Welcome back to The Modern Perspective! The Modern format is still relatively young. Sure, to some of you, two years seems like a nice chunk of time. For those of us that having been playing Magic for almost two decades, two years is a mote at best. Watching a format grow from the beginning is a unique experience even for us Old Timers. Of course, this is the modern age of Magic (no pun intended). In this fast paced technological world, information and ideas are a touch screen away. Decklists are instantly distributed, dissected and adopted by the Magic community. Meta-games rapidly homogenize overnight across the world. Players can quickly find what is "proven" and stick with it.

Nothing wrong with that, it’s part of the game.

I love today's deck because it wasn't part of that mold. As far as most anybody can tell, it started with a player. I first noticed Farfishere (which I always read to myself as "Far-fish-ere" but now know is "Farf-is-here", I think?) using the deck in Player Run Events. The deck started building up a winning record and began my paranoia of constantly using Choke in the SB. Farf had some noticeable placings in Daily Events, so other writers mentioned the deck here and there. Although taking more time than I expected, the deck started showing up on popular message boards and more people began trying out this odd new creation. Soon enough, I was constantly running into the deck in the Tournament Practice Room.

The Time Walk deck represented something new. It was mono-color, usually dismissed in the format, and often winning without a creature in sight. In a way, it was the harbinger of a new era; an era of Charbelchers, Genesis Waves and Disrupting Shoals. It was proof that innovation exists in this format, if we are willing to think outside the box and persevere.

I like this deck a lot.

Let's talk about killing it.

Part I. Studying Time Walk
Part II. Turn Breakdowns
Part III. Halting the Walk
Part IV. The Modern Land Prices

Part I. Studying Time Walk
I'm going to do things a little differently this time because I don't own all of the cards to make the Time Walk deck. Since I can't play any Test Matches, instead, we will talk briefly about some of the key cards and then I'll do a Turn Breakdown of the deck. The Turn Breakdown will be useful to those wanting to play, or play against, this deck.

Let's look at a version Farf used recently (most players emulate Farf's list): 

Time Walk

Created and honed by Farfishere - Modern Times 1.09 12DEC13

Creatures 0 cards Other Spells 4 Cryptic Command 4 Howling Mine 4 Remand 4 Serum Visions 4 Temporal Mastery 4 Time Warp 4 Walk the Aeons 3 Telling Time 2 Jace Beleren 2 Spell Snare 1 Elixir of Immortality 24 Lands 36 cards

Lands 22 Snow-Covered Island 2 Tectonic Edge 24 cards Sideboard 2 Spell Pierce 2 Rapid Hybridization 2 AEtherize 2 Gigadrowse 2 Hurkyl's Recall 2 Trickbind 1 Laboratory Maniac 13 cards

What does it do?
The Time Walk deck is all about taking turns. As many turns as it can. Your goal is to set up near infinite turns between all of the various Time Walk spells. If you can start "Walking" with Jace or Howling mine (or both!) in play, you'll be drawing so many cards that you should be able to consistently walk to the point of using Jace's ultimate to wipe the opponent out of cards. Then you let them have a turn. (Or use another Jace to make them lose from drawing.)

The Key Cards

Jace Beleren - The poster boy of Magic is the decks only "win condition". Jace is more than just that though. As another way to draw cards, Jace helps dig down to those Time Walk spells that the deck craves. Jace's -10 is the big way to win, but sometimes, after casting 2-3 Howling Mines and hiding behind a wall of Cryptic Command and assorted other counters, Jace's +2 handily speeds the opponent to their demise.

Howling Mine - Most players frown on Howling Mine since it gives the opponent cards first. However, "Mine" effects are always key plays for "Turbo Fog" strategies that run players out of cards. This deck is like the final evolution of Turbo Fog; you don't even give the opponent turns. Letting the opponent take a turn? How antiquated. Do not underestimate how important a 'Mine' effect is to this deck. Time Walk really wants to draw more than 1 card a turn. Without Jace or Howling Mine, the deck could easily flop when the time comes.  Howling Mine is both a weak and strong link in this deck. If you can dismantle it, then you push them into a corner. It's also one of the few permanents to interact with in the deck. The Mine is kind; it will give you cards. Lots of cards. That generous smile can turn into a poo-eating-grin before you know it.

Elixir of Immortality - It's only a 1-of, how important could it be? Trust me, it matters. The Elixir provides an "infinite library" once it starts to go off. It's an unassuming card, but in this deck it carries more weight than it does in almost any other deck. Also, against the aggressive decks of the format, the 5 life is a very nice buffer.  You'll want to disable the Elixir if you can, but there are very few windows to effectively catch it.

