Adapting Jund to the New Year
Who knew Inquisition of Kozilek into Tarmogoyf would still be viable in the year 2020? The fan-favorite and classic Modern archetype Jund has seen it’s ups and downs through the years, but it’s alive as ever. Having a top 8 finish last weekend in the SCG Modern Classic Columbus, piloted by Luke Browning. It’s proven to be a deck that stands the test of time and will always have a presence beyond the top tables, usually by people rather passionate with the archetype. Needless to say, it’s needed to adapt and change as all decks that have success in various metagames tend to do. The recent printings from Modern Horizons really gave the deck a good addition to help it keep up with cards like Wrenn and Six being a mainstay, multiple copies in the main, giving the deck the touch of utility it needed and Nurturing Peatland plus Barren Moor pair really well with them. Some good sideboard options in Plague Engineer, Collector Ouphe which are both currently quite relevant with so many Mox Opal decks, plus the resurgence of Humans and Infect. Jund being my own personal favorite Modern deck, I have many strong memories playing it, being the first deck I used to get a Top 4 finish at a PPTQ or higher-level event and from watching old school Modern tournaments online before owning a Modern deck, Jund was always my favorite. I’m a sucker for a good Reid Duke game from years back. All in all, the new printings really upped the power level, allowing it to catch up and at least be playable against the strongest Modern strategies and maintains the idea of a deck that will reward you for your practice, study, and knowledge of the variety of challenges Modern can throw at you.
Jund Overview
This list is a prime example of the state of Jund as it currently stands, with various adjustments to cleanly answer the current most common threats. The sideboard particularly seems really well built to attack those Primeval Titan decks that are known to give Jund a lot of problems, while still having enough to cover help versus Humans, Infect, UrzaTron, and the Mox Opal decks. As a response to the current metagame, I can see Jund playing potentially a one-of Choke or Shatterstorm in the sideboard. Those cards generally seem pretty hard to resolve in this environment but I do feel that these could potentially be blowouts in certain hard matchups. Jund is such a flexible strategy and has been around for so many years that it seems like every Jund player has their own pet cards and special techs. Although, it’s an innovation from the traditional recipe that keeps Jund stay competitive.
My Build and Current Testing
I’m a faithful believer that Assassin’s Trophy is currently a necessary evil for as much as I dislike it because being 2 for 1 it really doesn’t seem to go well with Jund’s traditional gameplan, as a silver bullet, it seems playable but I’ve definitely been considering playing either a 3rd Dark Confidant or a 2nd Abrupt Decay. I do enjoy my sideboard plan overall, but adding a Pithing Needle seems quite nice for the meta as it stands and I’ll most likely test that out. In an attempt to innovate with the structure of the deck I’ve been testing some copies of Gilded Goose in the main for various reasons. I don’t want to accept how good the card is and I really want to be wrong, but in my testing, it’s just so good. Later in the week I’ll post my notes of pros and cons and write up on that card’s viability for Modern Jund to try and get some feedback. Aside from that, I tried Dreadbore with moderate success and should be revisited, and Terminate to much less success, there were enough situations where it’s way better than Trophy, Decay, and various other removal. Also worth noting that I play 7 discard spells in the main in order to consistently be able to disrupt my opponent’s game plan as I feel that it’s one of the more important aspects of Modern right now.
Upcoming Jund Content and Innovation
Finally, I don’t believe Jund is a top tier deck, but it’s definitely competitive and with a good build, good draws, and a good pilot, it can still take any tournament. During these next weeks, I’ll be posting more of my testing process and I’ll definitely post my article on Gilded Goose in Jund soon as I really could use the feedback on my Pros and Cons list. Next month on February 2nd I’ll be attending an SCG Invitational Qualifier and it seems quite likely if I finalize a true build that I’m confident in, I’ll be shipping good old Jund there and try to do some work and win the event. Look forward to a tournament report and sideboard guide once that happens!
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Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoyed your vacation!