Cut #4 Finals - CUT on the Horizon

Last time, we took a look back at Modern Horizons, at the time of this article's release we have already zoomed past Modern Horizons 2! At this point it should be called Past Horizons. Since I usually theme my challenges around the latest set release, with MH2 and Adventures in the Forgotten Realms being close together, leaves little room to lag behind. This week will wrap up our Modern Horizons 2 themed challenges and next time we will dive into the dungeons of AFR.

We have some spicy builds using cards from Modern Horizons 2! Take a read through, you might discover some cards that you glossed over the first time you saw Modern Horizons 2.

Here are the results of the last poll:

Congratulations to Doug and David, and a big thank you to Zach! Your Ayula was a fun and flavorful deck, and I hope we see you again!

Here are the challenges our deck builders had to conquer:

• Commander must be from Modern Horizons 2

• Max 15 Mythics/Rares

• Cards can only be from these sets: Modern Horizons 1 + 2, Modern Masters sets (2013, 2015, 2017)

First presenter is Doug! Take it away!

Even as a prolifically casual builder who routinely restricts myself to aggressive themes while brewing, this challenge was by far the most restrictive I've ever experienced as far as the overall card pool. Even so, it didn't take me long to decide on trying to squeeze out a mono-green storm deck with Aeve, Progenitor Ooze

Getting a free uptick on your Storm count at the beginning of a turn is already huge, but having that "free" spell come down and start making mana is even bigger. Storm in green is always going to be all about a lot of cheap ramp spells in some fashion, however, even more so when your quintessential Storm spell costs five to cast from your command zone. With that in mind, a full 20 cards of the deck are devoted simply to ramp, and you really feel it when you go turn one Sol Talisman, Mox Tantalite, turn two Rampant Growth

Having the mana available to cast Aeve is only half the battle, however. The last thing you want is to ramp for the first three turns of the game, and then have no spells in hand to cast meaningful copies of Aeve. To really have your five-mana commander be able to swing through for relevant damage, you need a Storm count of at least three when you cast it, resulting in a 2/2, a 3/3, a 4/4, and a 5/5. Three spells might not sound like a lot, but even if you time it with a Suspend spell (as you should), you then still have to have two more spells in hand that you can afford to pay for in addition to paying your commander's hefty cost. In other words, we need cheap card draw effects in addition to cheap ramp!

Luckily, the Modern sets have played a key supporting role in the quest to make green into blue, and as such we have access to a couple of cantrips. Commune with Nature

Only, "The Thing" is neat, but it doesn't actually win us the game? Laying down 14 power and toughness on turn four is pretty cool, and will get you a long way in a lower powered pod, but relying on Ooze alpha strikes doesn't strike me as a winning strategy. Still, we are in green and are planning on going wide, so combat damage is probably still our best option for closing out a game. Unfortunately, there's only three Overrun

So, (much like what our commander wants to do) we must also go tall in addition to going wide! The other rare Storm option from Modern Horizons 2, Thrasta, Tempest's Roar

Thanks Doug. If you weren't here last time, Doug is a writer on EDHREC! You can check out his stuff here.

Last, but not least, is David! Show 'em what you got!

Prologue

"Captain Ripley Vance

But upon closer inspection, this is no ordinary CRV deck, this is a Voltron-Storm Deck! A CRVVS, if you will! The main goal of this deck is to cast as many spells as you can, get CRV's power as high as possible, and attack with the biggest baddest pirate around. Throw around some damage with his ability and you have a dead table on your hands.

The Punch Before the Storm

The first game plan is simple: Make Ripley big and tough. Make her eat her veggies, grow big and strong. This is accomplished by playing equipment and enchantments, such as Bonesplitter

The Storm After the Punch

Looking at CRV's text, we can see that she wants multiple spells being played in a turn, multiple turns in a row. 15 spells in a single turn does us no good if her ability will only trigger once. So I focused on spells that can be cast twice, like Faithless Salvaging

Hidden Gems

A few cards stand out among the rest for their versatility or power, First up is Throes of Chaos

Epilogue

This deck really boils down to playing the commander as fast as possible and swinging with the biggest pirate you can manage, while slinging spells and chunking life totals as you go. One last thing, all that mumbo jumbo about wanting a storm deck and settling on red, that's baloney. I just wanted an uncommon commander to have an extra rare/mythic in my deck (don't tell Travis). Make sure to yell at me for wasting a rare slot on Sol Talisman

Thanks David!

Thank you all for tuning in to this week's edition of CUT! It was a Modern Horizons extravaganza, and these decks sure showed it. I wanted to make these challenges a little tougher and I thought both of our deck builders did an amazing job. Remember to vote for your favourite below and next time we will see who won this edition of CUT!

The deck builders adventurers for next time have been chosen, here are their challenges:

• Commander has to be from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

• Must include at least 10 Equipment or Aura cards

• Cards must be Standard legal (As of July 26, 2021)

Come back next time to see how they do! Thanks for visiting and remember, if you don't love it, CUT it!

If you or anyone you know would like to be on a future edition of CUT please email the.only.travis.stanley@gmail.com