smithereens. If they have one-damage spells likeGut ShotorElectrickery, thenDryad Arborbecomes a liability, but overall I like it as a surprise blocker in tandem withMutagenic GrowthorPendelhavenand as a way to create a creature while underneath anEidolon of the Great Revel. Sometimes an unchecked Eidolon will get both players very low, and you have to play draw-go until you findInkmoth NexusandBecome Immense, which is your only spell that Eidolon doesn't trigger off of.

***

I was very happy with this build of Infect for the Pro Tour and was pleased to see our pilots post a 65% win rate with it. The Pantheon has very strong Standard and Block players, so seeing a strong record in the team's weakest Constructed format was pretty sweet. Also a big congratulations to Jelger Wiegersma on his Top 4 finish piloting aSplinter Twindeck that originated as a pile of discarded cards laying on the table. I personally went 2-4 in Draft, which greatly hurt my chances in the tournament and would love a second chance at the tournament with different Limited results.

If you're looking for something in the Modern 5K portion of the Open Series in Houston this weekend, Infect is a deck I recommend playing. The matchup against Abzan Midrange was positive in our playtesting, and it fares well against the new popular combo deck in town in Amulet Bloom. Zoo is on the decline, and Burn isn't all too bad to face.

Have fun counting to ten, and best of luck!