Time Warp - Your run of the mill Time Walk spell. No frills, but has the cheapest casting cost of the bunch. It's what makes T5 a hold your breath moment. Walk the Aeons - It costs 6 mana, but it comes equipped with a steep Buyback cost. Repeated use is crucial to the deck once it starts taking multiple turns. Those superfluous Islands aren't as important as extra turns. Temporal Mastery - This is actually one of the most annoyingly powerful spells in the deck. Do not underestimate the Miracle cost. The deck runs various cards that can arrange the top card of the deck during the early turns of the game. Casting actual Time Walk is insanely good. With a few early Miracles, the deck can pull too far ahead of the game plan of even the quickest Modern decks.

The Pseudo Time walks

Remand - If you didn't get to play with/against this spell when it was in Standard, I'll let you in on a little secret. This card was as close to Time Walk as players had seen in a long time. It doesn't look like it, but stopping your opponent's T2 play and getting a card was very like taking an extra turn.

Cryptic Command - Speaking of cards that are a lot like Time Walk, have you seen Cryptic Command in action? It's a Counterspell, a Whispers of the Muse, a Boomerang and a Wrath of God all in one convenient package. While's it's not a true Wrath effect, tapping down all of your opponents creatures can be as powerful. Need 1 turn to get to Time Warp? Cryptic. Need to counter the Karn Liberated who is about to end your day? Cryptic. Need to get rid of the Deceiver Exarch in response to Splinter Twin? Cryptic. Oh, would you like a card with those choices? Yeah, it's silly good.

The Required Sideboard Cards

Laboratory Maniac - The alternate win condition out of the board. If the opponent sides out all of their means of killing the Maniac, then this is such an easy win. Why keep trying to Elixir when you can draw as fast as possible and win? Don't use this in the main deck; it's surprise value is much better in G2 or G3.

Rapid Hybridization - Surprised I chose this as Required? Don't be. There are some creatures that are extremely threatening to the deck. Cards like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Deathrite Shaman. What? Come on, Shaman is deadly to everybody! If you prefer Apes, use Pongify. (It's actually .05 cheaper.)

Those are really the only "crucial" sb cards; in my opinion that is. While I'm sure that Farf has strong reasons for using each of those cards, I think that those other slots are all open to meta-adjustment. If there is a lot of Affinity in your meta, use Hurkyl's Recall or Steel Sabotage. More permanent based hate against your deck? Try Echoing Truth. The mirror match? Try Gainsay, Redirect or Commandeer.

Part II: Turn Breakdowns
So assuming that the Time Walk player hits each of their land drops, what can they do to you on which turns? When do you need to fear a counter and when do you know that the game is pretty much over? You're in luck; using Farf's list, I'm going to walk through each of the turns. I'll talk about the moments when you want to be making plays and the times when you are least likely to.

So there is your break down of Game 1 concerning Time Walk. Like most Modern decks, Turns 1-4 are where you need to put your plan into effect. The slightest stumble and you'll get Walked on. It's also important to keep in mind for Game 2 and 3 when planning which hate to use and when to deploy it.

Part III. Halting the Walk
Now that we have studied the enemy, what are we going to do about it? Most colors and deck archetypes have a means of combating Time Walk.

The Sort of Narrow Brute Force Options

1. Choke - If you have glanced over any of my G/x sideboards in the last two months, you've probably seen Choke in them. When cast at the correct time, Choke quickly locks the Time Walk player out of the game. The T.W. player needs roughly 5-7 mana to keep taking turns. With Choke out, there is no way they can keep up. The only out to a resolved Choke is Cryptic Command. In my experience, the window to cast Choke will often involve them being tapped out on 2 Islands. This is already slowing them down by half the cost of Command. Try to bait out counters so that Choke can end the game instead of ending up in the Graveyard. Choke is useful in a few other match-ups as well, including Merfolk, Mono-U Tron and the up and coming Twoo Blue (that deck with Ninjas and Shoals now playing in a game near you).

2. Boil - While more expensive to cast than Choke, Boil is probably even more devastating. The wonderful thing about Boil is that it's an Instant. Red decks will usually apply some early beats. Then you just sit back and wait until the T.W. player taps out for a Cryptic or a Time Walk effect. "In response, demolish your mana base?" Any reasonable clock should be able to wrap the game up before they can recover. However, if you aren't actively killing them, don't think it's over so soon. There is a slim chance that they could Miracle some Temporals into a new land base. It's very slim, but it could happen. Better that you don't leave it to chance if you can help it.

