Deck of the Week: Modern Jeskai

We all have dreams about Magic from time to time – doing well in a tournament, or just winning epic games with our favorite decks. Some of us dream of going off with Storm or winning with a flurry of burn spells. Some attack with a swarm of small creatures, or one enormous one. Me, I just want to flash back one-mana removal spells with Snapcaster Mage.

Jeskai Control was the first competitive deck I ever played in Standard (circa Return to Ravnica), and it had an indelible effect on my playstyle. Whether I’m going for a tempo strategy with three-mana creatures and burn spells or playing the long game with sweepers and countermagic, Jeskai is undoubtedly my jam – the one deck I’d commit to playing for the rest of my life if I had to. I’ve been spending the last few months learning to play Affinity in Modern, and while I love the deck and am happy to have broadened my horizons, I felt the urge to go back to my roots as soon as I saw Jeskai Geist decks gaining ground in the tournament scene.

If, like me, you’re planning on playing Modern at Friday Night Magic tonight, consider trying this Jeskai Control deck, which was the talk of SCG Columbus last weekend.

Jeskai Control
Emma Handy | 8th, StarCityGames.com Classic | 7 Jan 2018

1 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Ajani Vengeant
4 Cryptic Command
2 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
2 Logic Knot
2 Mana Leak
1 Negate
4 Path to Exile
2 Search for Azcanta
1 Secure the Wastes
4 Serum Visions
1 Sphinx’s Revelation
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
3 Celestial Colonnade
1 Desolate Lighthouse
4 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls

Sideboard:
1 Abrade
1 Celestial Purge
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Dispel
1 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Runed Halo
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Wrath of God

In the last few weeks, Jeskai mages have been putting aside their Spell Quellers and Geists of Saint Traft in favor of shoring up their late game. Instant-speed threats Torrential Gearhulk and Secure the Wastes are the finishers of choice here, and the latter is particularly hard to answer in a world of single-target removal spells and sorcery-speed Wrath effects. Meanwhile, the deck has plenty of answers and seems well-equipped to deal with opposing creature decks, though I’d expect the Tron match-up to be a bit of a slog.

I’ll be taking this deck for a spin at my local FNM tonight before settling in for a weekend of Rivals of Ixalan prereleases. If there’s a deck you’d like to see featured in future Deck of the Week posts, tweet at us at @Card_Kingdom and let us know!