Competitive Modern Affinity

I made this deck to play competitively in tournaments at your local game store all the way to PPTQs and Grand Prixs without breaking the bank too badly. Making the deck I took into consideration the current staples of affinity along with budget alternatives but most importantly what has worked for me playing against other decks at tournaments and local games stores. That being said, on this list you may notice a few inclusions of cards that the pros have called "too slow" for the modern meta game. I agree with them that playing this deck at a Pro Tour level you may find that your opponents are just a turn faster than you. However I did not build this deck to place top 8 at a pro tour so I believe that at game stores and local tournaments you will find that including a few of those "slower" cards brings no downside. Any of you who try this deck out let me know how it works for you guys where you are playing because it could be likely that this deck only works so well for me because of what I am playing against in my area.

I will be going over the deck list card by card to tell you guys why I included it and how I play it in the deck:

Arcbound Ravager- Without a doubt in my mind this is one of the most important cards in the deck and what keeps affinity competitive even today. It's ability to buff itself at Instant speed using unused or already tapped artifacts is amazing however what really makes this card so great is what it can do for your other creatures. With the modular ability you are able to sac a bunch of creatures for lots of +1/+1 counters and than imediatlly put those counters on a unblocked creature to deal large amounts of damage. You have to be careful when sacraficing creatures and make sure you do the math right otherwise you may run into the problem where you have done all but 2 damage to your opponent and now have nothing as a board state.

Hangarback Walker- This is one of those inclusions that you very rarly see on the deck list of Pro Affinity Pilots. Yet from my experience I have been able to generate huge combos and keep a board state even after a board wipe. For only two mana you are guaranteed two 1/1s with one of those creatures having flying. However when you pair Hangarback with Steel Overseer you can manage to create huge amounts of thopters for only the original two mana you paid. Yet my favorite way to play this card is in conjunction with Arcbound Ravager. The combo dosn't work great against early board wipes such as Pyroclasm but against things like languish, damnnation, and even Bonut's Last Reckoning you can keep a board state by sacraficing everything to Ravager and then transferring those counters onto Hangarback. All in all I personally think this is a great addition to the deck and might even play it in highly competitive play.

Master of Etherium- This is the highest costing card in the deck but it is one that has so many benefits I often times find myself taking a mulligan just to get one in my hand. Not only can he often times enter as a 6/6 for 3 mana but he also buffs all your other creatures making things like ornithopter, Memnite, and Vault Skirge viable threats. When making changes to this deck I would never play less than three.

Memnite/ Ornithopter- These cards just work so well in so many ways. Not only do they allow you to dump your hand turn one or two to achieve a powerful board state but on turn two or three after you dump some buffs onto them they become real threats that your opponent must take care fast or there won't be much game left. These 0 drops also do wondering in activating affinity or metalcraft one turn one if you really need to take out a threat early in the game with Galvanic Blast.

Signal Pest- This is a card that does nothing on its own but coupled with other cards in your deck it can turn your 0 drops into damage early in the game.

Steel Overseer- This card can do so much for your deck it's unbelievable. It buffs all your creatures, is fodder for a Ravager, powers up Hangarback and so much more. However there is the big downside that he does nothing the turn he comes in which often times is just enough time for your opponent to take him out. That is the biggest reason why I chose to play three instead of four in this deck. However if your opponent has no answer and he is allowed just two or three turns to live the game is most likely over.

Vault Skirge- This is one of my favorite cards in the deck. Not every game will he be a game winner but for me he always helps me pull through affording me just that little extra life I need to pull off my combos. For just one mana you get a 1/1 flyer with lifelink but let's face it you are playing affinity and he will always be swinging for atleast 2 or 3 damage.

Thoughtcast- I opted to play three of them instead of the recommended two of. I chose this because when playing at LGSs I often find myself with nothing in my hand after dumping it which is never a good feeling. One mana to draw two cards is exactly what I need in to mid to late game scenarios.

Galvanic Blast- I run two in the main deck and feel pretty solid about that choice. They aren't needed every game you play but sometimes often I find that they let me take out a early game creature or get in those last four points of damage for the win.

Cranial Plating- Remember earlier when I said that Ravager was ONE of the best cards in this deck we'll meet his best friend. Without this card you will find yourself relying too much on Ravager which hurts consistency. This card also allows you to swing for huge amounts of damage without having to sacrifice all your creatures in the process.

Springleaf Drum- Not much to say about this card other than its is a automatic 4 of since we aren't playing any MOX opals or four Glimmervoids.

• Competitive
• Modern
• Tournament
• Affinity