3. Gaddock Teeg - Take a good look at the main deck of Time Walk. If you resolve Teeg, they lose. There is no way for them to get rid of him! He turns off every Walk spell and Cryptic Command. Unless you are so far behind the Jace 8-ball that you are going to run out of cards in a turn or two, you should not lose if you resolve Gaddock Teeg. Even out of the board, the only card that can touch him is 2x Rapid Hybridization. So you need to play around some counters and a very cheap removal spell. In GW, you are probably swinging in with an Exalted T2 Loxodon Smiter or an equally scary threat. They can't wait all day in case you have a Kithkin in hand. That's a good spot to be in. Teeg also stops Genesis Wave, Disrupting Shoal, Garruk Wildspeaker, Goblin Charbelcher, Spectral Procession, Birthing Pod, Splinter Twin, Scapeshift, Bonfire of the Damned, Elspeth, Karn, Ajani V and more. I wouldn't classify him as 'Neglected', but he does advise against many popular cards in the format.

Sadistic Sacrament - You know, this deck only has 3 win conditions in it? I'll let you mull that over. Surgical Extraction is good and can help pillage the other graveyard based decks, but T3 Sacrament is just so...dirty.

Runeflare Trap - It's the longest longshot in the 'Longshot Book of Fame', but once some players start going off, they get really cocky and will draw up to 12-13 cards in hand. Blowing them out for 'R' would be the stuff of legends. The book is named 'Longshot Book of Fame', don't expect to grace its pages.

The cards above are mostly precision tools for a specific job. (Teeg, he's adaptable.) You probably wouldn't turn to these cards unless you were certain that your meta contained at least one Time Walk (or Mono-U) deck that you were going to have to face off against every week. Now this isn't going to be the usual situation you'll be getting into (or maybe someday it will be?), so here are some more general plans:

1. EXECUTE YOUR PLAN QUICKLY - Everybody tries to do this in Modern, this is a no brainer, right? Yes, but looking at the Turn Break Down, "quickly" means "preparing to win on T4". There isn't a whole lot of time for you to pound in damage or set up a combo, but it's what must be done to win. The more time Time Walk has to sculpt a hand of Walks and Defensive Measures is time that the game slips away from you. 

For Games 2 and 3, if your deck is already fast enough to race Time Walk, don't dilute your deck with specific hate cards that might be useless in your hand. Certain Artifact hate cards might be great if they have down Howling Mine, but could be worse than "any another creature" if they never cast the Mine. Have faith that your plan was strong and judge mulligans properly; don't make your own deck worse.

Decks like Affinity, Mono-Red Burn and Splinter Twin can prepare their end games before Time Walk can set up properly. Both Pod lists can get there, but might not do it consistently. If you are playing Jund, UWR Control or other decks aiming at a mid- or late game, you'll need some other tactics.

2. DISCARD IS GREAT - Here is where Jund and B/Gx shine. Like any combo deck, dismantling their hand could leave the T.W. player with a mangled mess of cards. Thoughtseize earns its price tag in this matchup, while supplementary/budget substitute, Inquisition of Kozilek won't grab any of the Time Walk effects. Wrench Mind nabs 2 cards or one of the 5 important artifacts, all good things. Trusted favorite Liliana of the Veil could be too slow at 3cc to actually be very useful, but ramped out on T2 she could still be good. The looming threat that exists from T3 on is so much more deadly than it seems.

3. USE INSTANT SPEED ABILITIES TO THEIR FULLEST - Keep these cards in mind before you make any rash decisions. Chord of Calling is a very potent card if used properly. If you need 1 piece to finish your combo, hold back and wait for the T.W. player to make a move. Don't swing with creatures that won't add enough "damage that matters" when you can use them to Convoke out creature based hate or a win piece. Use Vendilion Clique or Vialed in Tidehollow Sculler to snatch a revealed Temporal Mastery from their hand while the Miracle trigger is on the stack. Taking away their 2 Mana wonder card is priceless. Even something as simple as patiently waiting until your opponent taps out to 'Walk before you throw all of your burn at them. Don't get twitchy; your side of the game may only be 4 Turns long so take your time and think.

4. COUNTER OR REDIRECT THE TIME WALK SPELLS - Counterspells are obviously good, but mostly Blue. If you are constantly running into spell based combo and are playing White, don't be afraid to give Mana Tithe a try. Redirecting the targeting Walk spells is something most players won't see coming and is another way for Red to tackle the problem that isn't Boil. Ricochet Trap is probably the best of the bunch, but Imp's Mischief out of Black will be unexpected.

Be sure that what you are doing will be productive in as few turns as possible. However, be prepared to lose even when you did have a good plan.

Part IV. The Modern Land Prices
All prices are from MTGOtrader.com. The version linked was the cheapest when the land was added, but be sure to check for the best available price!

