Kaldheim Season, Episode 7: Picks of the Week // Flashback: Valki and Alrund
We'll let you in on a little secret: Tibalt's Trickery is just noise. A deck with this much meme potential was undoubtedly going to be the darling of Streamer Town on Week 1, but highlight reel screenshots do not result in actual tournament wins. Yes, the Trickery decks are more robust than expected, but their structural weaknesses leave them vulnerable to being easily hated out.
Valki, on the other hand... now there is a real villain. Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor may be overcosted at 7 mana, but at 3 mana he is straight busted. Our testing this week sent us deep down the rabbit hole, starting with all-in versions that aimed for nothing less than Turn 1 Tibalt, and morphing to more hybrid builds capable of playing a longer game. As the week progressed, it became clear that Modern is going to be ruled by the Cascade mechanic, with Tibalt at the helm. That means that Force of Negation and Teferi, Time Raveler are absolute powerhouses. And you know what card pitches to Force? Ardent Plea.
Our Flashback segment this week chronicles Dan's wild journey through Cascade Tibalt, culminating in a teched out Counter-Tibalt build that he rode to a 28-7 league record (80% win rate) and ultimately to a Top 8 finish in the Modern Challenge. Some of that, though, happened after this episode was recorded, and is a tale for our next episode. Until then: don't leave home in Modern without Spell Pierce!
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Roundup: Picks of the Week
David's Pick: 50 Land Trickery by Sodeq
Cavedan's Pick: Temur Giants by aspiringspike
Damon's Pick: Dimir Cosima Control by Galanator
Flashback: Valki and Alrund
Turn 1 Tibalt 1.1 (Modern) 6-4 leagues (3-2, 3-2)
Trick or Tibalt (Modern): 4-1 league
4c Counter-Tibalt (Modern): 20-5 leagues (4-1, 4-1, 5-0, 3-2, 4-1)
5c Counter-Tibalt (Modern): 8-2 leagues (4-1, 4-1), Top 8 Modern Challenge (6-2)
Dimir Release the Gods (Pioneer): 4-6 leagues (2-3, 2-3)
Esper Yorion Flicker (Pioneer): 3-2 league