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Much Abrew: Harvest Wave (Modern)


Hello, everyone! Welcome to another episode of Much Abrew About Nothing. Last week during our Instant Deck Techs, one option cruised to victory over the rest: Harvest Wave! Apparently, people want to see if Spawnsire of Ulamog can actually work in Modern with the help of Early Harvest and Vernal Bloom! In some ways, Harvest Wave is like Mono-Green Devotion and is looking to ramp its way into massive finishers as quickly as possible. The way the deck goes about the plan is different, though. Rather than relying on permanents and mana dorks, Harvest Wave looks to tap and untap all of its lands (while hopefully making them product extra mana) to get up to 30 or more mana in a turn, either to win with the help of a huge Genesis Wave or by casting Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre from the sideboard with the help of Spawnsire of Ulamog. Can it actually work? Let's see!

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Harvest Wave: Instant Deck Tech

Harvest Wave vs. Grixis Delver (Match 1)

Harvest Wave vs. BW Tokens (Match 2)

Harvest Wave vs. Tooth and Nail (Match 3)

Harvest Wave vs. Naya Burn (Match 4)

Harvest Wave vs. Tezzerator (Match 5)

Harvest Wave Wrap-Up

Discussion

  • First off, we finished our matches with a 2-3 record, which isn't great. That said, we should have been 3-2 (which still isn't great but would feel a bit better), considering we lost our match against WB Tokens because we cast our Spawnsire of Ulamog a turn earlier than we needed to and paid the price. 
  • As for the deck itself, it was extremely high variance. We had some crazy combo turns (probably the best example being game three against Tezzerator) but also had our share of non-games. This is partly because we are a ramp deck and occasionally drew the wrong half of our deck but also because we are mono-green, which limits our ability to find our combo pieces in the right order. Overall, it felt like a strong Against the Odds deck more than a real competitor in Modern.
  • The good news is that the ramp plan of Early Harvest and Vernal Bloom is super powerful. I was consistently surprised by just how much mana we could make and how explosive the deck could be once it got going. 
  • On the other hand, I'm not really convinced that Spawnsire of Ulamog is the best option as a finisher. While it is funny and this deck seems like a good way to get your "I won with Spawnsire in Modern" merit badge, a lot of the time, Genesis Wave into Craterhoof Behemoth would have been just as effective and, in some games, way more effective. 
  • Speaking of Spawnsire of Ulamog—it's still bugged on Magic Online (allowing us to pay two mana instead of 20). While this makes the deck a lot better, abusing a bug on Magic Online isn't sporting (and potentially even against the rules). So if you decide to try the deck on Magic Online, do the right thing and pay 20!
  • The weirdest aspect of Harvest Moon is the deck-building restrictions. We need all Forests to take advantage of Vernal Bloom, and we need all basic lands to maximize Early Harvest, which makes it really hard to splash a color. While it's risky, it might be worth going the Heartbeat of Spring route to be able to splash a color or two. 
  • As far as improving the deck, apart from splashing a color, there aren't any massive changes to be made. I'm pretty sure that Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is better than Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre (we actually almost lost a game because Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre destroys a permanent rather than exiling it), and the sideboard could use some more interaction like Dismember, but otherwise. the deck is what it is: a mono-green combo deck that can be extremely powerful but loses to itself a little too often and is fairly easy to disrupt (especially with discard like Thoughtseize).
  • So, should you play Harvest Wave? If your plan is to win a tournament, probably not. It lives in the same space as various green devotion decks and Tooth and Nail, and I'm pretty sure the other options are a bit more competitive. On the other hand, it's a great choice if you just want to have fun, experience Early Harvest, and win with Spawnsire of Ulamog. While I couldn't imagine this deck winning a GP or SCG Open, it could win an FNM if you run well and hit the right matchups, and it seems like a blast on the kitchen table. It's also fairly cheap, especially if you already have the Eldrazi, so if you're looking for something different to play, you could do worse than taking Harvest Wave our for a spin!

Conclusion

Anyway, that's all for today. Don't forget to vote for next week's deck by liking, commenting on, and subscribing to Instant Deck Tech videos! As always, leave your thoughts, ideas, opinions, and suggestions in the comments, and you can reach me on Twitter @SaffronOlive or at SaffronOlive@MTGGoldfish.com.



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