While the Modern format isn’t flawless, one of the most appealing features of the format is its diversity. Whether you’re a fan of combo, control, or beatdown strategies, there’s a wide variety of competitive archetypes to choose from.
For those who like to think outside the box, there are even opportunities to find success brewing. In fact, one player just 5-0d a Magic Online Modern League with a unique Human Typal shell with 42 creatures in the maindeck!
Deploying Creature After Creature
The main goal behind this creature-filled deck is to put the opponent under as much pressure as possible early. Nearly every creature in this deck costs one or two mana, so curving out should never be an issue. Creatures like Guide of Souls and Voice of Victory pack a big punch at an extremely efficient rate, making them perfect inclusions. From there, select heavy-hitters like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar at the top of the curve make it trivial to set up fast kills.
By sticking to the Human Typal theme, this deck also gets to utilize a mix of potent payoffs that make it easier to cross the finish line. The strongest of the bunch is Champion of the Parish, which quickly grows out of control and outsizes burn spells. Thalia’s Lieutenant then offers a similar impact at a less efficient rate, but provides the upside of buffing your team to break open board stalls. If that weren’t enough, you even get access to a land payoff in the form of Cavern of Souls, which singlehandedly blanks opposing Counterspells.
Notably, while these tools all help you apply pressure and fight through opposing interaction, sometimes you’ll still need disruption of your own to fight opposing combo decks. Fortunately, there are some key Humans available that do a great job messing with your opponent’s game plan.
Considering that many combo decks like Amulet Titan and Belcher rely on resolving one key card, a well-timed Meddling Mage can be a lifesaver. In a similar vein, slamming Lavinia, Azorius Renegade versus Living End or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben against Ruby Storm will often swing games in your favor. Given how aggressive this deck is, even tagging an important spell with Aang, Swift Savior will often put the nail in the coffin.
Imperfect but Impressive
Ultimately, while this deck might seem a little strange on the surface, Azorius Humans has game against most archetype styles. Its sheer speed gives the deck a real shot at racing Eldrazi and other “go big” strategies. When combined with the power of Aang and Meddling Mage to delay sweepers and Esper Sentinel to draw cards, most slower control decks can really struggle to stay afloat.
At the same time, though, the presence of Champion of the Parish and Thalia’s Lieutenant as individually large threats makes it much easier to win combat versus Boros Energy. Not having to worry about the unbeatable monster that is Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury post-ban improved this deck’s position, too.
Unsurprisingly, though, playing a deck entirely made of creatures absolutely has its weaknesses. With no hard removal, facing down an early Psychic Frog or Quantum Riddler is problematic. Similarly, this deck has a hard time removing hate cards like Torpor Orb, especially since Witch Enchanter can’t get rid of it. Fighting through Weapons Manufacturing out of Affinity is also difficult, since it can easily decimate your board by the time you get rid of it.
In this sense, Azorius Humans feels more like a fun, FNM-level deck than a super competitive one. Nonetheless, it’s cool to see players think outside the box and find success with such a unique archetype. It’s not every day a shell whose maindeck is entirely comprised of creatures and lands makes a splash in Modern, so it’s definitely worth highlighting.
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