It feels like I’ve been running out of decks to write about for Modern Monday recently, but I have high hopes that some of the sweet tools from Kaladesh will slowly rear their heads in the format. Until then I’ve chosen to revisit an old staple of the Modern format that has lost a part of itself…but it’s still seeking.
If the title of the article and that little reference hadn’t given it away yet, we’re taking a look at what’s left of the Amulet of Vigor deck in Modern. Sure, we lost Summer Bloom, which was a huge component of the deck, allowing a second turn Primeval Titan, but some players – namely Magic Online user ChrisofPi, who went 5-0 with the list – think the oppressive combo deck still has some life left in it. Let’s take a look at the list they used.
2 Aether Hub
4 Amulet of Vigor
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Boros Garrison
1 Crumbling Vestige
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Golgari Rot Farm
2 Gruul Turf
2 Hive Mind
1 Khalni Garden
4 Lotus Bloom
2 Pact of Negation
4 Primeval Titan
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Serum Visions
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Slayers’ Stronghold
1 Spell Pierce
4 Summoner’s Pact
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Temple of Mystery
3 Tolaria West
1 Vesuva
Sideboard
2 Dismember
2 Fog
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Mortuary Mire[/mtg_card]
1 Obstinate Baloth[/mtg_card]
2 Pyroclasm
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Seal of Primordium
2 Swan Song
1 Tormod’s Crypt
As you can see, with the absence of Summer Bloom, we’ve replaced it with the full set of both Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Lotus Bloom. (One good bloom deserves another, amirite?) I’ve also seen some versions running four copies of Sakura-Tribe Scout in order to put a land into play from their hand for free, but this list seems to omit that for the aforementioned Lotus Bloom. Let’s see if it pays off.
Now of course in addition to Primeval Titan simply running over opponents in conjunction with Slayers’ Stronghold and Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, the deck also runs two copies of Hive Mind as win condition five and six. This is still just as effective as it was previously when you’re forcing your opponent to copy your Summoner’s Pact, untap, then not be able to pay for it. A tale as old as time, really!
The alternative is casting Primeval Titan and just bashing them for 16. I remember the old version of the deck had a way to win in a single turn, but I don’t actually remember what it was. Maybe copying Slayers’ Stronghold with Vesuva and activating it a second time to attack for 20? Either way, we seemed to be doing just fine as is. Primeval Titan getting multiple triggers in a single turn can be pretty oppressive, and with a full set of Summoner’s Pact, the opponent usually has to deal with at least two of them if they want to stop us.
As I mentioned in one of the games, there were several interesting one-ofs in the deck that didn’t make a ton of sense. Specifically the single Spell Pierce and the single Serum Visions. At the single Engineered Explosives could be searched for with Tolaria West, so that makes sense. I’m just not sure the benefit of having one Serum Visions or one Spell Pierce and hoping to hit them. I’d likely rather have two copies of Sakura-Tribe Scout, just to enhance our combo if even slightly.
As you can definitely see, the Amulet Combo deck can still be a force to be reckoned with. I was impressed with how hard it was for a lot of decks to remove a Primeval Titan, even if they did often have a way to remove an Amulet of Vigor. While the deck is an absolute headache to play, it could be worth checking out if you’re looking for something new (yet old) and complicated in Modern.
Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you next week!
Frank Lepore
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