The Zendikar Fetch Lands
The Fetch Lands are the lynchpin of most mana bases in Modern. Being able to fix your colors by finding a Ravnica Shock Land is critical to the various top tier multi-color decks. The Fetchlands also have great synergy with the best one drop creature in the format, Deathrite Shaman. The price of Fetchlands is often considered the defining cost barrier of Modern, however, on MTGO, they are usually cheaper than many high demand Mythics.

The low prices have blown over on most of the fetches. Seems like players are stocking up for Modern....but the PTQ season is a whiles a way, so keep an eye out for future dips.

The Ravnica Shock Lands
The Shock Lands, with their dual basic land types, are very important pillars of the Modern format. The nickname is derived from the 2 life paid to put the land into play untapped compared to the 2 damage from the card Shock. After being reprinted in the Return to Ravnica block, the prices dropped dramatically and it is now much easier for players to acquire these lands with a modest budget.

Go, Breeding Pool! The Gatecrash lands are recovering nicely. The RTR ones are still slacking behind, but it could be a good idea to finish your sets before the Born of the Gods spoilers start.

The Scars of Mirrodin Fast Lands
The Fast Lands are a great way to ensure two colors of mana in the first few turns of the game. Only available in allied color pairings, they see the most use for colors that have strong aggressive themes that are not affected by the drawback. The Fast Lands have a relatively low price threshold and are an inexpensive way to add mana consistency to a deck.

Hello price increases! Cliffs and Gorge ramp into action, while even the lesser used choices shot up. I'll be keeping an eye on these to see if they just see-saw back down like they always do.

The Worldwake Man-Lands
The ability to produce two colors and provide a creature with an ability makes these lands rather attractive. More useful in mid-range and control oriented decks that don't mind the drawback as much. Currently only one of these lands appears as a '4-of' in a deck; so while they have a moderate price threshold, keep in mind that you usually only need about 1-2 copies of each per a deck.

More heavy price jumps! Colonnade finally gets out of the 6.XX range but decides to go right past 7 on the way up. With the increase in Copperline Gorge, the jump on Ravine doesn't seem surprising at all.

The Core Set/Innistrad Check Lands
While they do not provide mana on the first turn of the game, the Check Lands still have enough potential to see use in Modern. When combined with the Ravnica Shock Lands, the Checks are an inexpensive way to create reliable 2 color mana bases. Now that the Check Lands have rotated out of Standard, their prices are extremely low. Newer players to Modern, as well as those with very tight budgets, may want to start with these extremely cheap lands.

Remember when I said that cheap Sulfur Falls usually doesn't last long? Most of the ISD lands crawled out of the low price cellar that had persisted since the Standard rotation. The Core ones will probably hang there though; they had a lot of printings.

The Utility and Deck Specific Lands
This section covers Utility Lands, off cycle mana fixers and Deck specific lands that you might need if you want to build a Modern deck. Whether it's the Urza Tron Cycle, Affinity or you just want to know how much the most used lands that blow up other lands cost, this should give you some idea of what you are working with.

The MMA lands regained value now that the drafts have been over for a week. Mutavault is the real winner here. Did you know that back at the beginning of October, they were around $8.10? They've come a long way in a few months. How hard will they crash when rotation comes around next fall? Nykthos was down to a little over $2.00, but is inching up.

Conclusion
Here we are, at the last card in the library! I hope you enjoyed this in depth look into a new deck that makes ripples in our Modern pond. Time Walk isn't an unstoppable force of nature, but it can consistently execute its plan despite your best draw or magical hate cards. That being said, having a plan is better than walking into it blind. If you want to read more about the deck, and more than likely see some videos of it in action, you're in luck. Our esteemed site overlord, Joshua Claytor, also wrote an article about Time Walk that should be up today as well. Be sure to check it out.

(A rare manager's note:  I actually did not write about the deck, I was going to, but life blew me out.  Fear not though!  If you are looking for some games with the deck in action, I will be setting up some games with the deck on youtube!  You can find my channel here.) 

As Modern continues to ripen, we will see more decks stand up and make their presence known. I love the innovative spirit that players like Farf, the folks over at MTG Salvation in the 7-Land Belcher thread and even well known writers like Travis Woo bring to our format. I love to dabble on the tip of the "idea iceberg" for my series, but it takes the devotion to testing, constructive feedback and more testing that these folks demonstrate to prove that Modern is a format for brewers too.

Next week is Christmas and/or my birthday, depending on which one you think is more fun to celebrate. (Before you ask, yes, Christmas birthdays suck.) My belated gift to you all will be an article that matches the stark white winter outside the window.

Until next time,

- Gio

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