Even with the introduction of colorless as a distinct mana type in 2016, truly colorless Magic: The Gathering decks have been few and far between. The advantages of running colors simply outweigh the advantages of not, in most cases. That said, there are still a few brave souls willing to forego color in favor of an entirely colorless list. This week one such soul saw serious success, as they piloted a Colorless Affinity deck to a top finish in MTG Modern.
Combining classic Affinity elements like fast mana with a solid Eldrazi package, this is a versatile list with plenty of power behind it. The colorless aspect is more than a gimmick, too, letting the deck tap into some seriously powerful synergies and draw engines. It may not usurp the existing Eldrazi and Affinity decks in the format, but this list will certainly make players consider colorless more carefully in future.
Colorless Affinity MTG
The Colorless Affinity deck we’ll be looking at today comes via MTG player TonyScapone. In Tuesday’s MTGO Modern League, they piloted the list to a sweet 5-0 finish. Clearly, there’s something to this ‘no colored mana’ lark after all.
A good chunk of this deck is classic Affinity. TonyScapone runs the full four Mox Opal, of course, it being the best card in the archetype by a wide margin since the unban. This, combined with zero-mana artifacts like Ornithopter and Memnite, allows for big artifact and mana counts very early in the game.
This, in turn, allows the deck’s actual Affinity threats to come down super-fast. Between Sojourner’s Companion, Myr Enforcer and Frogmyr Enforcer, the deck has access to nine cheap 4/4s in total. With the right draws, you can easily get one or two of these out on the first turn of the game.
So far, so classic. What really sets this deck apart, and in fact justifies the fully colorless theme in the first place, is Mystic Forge. This is a Future Sight-esque draw engine, but only for artifacts and colorless cards. When every nonland card in your deck falls into one of these categories, suddenly you have a card that can outpace even The One Ring in terms of sheer card output.
With so many free spells, and spells that discount themselves, Forge can dig you through most of your deck in a few turns. It can even exile pesky lands that get in the way and stop your chain. This card was restricted in Vintage for good reason, and that reason is on full display in this deck.
An Eldrazi Element
In another interesting wrinkle, TonyScapone’s Colorless Affinity deck also incorporates a bit of an MTG Eldrazi package. Glaring Fleshraker is the clear star of the show here. In fact, it’s ultimately the deck’s main win condition.
Every colorless spell you cast with this monster out gets you an Eldrazi Spawn, which you can cash in for colorless mana. It also pings your opponent, since the Spawn is a colorless creature itself. Combined with Mystic Forge, this card can easily end the game. Every free spell you cast off the top nets you mana, which you can then spend on future spells. The constant ping damage adds up fast, especially in Modern where Fetchlands and Shocklands are everywhere.
The deck’s other Eldrazi is Kozilek’s Command. This is an incredibly powerful tool for a colorless deck. It’s card draw, removal, mana ramp, graveyard hate, and a board in a can. It’s whatever you need it to be, at instant speed. The first two modes are fantastic with both Forge and Fleshraker, helping you set up a cast chain or piling on mass burn damage, respectively.
As an Eldrazi, Kozilek’s Command also benefits from the full playset of Eldrazi Temple the deck runs. It may seem like a stretch to include these with only two Eldrazi in the list. In a fully colorless deck, however, there’s really no opportunity cost to running them. They work just fine without Eldrazi, and the games where they power out a Fleshraker on turn one will feel fantastic.
Throw in Urza’s Saga and some interesting one-of artifacts (Mishra’s Research Desk, Candy Trail), and a full-on Karn, the Great Creator wishboard, and that’s TonyScapone’s deck. There’s a lot going on here, which is a testament to just how flexible a fully colorless deck can be.
Soon To Fade?
As cool and interesting as TonyScapone’s Colorless Affinity deck is, it has stiff competition in the MTG Modern format. Much like current Standard, the format right now is extremely aggressive, with speed being the biggest barrier to entry.
The top deck by a significant margin at the moment is Boros Energy. It’s fast, consistent, and has access to Meltdown out of the sideboard to totally counter Affinity’s gameplan. Early 4/4s can slow it down, to be sure. As long as they remove your Fleshraker, however, Boros should be able to handle you no problem. That said, Boros does struggle with combo elements, so a massive Mystic Forge might be good enough. You won’t be winning by attacking in most cases, which makes this matchup difficult to assess.
Dimir Murktide is the current Modern runner-up, and it’s a stinker of a matchup for Colorless Affinity. Thoughtseize is a great early answer to Fleshraker and Forge. Additionally, Consign to Memory comes out of the sideboard to counter literally everything in the deck. TonyScapone’s deck lacks any kind of real answer to Murktide itself, so if that drops the game is pretty much over, too. This means you basically need to completely rely on Urza’s Saga to create room, which is something that Murktide players know how to deal with.
Ultimately, this deck has the same problem that most Affinity and Eldrazi decks have. It’s a very linear strategy, committing most of its resources to pushing its own plan rather than interacting with opponents. Boros Energy, aggressive as it is, has a ton of removal built-in via Goblin Bombardment and Ajani. Dimir Murktide is on the extreme other end of the spectrum, running mostly interaction and a small suite of threats.
That said, the potential for huge blowout starts here may well be enough to earn it a niche in the meta over time. Fleshraker and Forge let it play almost like a combo deck at times, which is something other Affinity decks can’t do.
